You are deciding whether to bring in someone for the night hours. That decision goes better when you treat the first version as a page you write, not a promise you hope will hold. Do this before the first shift, while nobody is tired and nobody is on the floor.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Check the scope first
Ask the agency, or the person you are considering, what they will do during the night hours, in their own words. A non-medical caregiver may give medication reminders and pick up a prescription as an errand. Setting out, sorting, or handing over her medicine is not part of that job. That stays with the family, her doctor, and her pharmacist. If the answer blurs that line, stop there and get it corrected in writing.
Ask which trips they will walk with her. Ask whether they will help her from the bed to the bathroom and back, or only stay in the house while she makes the trip alone. Those are different hours, with different fits and different risks.
Ask how it runs on a bad night
Ask what they do when she falls. Ask who they call first, who they call second, and what number they use after hours. Ask whether they can reach you and whether you can reach them when the phone is in another room. Ask how a missed shift is handled and what happens to the hours you already paid for.
Ask what they are not allowed to do in the house, and whether they will lift her. A clear no is useful. A vague yes is not.
Set the trial period in writing
Agree on a trial with a set end date. During it, keep a short log of each night shift: the times she got up, whether the caregiver walked with her, and anything that surprised either of you. On the end date, sit down and decide whether to keep, change, or stop. Do not let the arrangement drift past that date without a decision.
What to write down
Put the scope on one page: the caregiver's name, the hours, the trips they walk with her, the medicine reminders they give, and the errands they run. Under that, list what stays with the family. Write the after-hours numbers on the same page and keep a paper copy by the bed. Put the trial end date at the top.
If you want to compare what is available in your area, the local help list for St. Louis is a place to start. Each claim on this desk is traced on the sources page.