The Stewardship Difference
Cedar & Iron operates on a professional retainer model, not traditional fee-for-service home care. The difference matters. An hourly agency's incentive is to sell more hours. Cedar & Iron's incentive is your stability and independence.
Every visit includes core stewardship activities: safety observations, health and mood assessment, goal follow-up, and relationship building, plus whatever your personal priorities are that month.
Cedar & Iron is intentionally small. Eli works with a limited number of families at a time. That is not a constraint. It is the point. The relationship only works because it is real.
What a Visit Actually Looks Like
A visit might start with a walk through the house and end at the kitchen table. It might include a conversation about a contractor who hasn't called back, a medication that seems to be causing fatigue, or a goal from last month that didn't happen and why. Every visit is different because every person is different. What doesn't change is the attention brought to it.
After every visit, both the client and family receive a written summary covering what was observed, what was addressed, and what comes next. Not a checklist. A clear, honest account from someone who was actually there.
Between Visits
The relationship doesn't pause between visits. Between scheduled time together, Eli is available for questions and concerns that can't wait. This is not a 24/7 on-call service. It is something more valuable: a professional who knows your family, knows what normal looks like, and can tell the difference between urgent and not.
How It Starts: The Life Plan
Every relationship begins here.
The Life Plan is a $1,500 engagement. You sign a simple agreement, pay $1,500, and we get to work. The Life Plan begins with a dedicated in-home session, typically two to three hours, where we build it together. You are not filling out a form. We are having a conversation. The deliverable is yours to keep regardless of what you decide next.
The Life Plan includes: a full licensed home safety assessment with a written report; a documented baseline covering health, mobility, goals, and what matters most to you; a first-steps plan chosen together, with family input recorded honestly; and a clear picture of how we will work together going forward.
If you move forward with a retainer, the $1,500 is credited toward your first month on the Foundation Plan, or your third month on the Care and Legacy plans. Retainers begin with first and last month due at signing.
The First 90 Days
Every new engagement begins with a 90-day start period at your chosen plan's full monthly rate. At the 90-day mark, Eli conducts a formal review: a written assessment of what he has observed, what is working, and a recommendation for whether your current plan is the right fit.
At that review, either party may choose not to continue. You walk away with your Life Plan, your home inspection report, and your documented goals. No penalty. No pressure.
If a retainer lapses for more than 90 days and then restarts, a new Life Plan is required. Within a continuous relationship, you may move between plan tiers at any quarterly review without an additional Life Plan fee.
Choose Your Plan
Predictable flat rates. No surprise invoices. All plans are 12-month engagements. Every plan is built on the same foundation: one person you trust, who knows you, and who shows up consistently.
Foundation Plan
For adults who are managing well right now and want to keep it that way. The best time to build a trusted relationship is before you need one.
- 1 in-person stewardship visit per month (dedicated half-day block, unhurried)
- 3 monthly check-in calls (by phone or video)
- Written visit summary to both client and family after every visit
- 30-day check-in call after Life Plan delivery
- Annual Life Plan refresh at month 12
- Monthly family update summary
- Quarterly family review
- Direct line to Eli between visits for questions and concerns that can't wait
$1,500 Life Plan credited against month one. Retainer begins with first and last month due at signing.
Care Plan
For seniors managing a chronic condition or early memory changes, and for families who are starting to worry. Two visits a month means Eli notices subtle changes before they become bigger problems.
- 2 in-person stewardship visits per month (dedicated half-day block, unhurried)
- 2 monthly check-in calls (by phone or video)
- 1 unscheduled visit per year for unexpected needs
- 2 virtual advocacy calls per year
- Written visit summary to both client and family after every visit
- 2 family update summaries per month
- Quarterly family review
- Direct line to Eli between visits for questions and concerns that can't wait
$1,500 Life Plan credited against month three. Retainer begins with first and last month due at signing.
Legacy Plan
For families who need full, high-touch life management. Weekly presence and Eli as a true Chief of Staff. At this level, weekly in-person contact replaces the need for scheduled calls.
- Priority flexible scheduling
- 4 in-person stewardship visits per month (dedicated half-day block, unhurried)
- 3 unscheduled visits per year for unexpected needs
- 6 virtual advocacy calls per year
- Written visit summary to both client and family after every visit
- Monthly family update summary
- Quarterly family review
- Direct line to Eli between visits for questions and concerns that can't wait
$1,500 Life Plan credited against month three. Retainer begins with first and last month due at signing.
Custom Plan
If you find that not all of these options feel right for you, call and let's discuss your specific needs and frequency to support your independence.
Adding value where you need support the most
Seeing the Bigger Picture
Most families don't think of staying home as a financial decision. It is.
The average home in West Hills, Beaverton, and Lake Oswego is worth between $600,000 and over $1,000,000. Every month your parent stays in that home, that asset continues to appreciate. Every month they move into a facility, that asset either sits and slowly deteriorates, or it gets sold under pressure, on someone else's timeline, and often below market value.
A monthly retainer that keeps a home maintained, its owner healthy and independent, and the family informed is not an expense in the way a facility bill is an expense. A facility bill is a one-way door. Cedar & Iron is an investment in keeping options open.
The right comparison is not what you are paying now. It is what comes next if you don't act. Assisted living in the Portland metro starts at $5,800 per month. Memory care runs $7,000 to $7,500. A nursing home averages $14,500 to $15,000 per month. None of those options include your parent's home, their neighborhood, their friends, or their sense of who they are.
Social isolation is one of the fastest accelerants of cognitive decline in older adults. Staying near familiar surroundings, a neighbor who waves, a church, a regular grocery store, has measurable clinical value. Cedar & Iron preserves the life that is already working.
Most families come to Cedar & Iron after something has already gone wrong. The ones who started early tell us the same thing: they wish they hadn't waited.
How This Compares
What senior care actually costs in the Portland metro area.
| Option | Cost | Coverage | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly Home Care Agency | $38–$52/hr (3–4 hr minimum) | Task-based only | Rotating strangers |
| Assisted Living | $5,800–$6,500/mo | Housing, meals, and daily physical care | Shared facility staff |
| Memory Care | $5,450–$7,500/mo | Specialized cognitive care | Facility staff |
| Nursing Home | $14,585–$15,200/mo | Full medical and daily care | Clinical staff |
| Cedar & Iron (Care Plan) | $5,000/mo flat | Whole-person stewardship at home | One trusted person |
Cedar & Iron does not provide medical care, 24-hour coverage, or daily hands-on physical assistance. It is what comes before those options, and what helps you avoid needing them sooner than necessary.
Not sure which plan? Let's talk.
Most families start with the Care Plan and adjust from there.