What Is Respite Care?
Caregiving is tough especially when you are the only caregiver for a child or senior. Taking care of a senior with chronic illness or mobility issues is an all-day and all-night job. It sometimes drains all of your energy and you feel stressed out. Respite care helps you take a short-term break from your caregiving responsibility.
Respite care can be planned for a few days or weeks, or simply for some hours. Respite care can be given on both a live-in and live-out basis. It helps you pause and restore your energy as well as take care of your personal needs.
Who Can Benefit from Respite Care?
Seniors with chronic illness, disability, or mobility issues need all-day monitoring and support. A caregiver at home might fall sick or feel overburdened while managing the personal and medical needs of the senior. Respite care can benefit both the senior and the caregiver.
Respite care is a short-term solution to give you relief from the caregiving duty. Additionally, it can also be useful for seniors to experience a change in their everyday routine.
Services A Respite Worker Provide:
Respite care helps your loved one live comfortably while you take a break. A respite worker can provide the required support and assistance as well as companionship to your elderly loved one.
Respite services include:
- Bathing & Personal Hygiene
- Dressing Up
- Meal Prep & Feeding
- Medicine Reminders
- Companionship
- Protection against Falls
- Exercise
- Outdoor Walks & Socializing
- Help with Mobility
- Emergency Support
Elderly respite care can help you take a stress-free break while taking care of all the needs of your loved one.
Types of Elderly Respite Care:
Hourly Care, Live-in Care, and Live-out Care are three major types of
respite care for seniors. Respite care gives caregivers relief by providing the required care and assistance to their elderly loved ones.
Live-In Respite Care:
If you have a loved one at home who needs care and assistance, in home respite care can help. Most of the seniors feel comfortable in their homes. So, if you are planning to take a break, live-in respite care providers can take your place to monitor and assist your loved one.
Seniors often feel lonely and depressed when no one is around. Respite workers can act as reliable companions to them who will also watch out for their safety. In addition to all the care needs, respite workers can also help with light housekeeping such as meal prep, laundry, cleaning, replacing bed linens, etc.
Live-Out Respite Care:
There are various senior daycares across the country. You might have one around, too. If you want to leave your elderly loved one for a few hours or a day, a live-out care facility can play the role.
Live-out respite care can engage your loved one in healthy activities to spend their day joyfully. Exercise, yoga class, music lessons, or any other hobby that your loved one enjoys. Some respite home care workers can also provide transportation from home to the daycare.
Senior Care Home Facilities:
Seniors with chronic illness or any disability who are unable to live independently on their own can get admitted to a care home. A care home is the most common form of assisted living.
However, some care home facilities also offer short-term stays for respite care. In a care home, your loved one can stay safe and comfortable in a personalized group space. The staff can assist with all the personal needs including bathing, feeding, medicine reminders, mobility, etc. The staff can also follow up with medical appointments.
Many care home facilities have gyms and salons. Care homes also organize social events to cultivate social interaction among seniors.
How Much Does Senior Respite Care Cost?
The cost of senior respite care varies depending upon the services you need, the duration, and the caregiver provider. An assessment of your needs through a care provider can help you analyze the respite care cost.
Considracare can help with both
live-in care and hourly care. Patients with Alzheimer’s, Cancer, Arthritis, Stroke, Hypertension, Diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, etc. can get personal support workers (PSW). A PSW can take care of all your personal and medical needs and can also assist you with house help.
Conclusion:
Respite care is simply getting a break from caring, while someone else looks after your loved one. It helps you refresh and restore your energy and manage your personal care needs.
Respite care for seniors is available in multiple options. You first need to analyze the needs and care services required for your elderly one and can choose accordingly.
Respite workers can manage all personal needs and can also assist with light housekeeping. Reach out to a caregiver provider like Considracare to get an assessment and to see what suits you best.
