Fulfilling the care needs of an older or disabled loved one is a psychologically, physically, and emotionally demanding undertaking, and it’s vital for family caregivers to take routine breaks to rest and relax. Respite care offers relief from the day-to-day responsibilities of caregiving, enabling family caregivers to also care for their own needs.
Here are a few basic principles of respite care:
- Respite from every day, ongoing care tasks ensures seniors still get the attention they need and deserve.
- Respite care provides family caregivers with care that is scheduled, short-term, intermittent and substitute.
- Respite care can be available from several hours for just one day to ongoing scheduled routine relief.
How you can help a family caregiver:
- Offer to share caregiving tasks. Even if you can only help out once in a while, it shows the family caregiver that you care about his or her wellbeing.
- Offer to help with the family caregiver’s own personal chores. Family caregivers have lives of their own, and taking time to manage their own laundry, grocery shopping, and housecleaning chores can be a challenge.
- Chip in to hire respite care services from a professional home care agency, like the Saginaw in-home care experts at Compassionate Care Home Health Services. In many cases, family members who live far away want to contribute to a loved one’s care. Helping to pay for respite care services helps not only the older person, but the family caregiver as well.
How family caregivers can find needed support:
- Ask for help. Other family members may want to help with caregiving, but aren’t aware of what help is needed. Include them in the respite care plan so you can take a break when needed.
- When family members are not available, arrange for respite care with a home care agency, like Compassionate Care Home Health. Professional caregivers can help family caregivers take the time away they need while providing top quality care for their senior loved ones.
- Talk to the person in your care. A change in daily routine, such as by introducing a new caregiver, can be difficult for the senior, so take the steps below to alleviate any concerns:
- Have a respite care plan in place in advance.
- Remind the older adult on a regular basis that your break is coming up and someone will be coming to provide care
- Introduce the older adult to the new caregiver if he or she is not another family member.
- Follow your plan. Taking routine breaks from caregiving is essential to your health. Make sure that everyone involved in your respite care plan are on the same page so that you can make time to care for yourself.
The bottom line is, no one can do everything alone, and there is professional help available through Compassionate Care Home Health’s home care team! Contact us at 877.308.1212 to learn about our in-home respite care and home care in Saginaw, MI and the surrounding areas.