Family caregivers deserve a break too
More than fulfilling our duty as family, we choose to take care of our elderly out of the love for them. We gladly help them in their day-to-day, making sure they eat nutritious and hot meals; they take their medicines daily and attend to their check-ups; or they have all their needs at home.
As senior caregivers, we put our energy and resources into attending to our loved ones’ needs—but we too have our own needs. We may have a huge project at work, or an event that requires a long trip, or errands we cannot put off, or simply, we need to take a breather. Simply put, as someone extending assistance care for seniors, we need to take care of ourselves too.
By allowing yourself breaks, we take care of ourselves and in turn, make sure that we can give our best to our loved ones and we too can stay with them for a much longer time.
Respite care
Respite care can offer this much-needed relief from caregiving duties. This is a type of service that you can seek from senior living communities or from agencies that offer private care for elderly at home. This will cover assistance in our loved ones’ daily living such as attending to their personal needs like bathing or preparing their meals.
It is best to consider getting respite care early than to wait for when you hit your exhaustion point or become overwhelmed by your caregiving. This way, you can carefully choose your senior caregivers. Availability may be a challenge, especially when you are planning to get respite care during the holidays, so it is advisable to look into this senior caregiver services early.
Types of respite care
Out of home
One of the options is out-of-home respite care. This may give our elderly loved one an opportunity to be outside of home, and in some options, they may move to a facility or centers where they can also meet others.
Considering this option will also allow our loved one to experience different surroundings. Centers or facilities like these also typically have amenities that are geared towards improving their day-to-day experience.
In-home
An attractive option is getting private care for elderly at home. By picking this type of respite care, we ensure that our loved one remains in an environment they are already comfortable and familiar with. Medicines, clothes, medicines, and equipment that our elderly regularly need are also already stationed in our homes.
This will also rest their worries, since they might need time adjusting to getting caregiving services from someone who is not family. For us, having the respite care done at our home will allow us to regularly monitor the situation of our elderly family members, and attend to their needs accordingly.
Conclusion
Getting respite care proves to be beneficial for the care recipient and the family member. This may also strengthen bonds and relationships in the family that may be strained by caregiving.
Southern California Caregiving can provide this kind of professional, compassionate respite care. Want to know more? Check out the services we offer here.