Tens of millions of Americans provide home care for their senior loved ones each and every year. Sadly, the stress of caregiving can lead to physical and mental health problems, unhappiness, and a lower quality of care.
Why Utilize Respite Care?
Senior home care providers offer respite care services to help family caregivers take short-term breaks from their caregiving duties. Researcher have proven that family caregivers who take advantage of regular respite breaks have fewer health problems, are happier, and provide better overall care to their loved ones.
Integrity In-Home Care offers respite care services in the comfort and convenience of the senior’s own home. This means that the senior does not have to be transferred to a nursing home or care facility in order to receive services or supports. From a few hours a day to several days, caregivers will come to the home and take over care and supervision according to comprehensive care plan uniquely designed to fit the senior’s specific needs.
Some seniors may be highly active and only require a few supports. Some of the assistance they may require includes help with light housekeeping or laundry, meal preparation, or local transportation. Other seniors may require more support for longer hours, including personal care support, such as eating assistance, toileting support, and help bathing, grooming, and dressing. Still, others may require full-time, round-the-clock care and supervision. Regardless of the time or intensity of the support, Integrity In-Home Care can meet your loved one’s needs.
In some cases, seniors may require more emotional support than physical. Caregivers are also great companions. While you are gone, a respite care provider can ensure your loved one gets out and about safely. They can go for walks, go shopping, see a movie, get pampered at the salon, or simply sit and talk or reminisce.
While the primary benefits of respite care are for the caregiver, the senior also gets plenty out of the change. Many seniors are emotionally troubled knowing that their loved ones give up so much of their time and effort to provide care. They watch, helplessly, as their loved one’s health deteriorates, their joy wanes, and their own responsibilities fall by the wayside. Yet, the seniors know they cannot get by without the care and the family member keeps on working through it. Far too often, this unhealthy cycle continues until somebody cracks.
With respite care, the senior gets the peace of mind that comes from knowing their family caregiver is taking much needed time for themselves and is looking after their own health and well-being. Most times, this reduces loads of stress and anxiety that have been building up long-term. Thus, when the family caregiver returns from break, both the senior and the caregiver have lower levels of stress and tension. Seniors also get locked into the same social isolation as the caregiver. Respite care brings in new faces. This is good for a senior’s social, emotional, and mental well-being.
In short, Integrity In-Home Care respite care services provide a means for family caregivers to take short-term breaks. And, because of this care, seniors and their caregivers have the opportunity to fully maximize their well-being.
