Caring for your aging loved one can be a repetitive and tedious process, but it is definitely rewarding. After a period of time, you can feel exhausted mentally and physically from providing constant care for your loved one while juggling other responsibilities as well. There could also be times when you may have to travel or won’t be free to take care of your family member. You might want to consider engaging temporary help to provide some relief from your caregiver duties. Here’s what you need to know about respite care.
Types of Respite Care Available
Crucially, respite care is versatile and can adapt to cater to different needs and services. The main types of respite care are the following:
- Community-based
They are services that offer safe constant supervision, care, and engaging activities for their residents. Several community groups, adult daycares, or religious organizations actually provide aging adults opportunities stimulating activities and companionships while their caregivers are away.
- Home-based
In this arrangement, someone will be engaged to come to your aging loved one’s home to provide temporary services as required. These people can be registered nurses, health aides, nursing assistants, or even just to give companionship.
- Facility-based
Assisted living and nursing homes can offer overnight respite care for aging adults, and they are usually allowed to stay for a few hours or up till several weeks.
Picking the Right Type of Care
While there seems to be a wide variety of respite care options available, it’s realistic to personalize your care plan to meet your different needs and situations. You can also develop a plan that uses multiple types of respite care if possible. For instance, if you are a primary caregiver for your aging parent with dementia and need to head out of town for a close friend’s wedding, you can choose to move your loved one to a residential community that provides temporary respite care. This way, you can ease your worries of caring for your loved one when you are not able to be home for a short period of time.
Benefits of Respite Care
There are many advantages of respite care if you decide to take it up for your loved one. The use of respite care is proven to improve the wellness of both receiver and their caregiver through lower stress levels, decreased behavioral issues, and depression rates. Apart from that, you can get your well-needed breaks temporarily, so you can recharge and maintain your level of care for your loved one. Additionally, you can also get short-term help and care if you have to be away from home for a while.
If you or your loved one require exceptional respite care, our respite care program at Lakeside At Mallard Landing is an ideal solution. We strive to provide quality temporary relief for you while providing continuous care for your loved ones by our well-trained staff. During their stay, residents in respite care also get full access to all amenities of our living communities. Contact us to determine eligibility for our programs.
