How Respite Care Lets Your Loved One Test the Waters of Assisted Living
If you’re taking care of an older loved one in your home or theirs, you know it can be physically and emotionally draining. You’re not alone.
According to the American Association of Retired People(AARP) 2020 Caregiving in the U.S. Report, 41.8 million Americans are caregivers for adults 50+ years of age. For most caregivers, they are caring for an aging parent, in-law, or spouse/partner.
Furthermore, the adult care recipient needs care due to one of several common issues:
63% have long-term physical or medical conditions.
27% have mental health or emotional issues.
32% have memory problems including Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Did you know that respite care can help both you the caregiver, and your loved one?
What Is Respite Care?
Respite care is a service for caregivers like yourself. Trained professionals care for your loved one for a day to a month at a time. At Broad Creek Manor, we handle respite care arrangements on case-by-case basis, and you can schedule a respite stay for your loved one anywhere from a week to a month.
Respite care can give you the time you need to regroup, de-stress, and handle some of life’s other pressing matters, secure in the knowledge your loved one is being well cared for. At the same time, when you use our respite care services, your loved one gets to test the waters of what it’s like to live in assisted living.
It’s a test run, so to speak. This is especially important if you feel you can no longer handle the caregiving responsibilities because of increasing time demands and physical demands, or your loved one has become aggressive or combative.
What Respite Care at Broad Creek Manor Assisted Living Includes
We can’t say what respite care services include at other facilities, or what in-home respite services include, but we can tell you what is included here at our assisted living home: everything that is available to our fulltime residents.
This includes:
Medication management
24/7 caregiver support
Assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, grooming, dressing, and toileting
Group meals planned by a nutritionist
Physical activity as tolerated
Social activities like games, gardening, crafts, singing
Religious services
While you handle what you need to, your loved one has a chance to determine if assisted living is a good fit. If they’re isolated at home, they may really like the social interaction at assisted living. They may even find that they make friends.
Deciding to Try Respite Care
It’s important to include your loved one in the decision to go to respite care. They need to know this is not a sneaky way to move them out of your (or their) home and into assisted living. Refer to it as a temporary stay that will benefit both of you.
Explore your local options for respite services, and involve your loved one in choosing where to go. Choose the dates carefully – check out scheduled activities that might be of interest, and plan the stay accordingly. Be sure your older adult knows the start and end dates.
Packing for the Stay
Help them pack for the stay with a few favorite clothing items as well as comfort items. These could include:
Sweaters or jackets
Comfortable yet attractive clothing and shoes
Pajamas, robe, and slippers
Medications
Favorite pillow
Family photos
Favorite snacks
iPad or tablet if they use one
Books to read or puzzle books to work
Knitting or other hobby materials
You get the idea. Don’t overdo the packing, but pack enough that the respite care room they stay in feels a bit like home.
Picking Up at the End of the Stay
Now, you will likely be in contact with your loved one via phone or email while they are in respite care, so you will know a little bit about how things are going. If they are enthused about their stay, the staff, the food, the people they’ve met, take time to learn more about the assisted living facility. Ask lots of questions. You may want to check out our FAQs page for questions to ask assisted living.
It just might be a good fit if it turns out a move to a new home is the right choice for your family.
RELATED READING
Signs It’s Time to Consider Assisted Living
Benefits of Assisted Living
Schedule Respite Care or Call Us with Questions
If respite care sounds like a good option for you and your loved one, use the contact form or call us at 410-452-0004 with questions, and we will work with you to find the best dates and period of time for a respite stay. We’ll ask you pertinent questions about your loved one and their mental and physical health needs, and you can ask us any questions you may have.
We’re conveniently located in Whiteford, Maryland in Harford County. Our home within about an hour’s drive of Baltimore, York, PA, and Lancaster, PA.
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