Thousands of family caregivers across Canada are providing regular care and support for aging family members. With age comes the unfortunate reality of the gradual decline of our bodies and minds that can make routine tasks and activities more challenging. Most often when seniors begin to require assistance with daily routines, it is a family member living in close proximity who provides that initial support.
Family caregivers are generally a huge help when aging parents, grandparents, or other extended family members begin struggling with mobility or cognitive decline. However, as the situation develops and elderly loved ones begin to require more frequent care, it can be overwhelming for family caregivers to handle on their own.
What Is Respite Care?
Respite care is a service offered by a professional home care agency that offers relief to primary or family caregivers that could use a break, support, or assistance. Respite caregivers can provide in-home care for your loved one whenever it is needed. Whether it is filling in once or twice a week at regular intervals, covering for a family caregiver on vacation, or stepping in for emergencies, repair caregivers will be there to help.
What Services Can Respite Caregivers Provide?
Respite caregivers can offer a wide range of services to help your loved one get through daily routines with the added benefit of a new source of social interaction. Respite care services can include:
- Personal care and hygiene assistance
- Housekeeping and home support
- Help with meal planning and preparation
- Assistance with errands, groceries, and appointments
- Ongoing physical, mental, and emotional support
What Are The Benefits And Advantages Of Receiving Respite Care?
Respite care services can offer tremendous benefits for seniors and their family caregivers. Senior care can be a demanding job and the more resources and assistance available helps ensure it gets done properly and effectively.
Some of the benefits of respite care are:
- Additional assistance
- Relief for family caregivers
- More dynamic care
- Professional support
- Customized experience
Additional Assistance
Adding an extra layer of support and assistance to your home care situation can help bring peace of mind to everyone involved. Nobody can do it all themselves, and more often than not when one person tries to manage the entire load it ends up doing more harm than good. Respite care is perfect for family caregivers to make some much-needed time for themselves to focus on their own interests, responsibilities, and health.
Relief For Family Caregivers
It may be instinctive for family members to feel like they are entirely responsible for caring for an aging loved one. Especially in cases where adult children are providing care for parents, they may feel like they owe it to the person or people that raised them to ensure they are getting all the support they need.
However, trying to take on too much responsibility can result in caregiver burnout. When this happens, caregivers are often at risk of endangering their own health which is no good for anyone. Family caregivers need time to focus on their own health and self-care to have the energy and capacity to provide effective care for another person.
More Dynamic Care
The more hands on deck, the more varied the care techniques and approaches will be. Respite caregivers can help breath new life into the home care situation to stir things up and introduce new ideas. Too much time spent with any one individual can result in feelings of resentment on both sides.
Professional Support
Respite caregivers bring years of home care experience and training to the table. This is extremely helpful for providing useful information about health conditions, implementing tried and tested methods, and providing compassionate support. A professional home care agency can also help manage your home care situation to ensure you are getting the optimal benefits.
Customized Experience
One of the best features of respite care services is the ability to tailor the services to your specific needs and preferences. Get professional assistance as often as you need it to help your loved one maintain an independent and comfortable lifestyle.
