What is Respite Care, Do I Need It?

In simplest terms, "respite care" provides the kind of caregiver who will come in when you need a break and take some time off from caring for a senior, a child with disabilities, or any other kind of care giving situation that may threaten to overwhelm you. Every person’s needs vary when it comes to identifying their own breaking point, but by and large there are several times when respite care is an identified need: usually it is the care of an elderly individual suffering from dementia, being the primary caregiver of a senior citizen who otherwise might need to enter a nursing home, tending to a disabled child, living with a loved one who is under hospice care, and also when you are adopting or fostering a child.

Various forms of respite care exist. By far the most common form is the one that takes place in your home. A respite care worker will be sent via an agency to your home where she or he will take over your place while you take some time off. You do not need to leave the premises although many kinship caregivers opt to do so. In many cases the respite caregiver is well trained in basic medical procedures and also has been trained extensively to provide a simple emergency care protocol as required. In your absence, he or she may provide a meal for the family member, help with basic toileting and other personal hygiene tasks, and also provide some form of companionship. In some cases, respite caregivers also offer services with respect to giving medicines, although this needs to be discussed ahead of time as not all agencies will offer this particular service.

Respite care in the US is greatly regulated and the rules surrounding it determine how often a kinship caregiver may take advantage of this kind of care. Depending on who foots the bill for the service, the incidents of respite care may be limited to a certain calendar day allowance per year. In addition, the age of the patient greatly influences the kind of available care appointments the caregiver may enjoy. Some kinship caregivers are initially unwilling to make use of this available care option and some wonder why they actually should consider it at all.

The fact of the matter is quite simple: no matter how dedicated you are to the patient, the fact that caring for an individual on a 24-7 basis is tiring and wearing will eventually catch up with you. To counteract fatigue leading to potential neglect and abuse, the idea behind respite care specifies that the kinship caregiver gets temporary time off and gets to just leave and do something they might have put off. In some cases the caregiver may opt to reconnect with a spouse on a weekend getaway while in other cases she may choose to just take the time to run some much needed errands that thus far had been going by the wayside. Not taking advantage of available respite care is usually not a good idea even if you believe you can handle the stress you are experiencing.