Hiring Elderly Care Providers for Respite Care
You have likely noticed your elderly mom or dad is declining in health and mobility. This is common with many seniors, as physical and cognitive illnesses and diseases seem to take over. In many cases, aging adults are no longer able to live independently and require assistance, either part-time or full-time, if they want to continue living at home. When you take on a lot of those assisting responsibilities, you become a family caregiver. However, you cannot do it all alone.
Elderly Care Arlington VA – Hiring Elderly Care Providers for Respite CareToo many family caregivers make the mistake of taking on all the responsibility in looking after their aging parent alone. This is a good way to develop chronic stress and caregiver burnout. Without some kind of regular respite, family caregivers risk damaging their own health and wellness due to their devotion to their elderly parent’s needs while ignoring their own. You can avoid this level of stress by hiring elderly care providers for respite care.
Respite care means that someone provides temporary care for a sick or disabled person, so their caregiver can have a break. Respite care is usually done in small, regular shifts that are scheduled weekly or monthly. This gives the family caregiver a chance to make plans and get regular relief from their duties. If respite care sounds like something that makes sense to you, it’s just a matter of hiring an elderly care provider and making the arrangements.
Elderly care providers that are attached to an agency are often the first choice for family caregivers. They have background checks and receive training and oversight from their employer. Elderly care providers can also do a lot more than just sit with the elderly adult while you are away.
Here is a list of things that most elderly care providers include with their services:
- Help with morning showering or bathing
- Hygiene care
- Dressing help
- Grooming help
- Light housekeeping and tidying
- Companionship
- Preparing meals and snacks
- Light laundry
- Transporting seniors to medical appointments
- Reminding seniors when to take medicine
- Monitoring symptoms and reporting to family caregivers
The best part about elderly care providers is that they provide a stable and consistent level of care for the aging adult. When they provide respite care for family caregivers like you, they can provide peace of mind for everyone. It’s important for you to keep that balance between caring for your aging loved one and yourself. When you can trust others to care for your elderly loved one, you can really have that rest period that you need to thrive.