If you are currently a caregiver, whether it is part time or round the clock, you may very well be feeling the effects of what is sometimes termed “care giver’s burnout.” Respite Care is a type of adult care designed to help care givers out when they need it the most. This type of care doesn’t have to be full time. It can be for only several hours each day. However, the most typical time line for respite care giving would be several weeks or more.
Essentially, the goal is to give the primary daily care giver enough of a break from constant care giving that they are able to rest, rejuvenate, and become strong enough to take on the care giving again in the future if that is their wish. Respite Care can actually be different for every patient because each patient’s needs are different. Often, patients who are suffering from conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease or other similar dementias, people who are suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, or people who are dealing with other conditions that are physically or mentally debilitating, simply need more care than their care giver can really provide. Respite care givers provide that level of care.
If the home care giver does provide the needed level of care, it can literally be a 24 hour job. For example, an Alzheimer’s patient may need to be closely monitored around the clock to ensure that they don’t become confused and injure themselves in the home, or even leave the home. This is exhausting, and it is just one example of why respite care giving can be so helpful. In facilities such as the Orchard Crest Retirement Community, experienced staff members provide all needed care to patients around the clock.
The care is tailored to the patient. If a patient needs to be monitored constantly, bed rails and bed alarms can be placed for safety purposes. If patients are immobile, the staff is on call at any time to help patients from their room to anywhere in the facility they’d like to go. Patients won’t be lacking for activities or amusement, either. Regular care givers are always welcomed as visitors, and the facility plans plenty of community activities like game nights, church services, movie nights, and more to keep residents happy as well as completely safe.
