Posted: August 8, 2024
If you are or have ever been a caregiver for your older loved one, you know it’s a full time job with no sick time or vacation pay. Caring for a loved one is a remarkable act of love and devotion, but it can also be challenging, stressful, and emotionally taxing. Respite care for older adults can offer them an enriching experience while caregivers take much-needed time off. Taking time off regularly for your own wellness can improve and prolong your ability to care for your loved one.
Respite care for older adults gives primary or family caregivers relief by providing older adults with safe, compassionate care on a short-term basis, from a few hours to a few weeks. Respite care is available through in-home care, adult day programs, or extended respite stays within a senior living community.
Respite care can be an important resource for preventing caregiver burnout. When caregivers need time off to rest, tend to an illness or other personal health care, work, address day-to-day tasks, or prioritize their own well-being, they can feel comfortable taking that time knowing their loved one is in the care of skilled caregivers.
While family caregivers take advantage of an opportunity to rejuvenate, older adults can explore a new setting of care, benefit from extra support, and engage in community. Respite care for older adults also provides an opportunity to “test drive” a senior living community to see if it is a good fit for future needs.
When you choose respite care through an adult day program or senior living community, your loved one will have the opportunity to meet and engage with other older adults. Just like many of us enjoy spending time with people who have similar interests, older adults can benefit from this social interaction as well.
Social connections are a key element to aging well and the reason why it is a primary component of many senior living communities. As a family member and/or caregiver, you are at the heart of your loved one’s social circle. Yet there is also benefit for further social engagement with peers and the larger community, even if just for a short time.
Activities and events span a broad spectrum of interests, opening up opportunities for your loved one to revisit a past hobby or explore a new one. Programming may include fitness/exercise classes, board and card games, music sessions, movie screenings, painting, crafts, and more.
Extended respite stays, which could include 2-3 week stays at a senior living community like Cappella of Grand Junction, may include fully furnished, private apartments in addition to the life enrichment opportunities, amenities, and support services offered.
Programs and communities offering respite care will take time to get to know your loved one and their interests and preferences. At Cappella of Grand Junction, our care partners believe it’s important that each new resident feels welcome and included and that’s why we spend time getting to know your loved one as much as possible before they arrive. We want to know your loved one’s likes, dislikes, interests, and background so they feel like they already belong when they arrive. Our resident welcome wagon helps with the transition, giving each new resident a tour and finding them for meals or activities.
Imagining being away from your loved one – even when they are experiencing high-quality care and enrichment opportunities in a senior living respite stay – may stir up mixed emotions of anxiety, relief, or even guilt. It is not uncommon for caregivers to feel a deep bond with and responsibility for their loved one, or that it is in their best interest to be present around-the-clock.
However, being intentional about taking time away from your caregiving duties is essential to your own physical and emotional health. By making it a practice to care for yourself, you help to maintain your relationship with your loved one and remain steadfast and grounded on your caregiving journey.
It can help to focus on the positive aspects that your loved one may enjoy. They will have a change of scenery with new opportunities, such as highly trained caregivers, well-planned life enrichment activities, and the opportunity to meet new friends.
Your loved one will be able to experience the senior living community to understand if it might be a good fit for the future. They will get to see what services they really need and want and what’s important for them.
And while your loved one is in good hands, you can focus on your own well-being, whether it’s running errands, making your own doctor/health appointments, taking a much-needed vacation, or simply having time to recharge and rejuvenate. When you take a break from caregiving, you may notice just how much of yourself you are giving every day and realize how beneficial it is to have breaks occasionally.
While we want to spend time with and care for our loved ones, it’s important to remember that our own lives need caretaking too and utilizing short-term respite care for the beloved older adults in our lives can be a good option to be able to do both.
As a caregiver, you balance many life decisions every day. Your mental and physical well-being are key to you being able and available to support your loved ones. Services such as respite care for older adults can help. Additionally, the Well Spouse Association offers support to the spouses and partners of loved ones with a disability or chronic illness and has a nationwide listing of local support groups. Our caring staff is here to help if you need respite care for your loved one.
Contact us to learn more about extended respite stays at Cappella of Grand Junction.
© 2024 Christian Living Communities
Other Related Articles
