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Respite Care; A Matter of Trust
Caregivers are urged to take time off once in a while, but the decision to arrange for respite care for their loved one often revolves around trust. For first-timers considering bringing in another caregiver, they may worry that the new person won’t measure up. Will they take care of my loved one the way I do? Will my loved one like them? Can I trust them?
I recently attended an ALS conference where a caregiver offered this advice: start respite care as soon as you can. Maybe one day a month, have another caregiver come in for you. Starting this early on will help you feel comfortable leaving your loved one with a stranger. The patient also learns to trust and allow someone other than you to provide care.
Have you used respite care? What were your experiences?
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1 Reply
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I found the most exceptional caregiver for my mom on http://www.care.com. It’s a free service but you can pay for extras like background checks. I searched for people with experience in mobility issues, transferring, Hoyer lift experience, toileting issues. Many of the caregivers are CNAs who work part time at nursing homes and are supplementing their income. We had many interviews and several caregivers, some good, some not so good, one Angel sent from Heaven. Luckily my mom had the resources to be able to pay out of pocket because she went from only needing help for a few hours when family members had to be away to 24 hours a day the last few weeks. The caregivers, with their experience, were much better at transferring and toileting than family. It was also easier for mom who didn’t want her kids and grandkids have to see her like that.
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