Respite services offer the family caregiver opportunity to continue working, connect with family and friends, and provide peace of mind that their loved one’s needs are being met. When respite services are provided, family caregivers receive a temporary break from the often exhausting day to day challenges they face. Respite services can be provided from 2 -24 hours/day depending on your needs.
Respite services include:
Homemaking /Companion Services – light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, transportation, medication reminders, errands, and socialization.
Home Health Aide Services – bathing, grooming, dressing, assisting with exercise
Family caregiving and stress
Respite services are necessary to the health and wellbeing of the family caregiver who inevitably suffers stress.
Financial: The average family caregiver for someone 50 years or older spends $5,531 per year in out of pocket caregiving expenses.
Social: Many caregivers give up vacations, hobbies, and social activities as result of caregiving for a family member.
Health: More than 1 in 10 of family caregivers report that caregiving has caused their physical health to deteriorate.
*All statistical information was gathered from: Caregiving in the US; National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP, 2009.
Who is a Family Caregiver?
Anyone providing physical or emotional support to allow their loved one to remain in their home for as long as possible.
According to the National Alliance for Caregiving the typical family caregiver is a 49 year old woman caring for her widowed 69 year old mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed. Approximately 66% of family caregivers are women. More than 37% have children or grandchildren under 18 years old living with them. Women caregivers provide more hours of care than men. Nearly, 4 out of 10 caregivers are men.
20 hours per week is the average number of hours the family caregivers spend caring for their loved ones.
Caregivers who help someone age 50 or older say the most common health problems the person they care for has are: diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
Also, 25% of these caregivers report the person they care for is suffering from some form of dementia.