WHAT IS RESPITE CARE?
Millions of Americans provide unpaid assistance each
year to elderly family, friends, and neighbors to help
them remain in their own homes and communities for
as long as possible. Sometimes these caregivers need
time off to relax or take care of other responsibilities.
This is where respite care can be helpful. It provides
the -family caregivers with the break they need, and
also ensures that their elderly loved one is still
receiving the attention that he or she needs.
Respite care is not all the same. Respite can vary in time
from part of a day to several weeks. Respite encompasses
a wide variety of services including traditional home-based
care, as well as adult day care, skilled nursing, home
health, and short term institutional care. More specifically
respite care may take any one of the following forms:
- Adult Day Care: These programs are designed to
provide care and companionship for frail and disabled
persons who
need assistance or supervision during the day. The
program offers relief to family members or caregivers
and allows
them the freedom to go to work, handle personal business
or just relax while knowing their relative is well
cared for and safe.
- Informal and Volunteer Respite Care: This is as
simple as it sounds. It is accepting help from other
family
members, friends, neighbors, or church volunteers
who offer to stay
with the elderly individual while you go to the store
or run other errands. Sometimes your local church
group or
area agency on aging (AAA) will even run a formal “Friendly
Visitor Program” in which volunteers may be
able to provide basic respite care, as well. Many
communities
have formed either Interfaith Caregiver or Faith
in Action Programs where volunteers from faith-based
communities
are matched with caregivers to provide them with
some relief.
- In-home respite care: Generally speaking, in-home
respite care involves the following four types
of services for
the more impaired older person:
- 1. Companion services to help the family caregiver
supervise, entertain, or just visit with the
senior when he or she is lonely and wants company.
- 2. Homemaker services to assist with housekeeping
chores, preparing meals, or shopping.
- 3. Personal care services to help the aged
individual bathe, get dressed, go to the bathroom,
and/or
exercise.
- 4. Skilled care services to assist the family
caregiver in tending to the senior’s medical
needs, such as when administering medications.
HOW DO YOU PAY FOR RESPITE?
The cost of respite care varies with the type of agency
and the services needed, but federal and/or state
programs may help to pay for it. Long term care insurance
policies may cover some of the cost of respite care.
Your local AAA will have more information on whether
financial assistance is available, depending on your
situation and where you live.
Case
Study |
The
following case study illustrates one situation
in which a family caregiver could benefit greatly
from arranging for basic respite care services
to help a loved one recuperate at home after
a hospital stay:
Mr. M is 83 years old and lives with his daughter Kathy and her family
out in the country. Two weeks ago, Mr. M fell down the stairs in front
of the house and suffered a broken hip. He was admitted to the local hospital
and had an operation to repair the fracture, and then was sent home to
recover from his injuries.
Although Kathy is happy to do what she can to assist her father in getting
better, she has a part-time job and two children who need her support as
well. There just are not enough hours in the day for her to look after
everyone else, do her paid work, and also keep from getting stressed out
and sick herself.
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To solve the problem, Kathy called her AAA and then contacted
a respite care program that the AAA staff recommended.
After talking with Kathy, the respite care agency began
sending over a trained caregiver to her house three
days a week. The respite care provider makes sure that Mr.
M eats regularly and is as comfortable as possible
during the afternoons when Kathy has to work or attend to her
children. CAN
THE NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVER SUPPORT PROGRAM OFFERS
RESPITE
The enactment of the Older Americans Act Amendments of
2000 (Public Law 106-501) established an important program,
the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP).
Funds have been allocated to states to work in partnership
with area agencies on aging and local and community service
providers to put into place multi-faceted systems of
support for family caregivers. A specific component of
these systems is respite. That could include, for example,
respite care provided in a home, an adult day-care program
or over a weekend in a nursing home or an assisted living
facility. For more information on the NFCSP visit the
Administration on Aging website at http://www.aoa.gov/carenetwork
HOW CAN I ENSURE THAT RESPITE CARE IS QUALITY CARE?
When evaluating a respite care program, family members
should check to see if it is licensed by the state where
they live (where required) and if the caregivers have
the qualifications necessary for the job. They can ask
respite care program managers the following questions
to assess their credentials:
- Are families limited to a certain number of hours
for services needed?
- Can the provider take care of more
than one person at a time?
- Can family members meet
and interview the people who will be providing the
respite care?
- Does the program provide transportation
for the caregiver/senior?
- Does the program keep an
active file on the senior’s
medical condition and other needs? Is there
a written care plan?
- How are the caregivers screened
for their
jobs?
- How are the caregivers trained? Do they
receive extra training, where appropriate,
to meet
specific family
needs?
- How are the caregivers supervised
and evaluated?
- How much does the respite care cost?
What is included in the fee?
- How far
ahead of time do family members have to call to arrange
services?
- How do the caregivers handle emergencies?
What instructions do they receive
to prepare them
for unexpected situations
(being snowed in or losing power
during a thunderstorm, for example)?
- How is the
program evaluated? Are family members contacted for
their
feedback?
If so, review their
comments!
Second, when interviewing an in-home respite care aide,
you may want to ask these questions:
- Are you insured?
- Do you have any references?
What are they?
- Do you have any special skills that
might help you with this job?
- Have you ever worked
with someone in the same medical condition as my
loved one?
- How would you handle the following situation?
(Cite examples of challenges you have encountered
as a family
caregiver.)
- What is your background and training?
- What are your
past experiences in providing respite care?
- When are
you available? Do you have a back-up/assistant if
you are unable to
come when expected?
- Who can I talk to
at your agency if I am concerned about something?
- Why are you interested in this job?
- Why did you
leave your last job?
WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT RESPITE SERVICES?
The following organizations provide useful information
to caregivers on a variety of topics including respite:
The Alzheimer’s Association provides education
and support for people diagnosed with the condition,
their families, and caregivers. To find a local chapter
closest to you or to order a copy of the association’s
respite care guide visit their website at www.alz.org or call 800-272-3900.
The Family Caregiver Alliance runs a resource center
and publishes fact sheets and a newsletter with tips
for family caregivers. The organization can be reached
by calling 1-415-434-3388 or visiting its website at:
The National Alliance for Caregiving is a joint venture
of several private and governmental agencies. The alliance
web site provides useful information and links for caregivers.
You can contact this resource by visiting its website
at:
Information concerning adult day services can be obtained
from the National Adult Day Services Association at (703)
610-9005 or by visiting their website at:
To find out more about hospice programs where you live,
you can contact your local aging information and assistance
provider or area agency on aging (AAA). The Eldercare
Locator, a public service of the Administration on Aging
(at 1-800-677-1116 or www.eldercare.gov) can help connect
you to these agencies.
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