Family caregivers, we tip our hats to you! We understand what a selfless lifestyle you’ve taken on to provide care for your senior loved one at home, and the numerous benefits he or she is enjoying with the opportunity to age in place, where it’s preferred by the vast majority of older adults. However, we know as well how stressful it can be sometimes, and how critical it is to ensure that you’re not only caring for your senior loved one – but for yourself, as well.
Oftentimes, family members feel as though they’re the only ones who can take proper care of a senior loved one. Of course, they know the person far better than anyone else, understanding the ups and downs of his or her personality, likes, dislikes, and interests. The idea of trusting the older adult’s care to anybody else can involve a wide array of feelings: guilt, apprehension, uncertainty, uneasiness, just to name a few.
At Hearts at Home, we recognize that emotions can be elevated when managing care for a loved one, and in determining whether to permit another person to share in his or her care needs. We also know how crucial it is for family members to develop a reliable network of support, carving out frequent, ongoing time for self-care. There’s a reason flight attendants tell us to put our own oxygen mask on first before helping someone else – the better care we take of ourselves, the better prepared we are to take care of another person.
That’s why we provide trustworthy, professional respite care for family caregivers, specialized to each family’s distinct requirements. In some cases, the family’s main caregiver has a need for just a few of hours each week to grocery shop and run additional errands, to take care of his or her own medical appointments, to relax over lunch with a friend or simply a chance to sit outside with a good book. Others, especially those caring for specialized needs such as Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, may benefit more from daily respite, especially during the evening hours if sundowning or other sleep issues come into play.
Respite Care Families Need
Hearts at Home, a trusted provider of private duty home care in Kansas City and surrounding areas, works together with family members – never “taking over,” but providing a seamless level of high quality care by adhering to what works best to ensure that older adults remain safe, comfortable, and healthy. We pay attention to each family’s particular needs, develop a plan of care to address those needs, and update ongoing as needs change.
If you’d like to explore ways to enhance quality of life for your senior loved one by allowing much-needed time to take care of yourself, call Hearts at Home‘s experts in private duty home care in Kansas City and surrounding communities at 913-440-4209 for a free in-home care assessment.