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Day Care vs Respite Care
Caregiving for an elderly, ill, or injured person can be overwhelming.
21 June 2021
Caregiving for an elderly, ill, or injured person can be overwhelming. Caregivers often have to do tasks like helping with bathing, dressing and monitoring medicines, outside care, and regular housework. Over time, caregiver’s work only becomes more challenging and drearier. All of this adds to the caregiver’s emotional and physical health.
If you are facing burnout as a caregiver, you may opt for services such as day care and respite care, so that you can go to work, vacation, or have some time for yourself. Here is a comparison between the two:
Day Care
Daycare centers offer care and companionship for seniors who need help and supervision during the day. There are three types of daycare centers: social, health, and dementia.
Social day care
Adult social day care centers are designed to enrich the lives of seniors by providing services such as social activities, meals, recreation, and some health-related services. Programs also offer personal care that includes hands-on assistance with mobility and eating. Some programs also provide transportation to and from the center, social services like counseling and support groups for caregivers. Such centers are often equipped to handle wheelchairs, walkers, and other medical devices. This service is cost-effective compared to hiring a home health care worker to come to your house every day.
Adult day health care
These centers are for those who need intensive health care. They are staffed by nurses and other health professionals and provide a higher level of care, comprising physical therapy, occupational therapy, or even speech therapy.
Dementia health care
These are adult day care programs that provide specialized services for seniors with cognitive impairment. Since keeping dementia patients alone at home poses risks, these centers offer close supervision and a safe, enriching environment for seniors to go to during the day. These centers employ much more staff to ensure that seniors are safe and their needs are met on time. This provides valuable free time and peace of mind for dementia caregivers.
Respite care
Respite care is a short-term care service designed to provide relief to a caregiver suffering from burnout. Respite care can range from just a few hours, several days or weeks. It can take place in your own home, at day-care centers, or at residential or nursing facilities that offer overnight stays. Here are some of its benefits:
Peace of mind – Providing care to your senior loved ones is a full-time job. Respite care centers can offer personalized services to meet the exact needs of your loved one. By placing your loved one under the care of qualified care providers for a few hours or days, you don’t need to worry about whether your loved one’s care needs are being met.
Provides time to socialize – Since meeting your loved one’s needs takes up so much time, caregivers often neglect their own needs for social engagement.
Opportunity to “test” senior living environments – If you’re thinking about sending your loved one to a day care center, respite care gives you an opportunity to evaluate the new environment and your loved one’s comfort level.
Flexibility – The best thing about respite care is that it is flexible enough to meet the needs of both the caregiver and care recipient.
Time to rest and recharge – Family caregivers often find no time to relax, rest, and recharge. This often results in stress, exhaustion, anger, and frustration. Respite care provides an opportunity for a caregiver to relax and recharge so that they can come back to caregiving with more enthusiasm.
About Tilsley House Care Home
Tilsley House Care Home is a 31-bed residential care home in the famous seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, UK. We have an open and enabling environment that lets the residents be independent as the staff takes care of their daily needs.
To know more or arrange a visit, you can call us at 01934 419300 or email us at [email protected].