Over 4.6 million people in the United States fulfill the role of caregiver for a family member with cancer. And that’s not including all the other illnesses that can cause people to have to fill the role of caregiver for a terminal loved one.
Being responsible for a person’s end of life care can be extremely taxing. It takes a toll not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Even resilient caregivers can burn out over time.
That’s where hospice respite care comes in. Read on to learn the respite care meaning, the options available and how this benefits caregivers.
What Is Hospice Respite Care?
Hospice respite care is a service designed to alleviate the burden placed on caregivers for terminal loved ones.
Terminally-ill family members can be checked into a hospice, hospital or nursing home temporarily. Or they can hire qualified, bonded and insured caregivers who can provide in-home respite care.
This allows the caregiver to have some much needed time off from the demands and stress of providing care.
Who Provides Respite Care?
When caregivers are experiencing burnout, they can turn to respite care for relief. Respite care can be provided by a nursing home, a hospital, hospice inpatient facility or hospice in-home service.
Hospice staff provides the care that is normally provided by the family caregiver. The benefit of hospice respite care in your own home is that your loved one has minimal disruption. They will be surrounded by familiar items and routines and their own comfy bed.
There are many benefits of respite care for caregivers. Now let’s outline each of these benefits.
Physical Benefits of Respite Care
Being a caregiver often means being “on-call” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is especially true for caregivers that live under the same roof as their ill loved ones.
When a terminally-ill loved one is safely under the care of a hospice facility, caregivers are able to pass the torch and attend to their own physical needs.
Improved Sleep
One of the main benefits is a better quality of sleep. Knowing that a loved one isn’t going to need attention in the middle of the night allows caregivers to enjoy a night of restorative, worry-free sleep.
Balanced Schedule
Also, caregivers are able to eat, shower, sleep and perform other tasks for themselves at a time that is convenient for themselves. Normally, caregivers live according to the schedule of their ill family member. They often squeeze in their needs around the needs of their loved one.
With respite hospice care, caregivers are able to better take care of their nutrition, exercise, and sleep. All of which have a huge impact on the caregivers’ health.
Hopefully, this break will help caregivers realize how important their own self-care is. Then they can make changes to enjoy a better-balanced lifestyle when their loved one is back in their care.
This leads us to our next set of benefits for caregivers.
Mental Benefits of Respite Care
The mental strain and weight of being a caregiver shouldn’t be discounted. Time to rest mentally will recharge caregivers and allow them to rebuild their mental fortitudes.
That break from caregiving will improve the caregiver’s outlook on their situation. They also gain an increased feeling of wellness.
Also, with the terminally-ill loved one out of the picture, the caregiver has the freedom to broach difficult topics with others. Caregivers can use this time to set boundaries, create help schedules and much more.
Of course, one of the main mental benefits of respite care is lower stress and anxiety levels. The effects of stress are varied and alarming.
Stress impacts hormones, sleep, weight gain, mood swings and physical pain in the body. Stress can lead to high blood pressure, heartburn, insomnia, a weakened immune system and a higher risk of heart attacks.
Even though it is temporary, this break clears out the high levels of cortisol in the caregiver’s body. This peaceful time will fill up the caregiver’s mental reservoir for days ahead.
Interpersonal Benefits of Respite Care
The time off from caregiving allows caregivers to invest in their other relationships with friends and family. They can go out for lunch with friends or spend uninterrupted time with their spouse or children.
Often, these relationships fall by the wayside as the urgent demands of an ill loved one takes precedence.
Time apart from the ill family member can renew the connection between patient and caregiver. Both will feel a renewed appreciation for each other with some time apart.
Caregivers Need Care to Give Care
Caregivers commonly report feeling guilty about considering respite hospice care for a loved one.
They might mistakenly believe that soldiering on is what’s best for the terminal family member. They feel that getting help is admitting defeat or weakness.
But the truth is that, in order to give loving and compassionate care, a caregiver needs to invest in his or her own self-care.
The amount of energy (mental, emotional and physical) that caregivers have greatly impacts the quality of care they are able to provide. And a break is often the only thing that can undo the exhaustion of caregiving.
Choosing hospice respite care for your loved one shows great strength and love. It shows that you desire to provide your loved one the best end-of-life experience possible.
Contact Families Choice Home Care today to discuss how we can support you in your role as caregiver.
Hospice Respite Care
