Respite Stays

Respite Stays

Wanting a change of pace, or family going on vacation? Maybe you are coming home from a hospital stay and need a little more support. Or maybe, you are a caregiver and need a little break from the routine and looking for a reliable and secured environment to leave your loved ones.

Applefest Lodge offer short, reasonably priced stays for 1, 2 ….. or 30, 60 and 90 days.

What is respite care?

Respite care provides temporary relief for a primary caregiver, enabling you to take a much-needed break from the demands of care-giving a sick, aging, or disabled family member. Respite care can take place in your own home, at day-care centers, or at residential or nursing facilities that offer overnight stays. Whether it’s for just a few hours a week or an extended vacation, seeking respite care can help ease the burden of family care-giving and help to relieve stress, restore your energy, and promote balance in your life. It can also prevent you from becoming exhausted, isolated, or even burned out. Respite care can benefit the person you’re caring for, too, providing them with variety, stimulation, and a welcome change of routine.

Types of respite services

Respite care can take many forms, but boils down to two basic ideas: sharing the responsibility for care giving and getting support for yourself. Respite could take the form of enlisting friends and family to watch your loved one so you can take a break to visit others, go to the gym, or handle chores, for example. Or respite care can mean finding volunteers or paid carers to provide in-home services for your loved one, either occasionally or on a regular basis. Finally, respite care can mean using out-of-home programs such as adult day care centers, day camps, or nursing homes to provide you with a break and your loved one with the continued care that they need.

Overcoming obstacles to respite care

While it may seem obvious to friends and family—and even yourself—that you desperately need a break from the physical and emotional demands of care-giving, actually seeking help is not always an easy step. When you’re the primary, long-term caregiver for a close family member, handing over the responsibility for their care can seem a daunting prospect.

Perhaps you feel that your daily care-giving routine is too complex to explain to another person or that taking time off will only create more problems when you return; it’s easier to just tough it out and do everything yourself. Or maybe you feel that it’s wrong of you to ever feel tired of caring for someone you love, especially if you’re a parent caring for a child. Perhaps you’re simply worried that the person taking over will not do a good enough job caring for your loved one. Or conversely, maybe deep down you’re worried that a respite Carer will do a better job and you’ll somehow feel inadequate or no longer needed.

These are all common reasons for declining respite care. However, it’s important to remember that respite care is an integral part of the care-giving process, not just for you, but also the person you’re caring for and the rest of your family.

Multiple relationships are vital. No matter how close you are to your loved one or how well you’re coping as their caregiver, it’s not healthy to spend every hour of every day and night with the same person, especially in an inevitably stressful care-giving environment. Everyone needs the stimulation of multiple relationships, including you as the carer and your loved one as the care recipient.

Accept that no one else will offer the same level of love as you—and find the best alternative. Even if you know that you’re the best possible person to care for your loved one, that’s no reason not to seek respite care. If nothing else, your loved one will appreciate you even more when you return from your break. Having time apart can help refresh and rejuvenate any relationship.

There’s nothing abnormal about needing a break. Most of us work 40-hour weeks with a coffee break and lunch hour every day, and evenings and weekends off. Even people with tougher schedules don’t work around the clock, day after day, without ever having a break or some time to themselves to look forward to. Taking time off is vital to your health and well-being.

Respite care can provide a fresh pair of eyes. If, like most caregivers, you accepted the role as family caregiver without any formal training, it’s unreasonable to expect that you’ll be an expert and know everything about your new role. Seeking respite care from others, especially those who have previous experience or professional training, can bring a fresh pair of eyes to your daily routine and may offer tips on different ways to handle certain care-giving tasks.

Consider a respite swap. Trading respite services with other caregivers you know and trust can be an easy way to carve out some time for yourself. This could take the form of taking it in turns to host an occasional kids’ sleepover, for example, or to care for each other’s patients while the other has a weekend off.

Planning, selection, and choice are key to your respite care experience. Understanding your needs, selecting the right type of respite care, and choosing the right provider can ease the stress of handing over the reins of your loved one’s care. Doing your homework, seeking references and referrals from providers or carefully planning for other family members to take over can help set your mind at rest.s

Maintain or rekindle your hobbies and interests. It’s not uncommon for long-time family caregivers to finally seek respite care and then find a void in their lives. Having devoted so much time to care-giving, they’re suddenly lost once those care-giving responsibilities are no longer there, even for a short period. By seeking respite services early and often, you’ll be better able to maintain interests outside of your loved one’s care and preserve your own identity.

Contact us today for your needs