Respite care can provide family caregivers with the ability to take a vacation, see to another family member's needs or seek their own medical care or rest. Respite care length can vary from a few days to a few weeks, so how do you know what the appropriate length is for your situation? The following considerations can help you more accurately estimate how much respite care you might need.
When you have a clear objective for respite care, it's easier to determine an appropriate length. For example, if you're considering respite care so you can take a vacation, the length of the care obviously needs to be at least as long as your trip. On the other hand, if you're choosing respite care for your loved one because you, as the primary caregiver, need to have a medical procedure, you may want to discuss how long your recovery will take with your medical team. You may not be able to safely manage primary caregiver tasks while your own body is healing.
Whatever your goal is for respite care, consider building in a few extra days for unplanned issues and to support a transition period.
For instance, if you're taking a 2-week vacation, you may want respite care for 16 or 17 days. This allows you a day to prepare yourself and your family for travel and a few days to get back into normal rhythms before beginning your caregiver duties again. It also ensures you don't have to worry about making arrangements to extend respite care if flights are delayed or other travel hiccups occur.
Even if you aren't going anywhere and just plan to rest and attend to personal errands during your loved one's respite stay, you might want to add a day or two to ensure you have more than enough time to get everything done that you plan.
Some caregivers opt for respite care so they have an opportunity to rest and reduce issues associated with burnout and stress. If this is why you're choosing respite care, be honest with yourself, your loved one and your other family members about how much rest you actually need. When you're exhausted or burned out on caregiving, a day or two may not make much difference. If possible, you may want to have a solid week or more of rest before you return to caregiving.
Research the cost of respite care and how you and your loved one will pay for it. This helps you understand how much care you may be able to afford, which can be a determining factor in the length of care you choose.
When you need some time off from caregiving duties, you don't necessarily need to choose a respite care community for the entire period. If other family members are able to step into caregiving roles, you may be able to create a schedule that allows for a longer period of rest without relying solely on respite care — this is one way you can address budget issues while getting the time off you need.
For example, if the primary family caregiver needs to have surgery that will require 6 weeks of recovery, other adult caregivers in the family may agree to come and stay with their loved one during this time. Perhaps the family can cover 4 weeks of caregiving by having different people visit and act as the primary caregiver during that time. That leaves 2 weeks that might be covered by professional respite care.
If your loved one is able to communicate their preferences about care in general and respite care specifically, discuss options with them. This can help you determine what length of respite care may be viable without upsetting any mental and emotional balance you've developed in the home. For example, if your loved one is anxious about respite care and you've never used this option before, you might decide to try it for a few days this time. Or if your loved one seems indifferent or excited about the potential stay in a respite community, you might feel more comfortable starting with a longer stay.
Before you make decisions about respite care, including how long you might use this service, contact local communities. Ask about respite care services, community amenities, living environments and safety. If possible, visit communities you're considering to get an idea of the community culture, how the staff supports residents and what your loved one might do while they're in respite care. All this information can help you determine whether respite care is right for your family and what length of respite care stay you're comfortable with.
