Senior Respite Care Services In Brooklyn, NY

For the best Senior Respite Care in Brooklyn, NY, contact Ditmas Park Rehab 

Telephone number for Ditmas Park Rehab, is: (718) 462-8100

What is respite care?

If you are caring for an elderly parent or a handicapped child, do you sometimes feel stressed out and overwhelmed? You are not alone. AARP reports that 38 percent of caregivers say their job is emotionally stressful.

When caregivers need to take care of themselves, they have an option. It’s called respite care. Respite care is temporary care for elderly or handicapped people that lets their main caregivers get a break, recharge, and return refreshed. If caregivers get sick or have a family emergency, they can also turn to respite care.

Types of respite care

Respite care can be informal or formal and last a  few hours, a few days, or longer. It can be in the house or outside of the house. Informal respite care may be friends who help out as needed or on a regular schedule. Formal care can be a health care provider coming to the house, or facilities where the family member can go to receive temporary care.

Respite care in the home

Home care has a number of advantages: familiar surroundings that are already equipped for the elderly or handicapped, low cost, and no need for transportation.

Family members or friends can provide respite care. The respite caregiver can also be a trained provider from a nursing agency or a social service agency. Sometimes an organization, such as the Jaycees or Junior League, offers sitter services.

Respite care outside the home

Temporary care outside the home can benefit the care recipient, providing time to socialize with other senior citizens or teenagers. For the elderly, a change of surroundings can be stimulating. When the care recipient is out of the house, families can reconnect without the stress of being constantly on call to care for their loved one.

Among the disadvantages: care outside the home requires transportation and, instead of being stimulating, the change in surroundings may be upsetting for an elderly or handicapped person.

Temporary care outside the home can be in the home of the caregiver, an adult or child day care center, a faith-based center or community center, a foster care or group home, a nursing home, a hospital, or a camp for children or adults.

Choosing respite care

Naturally, you will want the temporary care to be as close as possible to the quality of care you provide. Decide on the type of respite care you want. If you choose professional help or a facility, screen carefully. Do telephone and in-person interviews. Ask for references and credentials. Look into financing; help from a government agency may be available. Investigate online resources, such as the ARCH National Respite Network.

Most important: Don’t wait until you are burned out. Recognize that you need time to take care of yourself to be the best caregiver you can be. That’s what respite care is all about.