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Respite Care Recovery Benefits: Enhancing Wellness and Support

Written by Discovery Senior Living | Oct 14, 2024 4:00:00 AM

According to AARP, 34.2 million Americans provide familial care to someone over the age of 50 in just one year.

If you're one of them, you likely have experienced adverse mental and physical impacts. There's no shame in admitting this - or in looking for senior recovery programs to help you out. Here, we're going to talk about:

  • What respite care is
  • How it can help seniors heal
  • How it provides relief for caregivers

Read on to learn some respite care advantages and facts!

What Is Respite Care?

Respite care is an assisted living service. It offers short-term senior care to those recovering from:

  • Illness
  • Injury
  • Surgery
  • Temporary disability
  • Chronic health flare-ups

A trained group of compassionate professionals offers community members recovery and support. These senior recovery programs aim to rehabilitate community members so they can resume their previous quality of life.

There are several types of respite care. Residential respite care is the best option for most seniors and their loved ones. Those in these programs:

  • Live in a residential community
  • Are constantly surrounded by professional caregivers
  • Get daily help with personal care tasks
  • Enjoy socialization within a larger community
  • Have supervised exercises and activities designed to improve mobility
  • Get consistent support throughout all stages of the recovery process

Once the senior is back on their feet or familial caregivers are ready to provide necessary assistance, the resident goes home.

Enhancing Wellness for Seniors

Seniors recovering from an injury or medical procedure require help as they get back on their feet. Respite care communities offer assistance with:

  • Housekeeping
  • Cleaning
  • Laundry
  • Cooking
  • Bathing
  • Dressing
  • Using the lavatory
  • Managing medications
  • Maintaining schedules

However, unlike long-term assisted living, respite care aims to rehabilitate seniors before they leave the community. These daily care tasks should become easier over time.

An Emphasis on Recovery

Experts at respite care communities offer recovery support in several ways:

  • Offering motivation
  • Providing clinically proven effective exercises
  • Supervising physical therapy
  • Answering rehabilitation-related questions
  • Providing support throughout recovery
  • Tweaking and adapting care plans when needed
  • Providing updates to families

Compassionate care professionals offer schedules and structure to those who might not otherwise be motivated to do recovery exercises.

Top-Notch Community Amenities

Residential respite care offers several apartment amenities. Both studio suites and one-bedroom apartments include:

  • Comfortable bedding
  • Carpeted floors
  • Kitchenettes
  • Generous storage space
  • Large closets
  • Temperature control
  • Treated windows

The community also has several common areas that promote socialization:

  • Activity rooms
  • Lounges
  • Outdoor seating areas
  • Restaurant-style dining centers

Your loved one will recover in style until they're thriving again!

The best thing about these amenities is that they're all accessible to those with mobility and memory challenges.

Caregivers providing at-home help may not have the means to adapt their houses for accessibility. This is especially true for seniors who will be back on their feet after recovering. Spending thousands of dollars modifying your home is not a good option.

The best Pittsburgh communities offer:

  • Low countertops and cabinets
  • Easy-to-reach refrigerators
  • Grab bars to prevent falling
  • Grip bars for shower safety
  • No-slip bathmats and bathroom flooring
  • Wide, wheelchair-accessible doorways
  • Wide hallways made for walkers and wheelchairs

The CDC found that 9% of American adults sustained repetitive strain injuries within three 2021 months. This is the latest available figure.

Those with injuries are likely to injure themselves again because they're not used to the restrictions that come with recovery. Respite care communities combat this with accessible amenities.

Personalized Care Plans

As a caregiver, you likely worry about generic respite care plans being ineffective.

Luckily, the best Pittsburgh care professionals know that wellness in senior living isn't one-size-fits-all.

Our team will:

  • Sit down with residents and their families
  • Discuss senior's individual needs
  • Suggest how long they should remain in a respite care community
  • Determine what they need help with
  • Figure out what the road to recovery looks like
  • Determine what physical exercises can aid in recovery
  • Decide on a daily schedule for your loved one

This blueprint makes recovery a simple step-by-step process.

It's also completely adaptable as resident's needs shift!

Providing Support for Caregivers

Often, families turn to respite care communities to get some relief from the daily demands of caregiving. There's no shame in this.

Everyone needs time to recharge, and many people don't have the means or physical strength to provide adequate care. Caregiver burnout can lead to problems.

Professionals at Johns Hopkins Medicine identify several causes of caregiver burnout:

  • Emotional demands
  • Conflicting demands of family members
  • Heightened workloads
  • Misunderstanding roles and responsibilities
  • No alone time or privacy

The physical toll of moving your loved one around and helping them with exercises can also cause serious mental health problems. It can also cause physical pain and lasting effects on the body.

Symptoms of caregiver burnout include:

  • Hopeless feelings
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Depression
  • Withdrawal and isolation
  • Decreased autonomy
  • Lower self-esteem
  • Neglect of the caregiver's own needs

If you're experiencing any of these issues, senior recovery programs are a great alternative to familial caregiving.

Focus on Your Needs

One of the biggest respite care advantages is that caregivers can re-focus on their own needs. They'll have the emotional and physical space needed to:

  • Focus on their own jobs
  • Spend time with family and friends
  • Rest and sleep
  • Make doctor's appointments
  • Go on a much-needed vacation

As a caregiver, you may need to take leaves of absence from work for short-term senior care. This can cause financial strain.

Respite care avoids this issue as well as burnout. You can focus on your professional life while preventing burnout. This means more autonomy for you and less financial strain due to time off work.

Find Short-Term Senior Care Today

Choosing to seek out respite care may be a difficult decision. However, it's usually best for both seniors and familial caregivers.

Now that you know why, it's time to look into the best elder care services in Pittsburgh, PA.

Allegheny Place Personal Care offers the best amenities and services in the area. We're committed to getting seniors back on their feet after accidents and surgeries, so contact us to schedule a tour!