Posted: April 17, 2023
If you are or have ever been a caregiver for your older loved one, you know it’s a full time job with no sick time or vacation pay. But caregivers are human and sometimes need time off due to illness and/or personal health care, including vacations. Taking time off regularly for your own wellness can improve and prolong your ability to care for your loved one.
Respite care for older adults provides much needed time off while your loved one is happy and safe with skilled, compassionate caregivers. An extended short-term stay at a senior living community like Cappella of Grand Junction is a great way to add much needed support for caregivers.
Family caregivers can take advantage of an opportunity to rejuvenate while older adults can explore a new setting of care, benefit from extra support, and engage in community. Respite care for older adults also provides an opportunity to ‘test drive’ a senior living community to see if it is a good fit for future needs.
When you choose respite care in a senior living community, your loved one will have the opportunity to meet and engage with other older adults. Just like many of us enjoy spending time with people who have similar interests, older adults can benefit from this social interaction as well. Social engagement is one of the key elements to aging well and the reason why it is a primary component of many senior living communities.
At Cappella of Grand Junction, our Rhythms Life Enrichment programming and Rhythms Dementia Services honor each individual, incorporating their background, interests, and preferences and give residents an opportunity to connect with each other. Caregivers and family are so valuable and they do their best, and there is also benefit for further social engagement with a larger community, even if just for a short time.
In addition to life enrichment opportunities and amenities to ensure a safe and comfortable stay, seniors at Cappella of Grand Junction enjoy a vast array of support services in their own fully furnished apartments.
The Cappella of Grand Junction team takes time and interest in each new resident whether it’s an extended respite stay or longer term. Our care partners believe it’s important that each new resident feels welcome and included and that’s why we spend time getting to know your loved one as much as possible before they arrive. We want to know your loved one’s likes, dislikes, interests and background so they feel like they already belong when they arrive. Our resident welcome wagon helps with the transition, giving each new resident a tour and finding them for meals or activities.
It can be daunting to imagine being away from your loved one even when they are receiving high-quality, round-the-clock care in a senior living respite stay.
It can help to focus on the positive aspects that your loved one may experience. They will have a change of scenery with new opportunities, such as highly trained caregivers, well-planned life enrichment activities and the opportunity to meet new friends.
Your loved one will be able to experience the senior living community to understand if it might be a good fit for the future. They will get to see what services they really need and want and what’s important for them.
And while your loved one is in good hands, you can focus on your own well-being, whether it’s running errands, making your own doctor/health appointments, taking a much needed vacation or simply having time to recharge and rejuvenate. When you take a break from caregiving, you may notice just how much of yourself you are giving every day and realize how beneficial it is to have breaks occasionally. While we want to spend time and care for our loved ones, it’s important to remember that our own lives need caretaking too and utilizing short term respite care for our beloved older adults can be a good option to be able to do both.
As a caregiver, you balance many life decisions every day. Your mental and physical well-being are key to you being able and available to support your loved ones. Services such as respite care for older adults can help. Additionally, the Well Spouse Association offers support to the spouses and partners of loved ones with a disability or chronic illness and has a nationwide listing of local support groups. Our caring staff is here to help if you need respite care for your loved one.
Contact us to learn more about extended respite stays at Cappella of Grand Junction.
© 2024 Christian Living Communities
Other Related Articles
