Respite Care: When Caregivers Need Relief

It’s summer time. Your friends are planning their summer vacations, but you can’t get away because you’re taking care of Dad. You’re not alone. According to an AARP report, nearly 40 million Americans provide care for an older adult, usually a relative.

Nearly half of family caregivers consider themselves “somewhat stressed,” and over one-third say they are “highly stressed.” The care they provide is usually free, but if overly stressed, the caregiver themselves may pay an unexpectedly heavy price: burnout.

Caregiver Syndrome may be an unofficial diagnosis in the medical community, but it reflects a very real problem. Caregivers, who are often caring for an older relative while also being a spouse and parent, often neglect their own care in favor of caring for their loved ones. This leaves them subject to burnout, which includes a high level of stress, and higher incidences of depression and chronic illness.

What to do to prevent Caregiver Syndrome? The Cleveland Clinic recommends respite care as one way to keep caregivers healthy. Allowing their loved one to have a short stay in a well-run facility allows caregivers to take the time they need for themselves, to recharge their own batteries.

Tower Lodge Care Center, located on beautiful grounds in Wall, New Jersey, offers respite care that includes three delicious, healthful meals a day, stimulating and entertaining recreational programs, and the opportunity for your loved one to enjoy social interaction with their peers. Tower Lodge Care Center’s respite program allows a caregiver to tend to their needs at the same time that their loved one is receiving everything they need, body and soul, in a warm and compassionate environment.

If you are a caregiver, remember that you also need to take care of yourself. So, take that summer vacation in a way that won’t leave you feeling guilty about Dad. Contact Tower Lodge Care Center at 732 681-1400, or by clicking here.