Benefits and Costs of Respite Care
Families needing home care services often look inward to help their loved ones. However, it can be a challenging journey for family caregivers, who need a break like anyone else.
Burnout is real, and so are its consequences. That’s why families often seek respite care.
This guide will outline the benefits and costs of respite care services so you can better understand this invaluable resource.
Benefits of Respite Care Services
There’s no “one size fits all” in respite care. Some family caregivers need reprieve after a loved one has surgery and needs more support at home. Some must return to work after caring for a loved one for an extended period. Others need a break after years of long-term caregiving or want to celebrate a milestone anniversary or birthday with a memorable trip. Whatever the motivation, these benefits apply across the board.
Avoiding more expensive types of care
Being the primary caregiver to a loved one is a difficult position. Most family caregivers do not receive financial reimbursement or support for the full-time care they offer.
Paying for care at a nursing home can be too expensive for a family to endure long-term costs. That is why many continue caregiving at the expense of their health despite feeling burned out and pulled in different directions (maintaining a paid full- or part-time job, raising children, or helping with the care of grandchildren.) Also, considering the average monthly cost of nursing home care at $7000+, per Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey, it’s understandable. Assisted living communities can also be expensive: per Genworth, the average monthly cost for an assisted living community is $4,500.
Your health maintenance
Burnout is real. Many family caregivers keep pushing themselves to juggle everything and ignore their body’s warning signs and fatigue. It is difficult to stop and think about who would step in to provide support if the primary family caregiver has an accident or falls ill. Will their health condition worsen if they require surgery but put it off because of their obligations? Respite care is not selfish; instead, it’s self-preservation to continue the caregiving marathon. The truth is that if you are a family caregiver, you don’t know when your next break is coming. While the care needs of a stroke victim, for example, may be more intense at the beginning, there may be many years of care ahead. Respite will be necessary for the long haul.
Family caregivers suffering from burnout can provide sub-optimal care. If the body is compromised by caregiving, how can optimal care for a loved one be assured? After a tough day, it’s tempting to plop down in front of the TV with a bag of chips or cookies and a bottle of wine, but those aren’t positive coping techniques.
Instead, put together a list of go-to coping strategies that are positive and healthy. The idea is to do things that will make you feel better in the short term and improve your health and well-being in the long term.
Suggestions for healthy coping strategies:
- Take a walk
- Meditate
- Do a 4-minute workout
- Practice some deep breathing
- Call, text, or visit with a friend
- Take a warm bath or shower
Costs of Respite Care Services
How much does respite care cost?
It depends on how often you use it and where your loved one receives it. Below are a few examples of respite care options.
Home-based respite care
You can access respite via home health care (medically-based care) and professional home care providers who may be Home Health Aide (HHA) or Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) certified. Costs will vary based on how many hours or days of service you need and the extent of care required. On average, you may pay approximately $35 to $50 per hour for intermittent help (medical or personal care) and around $450 per day or more for live-in care.
Care facility-based respite care
Many nursing homes, retirement communities, and assisted living facilities offer short-term respite stays on an hourly, half-day, full-day, overnight, or extended basis. The cost averages $100 to $250 per day, depending on the level of care needed. Some facilities may require a minimum number of nights or days to qualify as a respite stay.
Community-based respite care
Adult daycare, or adult day services, is a good option for respite, especially for caregivers who need coverage during daytime hours, freeing them to work, go to doctor’s appointments, sleep or focus on self-care. Genworth’s Cost of Care data estimates the cost of adult day services via a licensed provider ranges from $31 to $165 per day. Many also offer sliding-scale fees and accept Medicaid and some other types of insurance coverage.
There may also be some lower and even no-cost respite options in your community. Check with your Local Area Agency on Aging or the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center to learn more about options. Speak with local churches or community organizations to see if they provide respite care services, like meal delivery or friendly visitors. If your loved one is a veteran or the spouse of a veteran, there may be VA-associated respite options for which they are eligible.
Before you start adding up the numbers, remember that respite care’s goal is a short-term solution that will hopefully prevent or forestall the need for expensive long-term care. It’s also difficult to assign a dollar value to your health as a caregiver. Still, if you miss work days or caregiving days because of preventable illness or injury—or an emergency—these financial and physical losses are sure to outweigh the up-front expense of hiring respite care providers.
For information about respite care and home care services provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton in Massachusetts, please call 617-795-2727.
About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning home care agency that has been providing high-caliber at-home living assistance to seniors and people with disabilities for over eighteen years. Countless families have benefited from our respite care, elder companion support, live-in and 24-hour assistance, dementia and Alzheimer’s care, transitional aid, in-home care services in Westwood, Boston’s (Upper) Back Bay, Brookline, Canton, Dedham, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norwood, Roslindale, Stoughton, Watertown, Wellesley, and West Roxbury, and neighboring communities in Massachusetts. The non-medical assistance Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides can significantly impact your loved one’s happiness and quality of life.
Call us at (617) 795-2727 to book a free in-home consultation with one of our knowledgeable case managers today!