Are You Frustrated? Feeling Burned out?
As family caregivers we are often thrown into the role of care giver unexpectedly. We often are not prepared & have little ability to plan for it. It is common for a spouse or family caregiver to try to keep their loved one at home, but is this really the best plan for all involved? Over time, this plan does come at an expense; socially, physically, emotionally, & financially, not only for the infirmed person but the caregiver as well. Unfortunately, the negative impacts are often disregarded.
Social Relationships Suffer
leading to frustration & sometimes resentment, whether between the caregiver & the infirmed person, or outside relations with husbands or wives, children, friends or work because the caregiver no longer has the time or energy required to maintain relationships and participate in their own personal actives.
Physical & Emotional Health Suffer
maybe the caregiver is advanced in age themselves or have their own medical issues that prevent them from being able to assist with the physical care needs like transferring, bathing, dressing, etc. Family caregivers often do not get the sleep they need due to worry and or frequent wakening’s during the night to assist their loved one. It is often difficult to have a good quality sleep and be productive & functional the next day. Lack of sleep, worry & increased stress all have a negative effect on one’s physical and emotional health.
Finances suffer
people often do not consider the financial drain for both the senior & the caregiver. If the caregiver is a spouse, the shared savings and resources are often drained very quickly because people choose to keep their loved one at home (which is the most expensive care option). Only 4 hrs. a day can cost $3000 per month. Many believe their health insurance will cover the expenses. That is untrue. Medicare DOES DO NOT PAY FOR ANY LONG-TERM CARE. Medicare only covers Acute Care, which is short term or rehab, it does not cover Chronic Care needs individuals and their families face.
Another common financial drain is from missed work days. Adult children may be forced to choose between work, or their parents care needs which often prompts them to seek paid assistance at home or a respite type care.
Frustrations with Finding The Right Care Setting
It may seem relatively easy to manage at home when the needs are minimal, and the infirmed person does not require constant supervision and or physical assistance. As needs quickly increase & the infirmed person requires supervision & assistance through the night or needs help with bathing & incontinent care, many wives or husbands, sons or daughters may not be prepared, physically able or feel comfortable bathing or providing personal care to their loved one. It is at this point, people consider getting a paid caregiver to assist you at home.
Unfortunately, the majority of the public is misinformed and receive incomplete information on the relative value, costs, and long-term benefits of the various Senior Care Choices. Most people really believe that their loved one is better off at home with them and an outside caregiver. This option is only a short-term solution as it is extremely expensive (see the cost comparison table). It does not alleviate any of the unspoken consequences we mentioned above. In fact, it is likely to make all of those problems worse.
They do not consider that while the agency provides a person to be a “sitter” more or less, the caregivers have very basic skills, minimal training and the agency provides very little oversite or coordination of care.
The family care giver is still responsible for instructing & supervising the caregiver at home, having to contend with the revolving door of changing caregivers and lack of trust that comes with this care option.
Many fail to consider they may be doing more harm by keeping their loved one at home and exposing the family caregiver or spouse to all of the negative consequences. Potentially, worsening the caregiver’s health and putting the infirmed person with the chronic illness at risk of losing their best, most needed resource, the healthy spouse or family caregiver. (See Why Home Care and Adult Day Care tend to fail).
Long Term Care Options
In general, Assisted Livings provide a little more coordination & supervision but still have several draw backs as well, such as low staff and frequent staff turnover. Families often are still providing quite a bit of addition time supervising & attending to the needs of their loved one.
We know that it is very difficult to find high quality, safe, reliable care. Many people have well founded fears of what they get in many care settings, including lack of accountability, lack of consistently and coordination of care, theft, abuse & neglect that exists in many Health and Senior Care settings.
Tender Loving Care Senior Living is different. We are truly one of a kind. We are easily accessible 24 hr.’s a day to our staff, residents and their families for support and answers to any questions that arise. We are a small family-based setting. Our focus, is not only, to provide the best care for our residents, but to also to provide the needed support, relief and peace of mind to the resident’s family. Allowing the spouse or family caregiver to relax and focus more on the visits and positive interactions instead of all the stress involved in being a one person show and sole caregiver.
Our services are more cost effective and a better value than most other senior care options like assisted living, in- home one to one care or nursing home. (see the Cost Comparison here)
At TLCSL, we believe the excellent leadership, management, and communication, make the difference in the actual care received. This promotes professionalism, trust and ongoing relationships which fosters true caring & compassion when providing care to our residents.