As the population ages, and life expectancies rise, so does the need for care-giving. In an aging US population, 9 million people take care of someone with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, for example. Yet “most caregivers do not take respite vacations because they see them as an admission of failure, or they worry that something will happen while they are away. A paradox of caring for an elderly relative is that the burden is so big, many feel they cannot share it.” [Feel free to use the ChangeArtist forum].

Care-giving can have a strain on the involved family members, to include higher rates of depression, hypertension, sleep disorder, heart disease, and death. In response, a new trend is ‘respite care’ centers, aimed not at the sick or frail person, but at the exhausted spouse, child, or friend.

Some nursing homes or assisted-living facilities offer spare beds for short-term respite stays. “In Northern California, the Family Caregiver Alliance runs a weekend camp four times a year for care recipients, so family members can get away” or take a break. St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care offers one of the few dedicated overnight respite facilities to provide an alternative to nursing homes. They also have daycare for children and adults, allowing them to interact.

Throughout the US, local chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association connect people in need of respite care with available resources and some chapters provide respite scholarships via grants. “In Germany, Alzheimer’s groups have offered ‘assisted vacations’ in which family members can travel to a resort destination together, and still have access to skilled medical care. The aging of baby boomers and their parents may bring such services to the United States.”

(Source: New York Times “For Families of the Ailing, a Brief Chance to Relax,” 8.19.08).

Category: Aging Body · Aging Mind · Body · Mind