My elderly relative with demential spends most of her time in her home with her caregivers. We’ll be providing a few weeks of respite care in our home. I’ve been a caretaker for elderly relatives with dementia before, and I’ve assisted in the care of this relative, but she hasn’t been to our home in years. Help me to make this as smooth as possible. My elderly relative with dementia is typically cared for in their home by two other family members. Last night, I learned that one of those family members has a medical procedure scheduled for Monday with a recovery time of a few weeks. We’ll be caring for my elderly relative in our home during the recovery time.
My family and I have some experience in caring for people with dementia: We have assisted in the care of this relative. We have previously cared for another elderly relative with dementia in our home for an extended time. I grew up caring for an elderly relative with dementia. However, we have not done full-day/full-night care with this relative, and she has not been to our home in years. I’m concerned that being away from home will exacerbate her confusion.
We are working on preparing a place in our home for her, making the house safe for her, and picking up supplies. I’m also compiling a list of questions for her primary caregivers about a typical day’s structure, her diet, her medical needs, her medications/pharmacy info, her doctors/the doctors’ contact info, her medical insurance/insurance card(s) . . .
I’d be grateful for any recommendations about what else I might want to do to prepare, about what I should be aware of when providing respite care vs. being the primary caregiver, or about this situation in particular.
My family and I have some experience in caring for people with dementia: We have assisted in the care of this relative. We have previously cared for another elderly relative with dementia in our home for an extended time. I grew up caring for an elderly relative with dementia. However, we have not done full-day/full-night care with this relative, and she has not been to our home in years. I’m concerned that being away from home will exacerbate her confusion.
We are working on preparing a place in our home for her, making the house safe for her, and picking up supplies. I’m also compiling a list of questions for her primary caregivers about a typical day’s structure, her diet, her medical needs, her medications/pharmacy info, her doctors/the doctors’ contact info, her medical insurance/insurance card(s) . . .
I’d be grateful for any recommendations about what else I might want to do to prepare, about what I should be aware of when providing respite care vs. being the primary caregiver, or about this situation in particular.
