Only Your Family Can Decide What’s Best, But Use Our Experience As a Guide
The responsibilities of caring for a loved one grow over time. Care needs can start with stopping by after work to help with dinner, picking up prescriptions, or checking in on the weekends. However, as needs escalate, a family member may find themselves adding more to their plate out of love and a sense of duty to their loved one.
This arrangement works … until it doesn’t. At some point, there are more gaps to fill than one family member can handle. Your loved one’s needs may not match a family caregiver’s schedule, or caregiver burnout turns what was meant as helpfulness into something stressful.
At some point, the family begins to question the next best step. Should we add more family members into the mix to help? Should we look into professional caregiving?
Phoenix is here to help you take an honest look at the best path forward. Request care from our team today, find your Phoenix office, or call (855) 925-2939.
Providing Care as a Family Member
The decision to become a family caregiver is a powerful one. You are letting your family and your loved one know that you understand their needs, and you’re willing to meet them. Being that person can feel very rewarding, and it reassures your loved one that someone is there whom they can trust.
However, there is a lot to caregiving. In some ways, it is like a full-time job because of the time comment and the fact that there’s a lot to learn to be successful.
When a family member becomes a primary caregiver, they start managing hygiene, meals, medications, transportation, research into their loved one’s condition, companionship, safety concerns, appointments, phone calls, housekeeping, and more, all while also trying to maintain their own routines and life.
This list of tasks often leads to caregiver burnout. 20% of the 63 million caregivers in the United States report challenges to their health that are directly related to their role as a caregiver (AARP).
You may also find that at some point, your loved one’s needs require professional care, simply because you aren’t equipped with the expertise to care for them. The vast majority of family caregivers learn “on the job” and up to 30% don’t feel they’re necessarily prepared (Geriatrics Journal).
Phoenix recommends asking yourself these five questions to see if family caregiving is the best fit:
- Can you maintain a regular routine as a family caregiver?
- Do you have flexibility when the unexpected occurs?
- Do you have enough knowledge to meet your loved one’s specific needs?
- Do you have back-up family members who can provide help?
- Do you have a plan for self-care and respite when you experience caregiver burnout?
When Professional Caregiver Services Near You Can Step In
One of the most flexible forms of in-home care is private duty care. Private duty care is available in blocks of time from two hours up to 24/7 care.
This service meets the needs that a family caregiver may not be able to. There’s no concern about routines, flexibility, unpredictability, training, or burnout when you hire a professional caregiving agency that has a deep roster of talented team members.
Of course, a caregiver doesn’t replace family. Professional caregiver services simply handle the daily tasks, so that family members can focus on being family.
In-home caregiving services near you are even available if you do choose to rely on family caregiving as a primary form of care. Private duty caregiving can be used as respite care to give family members a break intermittently from their role to prevent stress and burnout.
Family members also find relief in private duty caregiving the caregiver starts to become something like a family member or close friend. A caregiver’s talent for connecting with your loved one also leads to a special relationship that they may not have experienced otherwise.
Get care from Phoenix. Find your location, request care online, or call (855) 925-2939.
When Does Family Caregiving Reach Its Limit?
Even if you’ve answered our five questions about whether your chosen family member can handle caregiving responsibilities, you still may find that, at some point, a change is needed. At Phoenix, we’ve found that the following signs indicate that a professional caregiver may offer a better solution than your current arrangement:
- Your loved one feels unsafe or anxious when a family member isn’t there.
- A family caregiver is showing signs of burnout, like lost sleep, calling in sick to work, or signs of depression or anxiety.
- There have been safety “near-misses,” such as falls or missed medications that a professional could have caught.
- There is too much confusion and miscommunication between family members about the right way for family caregivers to help.
- You have a sense that you need a plan before something goes seriously wrong.
Keep In Mind, It Doesn’t Have to Be “Either–Or”
We want to reiterate that bringing in professional caregiver services never means stepping back and letting go of your responsibilities or commitments to your loved one.
Hiring a professional is about restructuring “who does what,” so that your loved one is safe and cared for and your family is focused on being present, not feeling stressed by logistics and complicated emotions. There are still plenty of opportunities to give care to your loved one, even if a professional takes the reins for major routines and responsibilities.
Families who make the shift to private caregiving often describe the same experience: they’re able to actually be there, instead of feeling exhausted, worried, and on-the-go.
What all families want for their loved one is safety, stability, happiness, and comfort. Whatever your family decides, this goal can be achieved on your own or with a professional caregiver.
If you feel that in-home caregiver services near you might be the best solution for your loved one, we’re ready to serve.
Call us here: (855) 925-2939
