Working parents know how hard it can be to make time for themselves, especially when they’re shuttling between the office, the school, appointments and extracurriculars. Throw elder care into the mix and your free time just got a life sentence.
Sometimes all you need to recoup and rejuvenate your body and mind is a 24-hour getaway (say, at a nature-surrounded hotel in Western Mass, or a local wellness retreat). While it’s easy enough to get a babysitter, or pack the kids off to a relative’s house for the night, when you’re dealing with ailing elderly folk, coverage gets tricky and it becomes challenging to get away, even when you really need it.
Fortunately, you’re not in this alone! We’re here to help, and we’ve rounded up local home care services that can provide short-term, quality care for your loved ones while you escape for an overnighter.
Boston-area Elder Care Services
Home Instead Senior Care offers different levels of home care, from visitation, meal prep and small chores, to visits from registered nurses who specialize in Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other dementias. This is a particularly helpful option if you’re looking for round-the-clock care. If your loved one is bed-bound or living with physical or mental debilitations, Home Instead provides 24-hour assistance, either through shift services or, for longer periods, live-in care. Utilizing this option for a quick getaway is also a great way to test the waters for how you both feel about more serious care as their condition changes.
For loved ones who need assistance, but not constant care,
Always Here Home Care is a wonderful option. Caregivers provide in-home services such as personal grooming, laundry, cooking, cleaning and errand runs. They also provide companionship and rides to appointments or outings for entertainment to the movies, book club or bingo night. They do also have caregivers trained to handle a number of specialty circumstances, including, but not limited to, cancer patients, hospice patients and post-surgical patients.
Right at Home In Home Care & Assistance provides you with round-the-clock care or temporary check-ins, offering medical and non-medical care, cleaning, companionship and more. They also have great programs for transitional home care, if your parent was recently discharged from the hospital and is in recovery mode. If your parent is at an assisted living facility, but you need someone to take over the extra duties you perform (visitation, cooking, help with mail sorting or bills, etc.), this works, too!