Lakeland Senior AdvisorHow can I tell that caregiving is burning me out?
Tiredness that sleep does not cure, a short temper, dropping friends and activities, skipping your own medical care and a sense that nothing will ever change are the common signs, and left alone they lead to a crisis for both caregiver and parent.
Spouses in their seventies and eighties who care for a partner at home are especially at risk, and so are adult children working full time in Lakeland or commuting to Tampa or Orlando while caring evenings and weekends.
Where can a Polk County caregiver find respite?
Adult day care centers cover weekdays; many assisted living facilities take short respite stays, which count toward their staffing minimums under rule 59A-36.010; and Senior Connection Center can arrange in-home respite for families who qualify.
Polk County has 2 AHCA-licensed adult day care centers: Beautiful Minds Social Center, LLC in Lakeland, Sunrise for A Happy Life Adult Day Care I, Inc in Lakeland. Some assisted living facilities also take day participants.
Does Medicare pay for respite?
Only within hospice: Medicare's hospice benefit pays for up to five days of inpatient respite at a time in an approved facility so the caregiver can rest; otherwise respite is paid privately or through Medicaid, Alzheimer's programs or long-term care insurance.
If your parent is on hospice, ask the hospice to build respite into the plan of care.
When is moving a parent the right call?
When the caregiver's own health is failing, nights have become constant work, or safety cannot be kept even with help, a move to assisted living or a nursing home protects both people.
The guilt is real, and so is the experience of families who say they became closer once the caregiver was no longer exhausted.
Can a family caregiver be paid in Florida?
Sometimes: some Florida Medicaid long-term care plans offer participant-directed care, in which the enrollee hires a caregiver, who may be a relative other than a spouse, and the plan pays an hourly wage.
Ask the plan's case manager whether participant direction is available.
Where do Polk County caregivers find support groups?
Senior Connection Center keeps current lists of caregiver support groups and education programs in the county, including groups for dementia caregivers; call 1-800-336-2226.
Hospitals and congregations in Lakeland, Winter Haven and Lake Wales host groups as well.
Built from Chapters 408, 429 and 651, Florida Statutes; Florida Administrative Code chapters 59A-36 and 65A-2; AHCA, DCF, OIR and Department of Elder Affairs publications; and the CareScout and VA rate tables cited on this page. Our editorial standards explain how each figure is checked.
