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Respite Care Mississauga

Various care services offer families reprieve from caregiving

Respite care for seniors in Mississauga helps families cope with caregiving over the long term. It can be provided for periods of anywhere from 24 hours, up to 60 days at a time, helping families cope with caregiving over the long term. Find options below.

Getting help to ease the burden of caregiving

There are a variety of options for families, including home care services, adult day programs and short term stays in a retirement home. For Mississauga and Brampton families dealing with dementia (notably Alzheimer's Disease), respite care is a helpful service from a variety of Peel Region health care options, backed by government subsidies available through the Home and Community Care Support Services. If you qualify, you can use up to 90 days per year of subsidized respite care, to have a reprieve from caregiving, or even a vacation. Taking a break can help make families better caregivers over the long run, when caring for a senior who may have long term care needs. 

You should be encouraged to seek respite care services as early as you need them and as often as they are available to you. For families facing a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or related long term degenerative disorders, you have to consider the value of taking care of yourself along the way.

Respite care options for Mississauga caregivers

Home care services in Mississauga and the GTA are an ideal way to spell off caregiving. These can be subsidized with the help of the CCAC; as such, families can reduce the burden of caregiving at a relatively low cost. Families who find these services advantageous might also budget money to pay for home care services on their own.  If your loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, respite care at home can be very helpful during the disease's early stages.  Studies have shown, for example, that relief from ADL care, especially, can help you feel more positive about caregiving over time.¹

Adult day programs are closely ancillary to home care, sometimes provided by the same company. These are another boon to caregiving and to seniors. Programs might include physical, mental and social exercises that "get the blood moving," certainly, but can also help alleviate some of the negative effects of Alzheimer's, including memory loss and depression. The social aspect of these programs can not be underestimated, either. When your beloved senior gets out and interacts with others his or her own age, they feel better. At some point, they will begin to look forward to participating. 

Retirement homes (as listed above) are an excellent resource for respite care, also. Many seniors care homes in the Peel Halton Region offer short terms care stays as part of their services, as long as they have a bed available. Your senior loved one can move into this home and be cared for around the clock. Care facilities are situated to offer optimal care, including trained staff, design for aging (and sometimes dementia), and other specialization. 

This has an added benefit in that you and your loved one can learn about the retirement home, getting a glimpse of what life is like in these retirement residences. This can help you preview seniors' care in your area, so you can learn which homes suit you best. From their perspective, homes can learn about your loved one's specific needs and preferences. 

Read reviews of Mississauga retirement communities before you commit to any senior care in the city of Mississauga.

The distinct advantages of respite in a memory care home

Numerous Mississauga memory care homes have specialized facilities that can provide your loved one with professional memory care that includes the following:

• Facilities design for superior safety, ranging from accessibility features to hallways that may be colour-coded and/or otherwise designed to limit disorientation associated with some dementias.
• Nursing staff that is professionally trained in strategies and practices of gerontology and elder care.
• Therapies and facility features that help treat symptoms of dementia and alleviate some effects of Alzheimer's Disease. These are widely varied from one residence to the next but some examples are the availability of light therapy, programs like Java Music, and other variations.  See a list of therapies offered in Alzheimer's care wards.

Mississauga, Brampton and Peel-Halton families are fortunate to live in a progressive-minded city close to many world-class health care facilities. Help in the area includes cutting-edge healthcare research in downtown Toronto, progressive-minded, up-to-date care homes that facilitate the latest updates in elder care and dementia care, and a great variety of local services that can provide respite stays of varying kinds, to help families provide superior long term care for senior family members. 

More sources and resources for families

¹Hilgeman et al. "Positive Aspects of Caregiving." Psychol Aging. 2007 Jun; 22(2): 361–371. 

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