Short term relief
What Is Respite Care?
Short-term help at home, so the person who usually does the caring can rest.
Respite care is short-term help that gives a family caregiver a break, and Endurance Home Care, Stamford's family-founded homemaker companion agency, provides it by sending a vetted caregiver chosen for your parent, for a few hours, overnight or for days at a time.
Respite care gives the person who usually does the caring some time back. A caregiver comes to the home for the hours you choose and keeps the usual day going, while you rest, work or see to your own life. They help with the everyday things: company, meals and housekeeping, rides, medication reminders, a watchful eye and, where it’s needed, hands-on personal care. If you’ve been feeling worn down, it may help to read about the signs of caregiver burnout too.
What does a respite caregiver do?
You tell us how the day normally runs, and the caregiver keeps it going for the hours you name. Meals on the table, the kitchen tidied, conversation, a ride to an appointment, a reminder when a medication is due, and someone close by when your parent is moving around. Your parent stays at home, in their own routine.
Endurance runs hourly care, overnight care, 24/7 care and live-ins, and care in facilities, so relief arrives in whatever shape the break needs to take, including for a parent who lives in an assisted living community. We provide personal care in Connecticut and New Jersey. In New York we provide companion care, by the hour, overnight, live-in or around the clock. Here are the usual ways to arrange it.
- Personal care
- Homemaking
- Companion care
- Transportation
- Medication reminders
- Safety supervision
Ways to arrange a break
- A few hours backHOURLY
An afternoon a week for errands, an appointment or some rest of your own.
- A night of sleepOVERNIGHT
An awake caregiver through the night, so you can sleep.
- Days at a time24/7 OR LIVE-IN
A long weekend or a trip away, covered around the clock without moving anyone, with a live-in caregiver or caregivers working awake shifts.
- Where they live nowIN A COMMUNITY
Company and help in assisted living or a care community, on the days the family can't visit.
We’ll help you work out which fits. When you know roughly which hours you’d like covered, you can arrange respite care with Endurance.
Respite care for an elderly parent
If you’re looking into respite for your mother or father, you probably want someone to cover certain hours while your parent stays home and keeps their routine. That’s what respite at home is for.
Endurance was started by brothers Chris and Tom Weldon after they cared for their own grandmother, who was living with dementia. They know what it’s like to be the family member doing the caring, and that taking a break is part of keeping going. If cost is your next question, read what respite care costs.
Respite care gives you time to rest while someone vetted keeps your parent’s day carrying on as usual.
Most respite happens at home. A caregiver comes to the house, works the agreed hours and keeps the routine going, so nobody has to pack a bag, which is why families choose relief at home. If your parent already lives in an assisted living community or a rehabilitation building, we can provide one-to-one help there instead: company through the afternoon, a hand at mealtimes and someone with them on the days the family can’t be.
How do we set up respite care?
Call our care team and tell us which hours are hardest and how long you’d like to be away. We’ll talk through the schedule, choose a caregiver with your parent in mind and introduce them before the first visit. Endurance is registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection as a Homemaker Companion Agency and works across Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Endurance Home Care helps with daily life at home: company, meals, the house, errands, appointments and, where it's needed, hands-on personal care. For skilled nursing, home health aides or physical therapy in Connecticut, our separate company, Endurance Home Health, can help.
Questions families ask
What is respite care?
Respite care is short-term help that gives the family member who usually does the caring a break. A caregiver comes to the home for a few hours, overnight, for days at a time or around the clock, and keeps the usual day going: company, meals and housekeeping, personal care, medication reminders and a watchful eye. You get time to rest and see to your own life, and you come back feeling more like yourself.
How long can respite care last?
As long as you need the break to be. Respite can be one afternoon a week, a night's sleep with an awake caregiver on hand, a long weekend, or a couple of weeks while you travel. Endurance's care types run from hourly visits through overnight coverage to 24/7 and live-in arrangements, and you can repeat a break as often as it helps.
Is respite care only for dementia caregivers?
No. Respite is for anyone who has been carrying a steady load of care for someone, whatever the reason. Endurance's client stories run from years of Alzheimer's personal care to a mother who just needed a companion. One family wrote in a Google review: "My mom in Danbury just needed a companion and Endurance really came to our rescue." If someone depends on your time every week, a regular break can help you keep going.
What does respite care for an elderly parent look like day to day?
The caregiver keeps your parent's usual day going: meals and light housekeeping, company and conversation, help with bathing and dressing where it's needed, medication reminders and a hand getting around safely. You tell us how the day normally runs, and the caregiver follows it. You hand over the tasks for a while and come back to the same routine.
Let’s find you some time back
Tell us when you need a break and what your parent’s day looks like. We’ll explain how respite could work for your family. The first conversation is free, and nothing starts until you say so. Daily-living relief care across Connecticut and New Jersey, from an agency licensed by the state.