Respite care

What it means

Respite can be delivered at home by a paid caregiver, at an adult day program, or as a short stay in a facility.

It is funded in different ways: some Medicaid programs, some long-term care policies, some veterans' programs, some local agencies, and often privately.

Hospice benefits typically include a short inpatient respite stay.

Why it matters

Caregiver exhaustion is a frequent reason a person moves permanently into a facility, and it is the most preventable.

It is also usually the last thing a caregiver asks for, which is why it is worth naming as a service rather than a favor.

When you are likely to meet it

• When one family member is providing most of the care.
• When a caregiver cannot leave the house.
• When a hospice team asks about support at home.

How this varies by state

What is available and who funds it differs by state. The federal hospice benefit covers respite, and the federally funded caregiver-support program pays for it through the state and area agencies on aging — so how much a family can get, and how they ask, is set locally.

Related terms

• Adult day servicesA daytime program providing supervision, activity and often health care outside the home.
• Area Agency on AgingA local agency, part of a national network, that arranges and coordinates services for older adults in its own area.
• Custodial careHelp with everyday living rather than medical treatment — bathing, dressing, eating, moving about. It is what most long-term care actually is.
• Eldercare LocatorA national public service that connects people to the aging services agency covering a particular address.
• Family and Medical Leave ActThe federal law giving eligible employees unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a seriously ill family member, or for their own condition.
• Geriatric care managerA professional, usually a nurse or social worker, hired to assess an older person's needs and coordinate their care.
• Home and community-based services waiverA Medicaid program paying for care at home instead of in a nursing facility.
• Home careNon-medical help at home — bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping, company. Medicare does not pay for it.
• Home healthSkilled clinical care delivered at home, ordered by a doctor. Medicare may pay for it while the clinical need lasts.
• HospiceCare that focuses on comfort rather than cure, for someone expected to live six months or less.
• Serious health conditionThe federal family leave law's definition of the illness that entitles an eligible employee to take protected leave.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Caregiving and work