What Can Respite Care Do for Your Family?
So many caregivers feel as if there’s no way for them to be able to take a real break. That’s where respite care can come in, making it easier for you to leave your family member with developmental disabilities in experienced hands.
You Can Get a Much-needed Break
Family caregivers have a tough job and most of them tackle that job with very few breaks, no vacation days, and with only a little bit of help. Having respite care assistance from professionals who understand what it’s like to help someone with developmental disabilities can feel like a miracle.
Taking regular time away allows you to take mental and physical time away from being a caregiver. That can be the key to you being able to continue as a caregiver.
Trained Professionals Are with Your Family Member
For so many caregivers, it’s nerve-wracking to leave at all. But knowing that your family member is in the hands of someone who has experience dealing with her specific needs can be such a relief for you. It can take some time for you to build your trust, but that’s what respite care can do for you. It allows you to recharge yourself while you slowly learn that everything is okay and will continue to be okay.
Respite Care Doesn’t Have to Be about Hitting Targets
While respite care is a break for you, it can also be a break of sorts for your family member. Much of her time is likely spent trying to hit goals and master tasks, especially when she’s working with a variety of different professionals on specific life skills. But respite care doesn’t have to be about hitting any targets. It can be just as much a break for your family member as it is for you.
You Can Combine What You Need with What Your Family Member Needs
Ultimately both you and your family member benefit greatly from respite time. Having a break from each other allows you both to take a deep mental breath and come back to the situation with a different perspective. That old saying about absence making the heart fonder might not be completely accurate, but you can both be a little happier to see each other after a couple of hours in other situations.
Letting go, even for a little bit, can allow you to be more on top of things when you return to your caregiving duties. That has a powerful impact on both your well-being and the well-being of the rest of your family.
If you are considering residential habilitation in Zionsville, IN, please call the caring staff at RSI Cares. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: 317-471-0750.
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where shewasthe In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
Etelka was honored as a “Health Care Hero” by the Indianapolis Business Journal. The issue can be read online here:
http://mags.ibj.com/activemagazine/welcome/html/ibjhch.html.
After clicking on the link, then click on the image of the issue’s front page. After that, you can browse through the issue or click in a box near the top of your internet browser to adjust the page to 17, which is where Etelka’s article appears.
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