You might be able to check-in on mom or dad during lunch breaks or throughout the week, but not 24 hours a day. As your parents age, they will require more extensive care than you can provide as a family caregiver.
Are you considering 24-hour personal care for a loved one? Stowell Associates offers 24/7 in-home senior care as an alternative to assisted living homes for older adults.
In this article, we’re going to answer the frequently asked question: “What is the difference between live-in care and 24 hour personal home care?”
If your loved one requires around-the-clock care, this article will help you understand how to get them the right level of support.
24 Hour Care In-home vs. Live-in Senior Care
At face value, live-in and 24-hour care seem very similar. If a caregiver “lives in” the home of an older adult, they’re providing 24-hour care, right? Well, not exactly. “Live-in” help for elderly adults and 24-hour care “in-home” have some key differences.
Let’s define a live-in caregiver and a 24 hr caregiver so you have a better understanding of each.
Live-in Caregiver
Live-in caregiver definition: A live-in caregiver supports older adults with ADLs, the same way an in-home caregiver does. Instead of coming and going during the day, live-in caregivers stay in your loved one’s home for a 24 hour period, or longer, and require a sleeping bed.
Learn more about the difference between in-home vs. live-in care.
However, live-in caregivers are allowed to sleep up to 8 hours at night and are provided a 4-hour break during the day, which you can choose to pay for coverage or not. Due to the mandatory sleeping break, your loved one has no direct supervision at night by a live-in caregiver.
If your loved one has mobility issues and can’t walk to the bathroom at night, frequently sleepwalks, or has trouble sleeping due to Alzheimer’s, they shouldn’t be left alone overnight. In this case, live-in senior care is not the best option available for your aging parent.
24 Hour Caregiver
24-hour caregiver definition: A 24 hr caregiver is typically on rotation with two to three other caregivers who switch out every 8 to 12 hours. 24-hour caregivers provide overnight care, which is crucial for aging adults who wander due to dementia.
You may be wondering, “Can overnight caregivers sleep?” No. Sleeping breaks are not provided to 24-hour caregivers, meaning your loved one is physically cared for around-the-clock. One of the greatest benefits of hiring a 24 hr caregiver is the overnight care and supervision they provide to older adults.
What is Overnight Care?
Overnight care is part of the responsibility inherited by qualified 24-hour caregivers. Overnight caregivers stay awake their entire shift to vigilantly supervise your loved one at night. As mentioned above, a single caregiver wouldn’t provide ongoing care for a whole 24-hour period.
At a minimum, around-the-clock care recipients receive support from a daytime caregiver and supervision in the evening from a different overnight caregiver. Some adult children even prefer to split up 24 hour home care into 8-hour shifts by requesting a rotation of three different caregivers—this is the model Stowell Associates uses.
Overnight Caregiver Duties
Overnight caregiver duties cover a range of needs that a loved one may require at night:
- Supervise older adults who sleepwalk.
- Help seniors get up to use the bathroom.
- Reassure seniors who experience nighttime disturbances.
- Provide emotional support to seniors whose depression or anxiety spirals in the evening.
By no means is this an exhaustive list, but the goal of overnight care is to provide professional support, safety, and assurance to elderly adults during the evening hours. Ultimately, overnight caregivers provide peace of mind to both loved ones and their families.
Night Care for Seniors: We Don’t Sleep on the Job
Has your loved one recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness? Did they experience a fall at home? Are they currently in post-surgery recovery? These reasons and others may cause you to consider 24/7 in-home senior care for a loved one.
Stowell Associates provides around-the-clock care to older adults by putting qualified caregivers on 8-hour shifts throughout a 24 hour period. The timely rotation ensures that each caregiver is at their maximum level of alertness.
Our overnight caregivers do not sleep on the job; they’re awake, alert, and available to help 24/7. If your loved one needs assistance all day and all night, 24-hour care is your best option. Contact our Care Team today to learn more about 24-hour personal care to support your aging loved one around-the-clock.
