Short-Term Stays Offer Flexibility to Seniors, Peace of Mind to Family Members and Caregivers

Respite care. Short-term stays. Winter stays.

These are all phrases used to describe a temporary living arrangement with a retirement residence.

It’s possible you’ve never been aware of this valuable option for senior or elderly care.

But many retirement homes certainly provide this service—even in Ottawa!

What qualifies as short-term?

It really depends on the residence.

Some homes offer stays as brief as one to two weeks.

Others may consider “short-term” as anything up to a period of a few months.

Plenty of Benefits

There are many reasons why short-term stays are beneficial—not only to seniors but to their family members and caregivers.

• To provide care while the family is out of town: Being that we live in a colder climate, many Canadians are “Snow Birds” who love to travel south in the winter. Vacationing family members and caregivers can rest assured that their loved one will not be left alone to fend for themselves while they are away.
• To offer specialized medical care after surgery: It can take a person several weeks to recover from a hip or knee replacement. Rather than relying on family, friends or caregivers for help, seniors can do a short-term stay in a retirement residence—and benefit from all the in-home care services provided by nurses and medical staff.
• To provide a safe place while work is being done on their house: Not everyone likes living in the chaos of renovations and repairs! A short-term stay in a retirement residence can provide a quieter, less intrusive and more comfortable option for seniors.
• To give caregivers some time off: Being a caregiver can be emotionally and physically exhausting. A short-term stay can offer temporary relief to these people—whether they’re going on vacation or if they just need a general break.

A perfect “trial run” option

Trying out “retirement residence living” is perhaps one of the neatest benefits of doing a short-term stay.

Choosing to move into a retirement residence can be an incredibly difficult, stressful (and even scary) decision for seniors and their family members!

It can also be challenging to convince seniors to consider moving into a retirement residence whether you’re their adult child, physician, social worker or another advisor.

But a temporary stay is a viable option that can help set everyone’s minds at ease.

Nobody needs to feel intimidated by the idea of or being “stuck” there, because a short-term stay is just that: short-term.

As such, without that added pressure, seniors can:

• Get a better feel for retirement residence living,
• Identify through experience what they like (and don’t like) in a residence, and
• Realize what their actual needs are.

They may even come to realize they love the care provided in the home and enjoy the social activities, amenities and people who live there.

And if they don’t like that particular residence? There are plenty other homes for the senior to try out and discover—until they find the best one that suits them.

Basically, a short-term stay can be the best way to experience all a retirement community has to offer.

Learn more about short-term stays

As part of Tea & Toast’s retirement living search service, our senior living advisors can help you or your loved one find the perfect retirement residence—whether in the long- or short-term.

Contact a retirement living advisor today.

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