Respite care is not easily found in communities that are underserved by professional organizations or where funding is literally a shoestring budget that makes it almost impossible for the average kinship caregiver to afford the cost of a respite care worker. Perhaps following the old adage that need is the mother of invention those family caregivers needing a break but being unable to find a professional respite care worker have identified other potential sources for help: adult sitters.

An adult sitter is not generally someone with medical training but instead a volunteer who will become a companion more than a caregiver. This of course is not a workable solution if you are caring for a patient who has extensive medical needs and requires skilled nursing assistance frequently during even a short period of time. In the same vein, this is not an appropriate avenue for an outing that lasts longer than two to four hours.

On the flipside, for those quick outings, like a run to the store or a night out with the spouse to catch a movie, these are wonderful options for enlisting the help of an adult sitter. Such a sitter may be a boy scout in search of a merit badge. Perhaps your local faith community has a campus student ministry and for an inconsequential amount of money, a meal, and perhaps also the use of the laundry room a student would be willing to spend some time with your family member and be a companion.

In some cases there are ways of having the adult sitting take place outside your home. This is a good solution only in cases where the patient requires little medical intervention and is overall ambulant and able to follow instructions. You may consider leaving him in the care of a volunteer coordinator at a charity he enjoys. If he is an avid reader, he may enjoy being in the company of children during story hour and maybe even do the reading. The library staff and other volunteers could look after his needs and ensure that he feeling well, while you may take this opportunity to take a bit of a breather.

Respite care is a must if your loved one has medical needs that involve the facilitation of toileting or the administration of medicines or shots. This is not something you may entrust to an untrained volunteer, even if the individual is more than willing to step in and help out in this capacity. The problems associated with liability and also potential insurance repercussions need to be considered well in advance of permitting this kind of peer or volunteer adult sitter arrangement.

Should you opt for an adult sitter, make sure you either personally know the individual, the organization she or he represents, and have also taken the time to interact with the person to ensure she or he is the right companion for your loved one. After all, pairing an introvert with an extravert is not always a good idea; neither is pairing an art lover with a connoisseur of comic books.

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