Respite care placement in Torrance and the South Bay

The National Institute on Aging defines respite care as short-term relief for primary caregivers, giving them time to rest, travel or spend time with other family and friends. It can last from a few hours to several weeks. It can take place at home, in a health care facility or at an adult day care center.

The federal Administration for Community Living adds that respite can be planned or emergency-based. A planned break is easier to arrange, but a caregiver's own illness or a family emergency does not wait for a convenient date.

This page is about one kind of respite: a short stay in a licensed home. The Alzheimer's Association notes that long-term care communities may offer the option of a stay overnight, for a few days or for a few weeks. In California those are assisted living communities and board and care homes, which the state licenses as RCFEs, its residential care license for people 60 and over.

Not every home offers short stays, and those that do can only offer one when a room is open. Ask each home whether it has a minimum length of stay.

A short-term resident is still a resident. California's RCFE regulations describe what a licensed home does before it accepts anyone, and state law sets out what the admission agreement must contain. Expect a home to ask for these even for a two-week stay:

• A pre-admission appraisal. Someone from the home interviews your relative and you about care needs, medical background and what your relative can and cannot do alone.
• A medical assessment signed by a physician and made within the last year. The regulations say it includes the results of a tuberculosis examination and a record of current prescribed medications. Many homes use the state's Physician's Report form.
• An admission agreement. State law says it must describe what the basic fee covers, the charges for anything extra, the billing and payment policies, the refund policy and the conditions for ending the agreement.

According to the National Institute on Aging, professional respite services charge by the hour or by the number of days or weeks of care. The Alzheimer's Association says the cost of respite varies and is usually not covered by insurance or Medicare.

There are a few exceptions worth checking. For a person receiving hospice care, Medicare covers most of the cost of up to five consecutive days of respite care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. Medicaid may also provide payment assistance, and some long-term care insurance plans cover respite. Most private health insurance plans do not. Ask the plan, and for Medi-Cal questions ask the county.

Ask each home for its short-stay rate in writing, and what that rate includes. Rates vary by home and by how much care a person needs. Our guide to board and care costs explains what usually drives the monthly figure.

Hamssa Benrekia has worked in senior care for more than a decade and knows many local homes and their owners. That matters for respite, because the hard part is usually finding which homes have a room for your dates. She cannot promise that one will, and she will tell you plainly what she finds. She refers families only to homes licensed by the State of California that she has toured herself, after checking each one’s licensing record for citations and complaints.

If your relative is living with dementia, tell her at the start. The Alzheimer's Association notes that a person with dementia may have difficulty adjusting to a new environment, so the kind of home matters. See memory care placement.

1. 1

   A conversation

   Hamssa asks about your relative's care needs, health conditions, preferences, daily routine and budget, and the dates you need covered.

2. 2

   A short list

   She puts together a short list of homes that fit and that have told her they can take a short-term resident for those dates.

3. 3

   Tours together

   She schedules tours and goes with you. A short stay deserves the same look as a long one, so bring our tour checklist.

4. 4

   Talking terms

   She helps you talk through the short-stay rate, what it includes and the admission paperwork with the home.

5. 5

   A check-in

   She checks in after the move. If the stay goes well and you are thinking about something longer, you can talk through that too.

Call, text or WhatsApp Hamssa at 310-594-0694, or send a message. The conversation goes faster if you have these to hand:

• The dates you need, and how flexible they are.
• A current medication list with doses and how often each is taken.
• The names and numbers of your relative's doctors.
• What help your relative needs with bathing, dressing, eating, walking and using the toilet.
• Any equipment your relative uses, such as a walker, wheelchair or oxygen.
• A budget for the stay.