How much is the going rate for a caregiver to stay overnight and take care of my dad who has Stage 4 dementia?

talkey, I know what you mean.  One time I went away for the weekend and I also was an emotional mess worrying about my parents back at their home who were doing fine, but still living in their house which had a lot of stairs and my folks were in their 90's.

There was no cellphone service so I needed to call my parents couple times a day via a pay phone. Or constantly went back to my hotel room to see if there was a written note on my door to call home :P Had to cut the trip short as this wasn't relaxing at all !!

There are many facilities near me that offer respite. Some are SNFs and some are more like AL. I did use a SNF for Dad once for a week. I was told they would have his bed ready and a nurse would be available to "check him in" (his person, clothing, toiletries, and meds), and so we set an appointment for drop-off. They were not ready at all, and so it was quite an atmosphere of chaos as we tried to meet our departure time for our trip. I made sure Dad had some visitors while we were gone, and as far as I could tell, his care was at least adequate, but I was an emotional mess and unable to enjoy our time away.

Tina, I agree with cmagnum's post above should you decide to keep Dad at home while you are gone. Plus using a professional Agency, just in case one of the caregivers is unable to keep his/her shift, the Agency can quickly find another caregiver. For my own Dad I used a small combination key box on the front door that the Agency had the combo numbers.

The reason for have 3 shifts is so that the caregiver doesn't get burnt out. At the end of their shift they go home and become refresh for the next day shift. It is well worth the cost. Make sure there are enough groceries for 2 weeks, unless your Dad is able to out with the caregiver to the grocery store, and there is a credit card or cash available for the caregiver to use.

I also like the idea of respite care at a local assisted living facility. Some facilities keep a couple rooms available just for these requests. But one has to plan ahead as the rooms could full up. That way Dad is in a facility that has 24 hour nurse, and all of his meals are provided, no worry about groceries. And who knows, Dad may like being there around people of his own age group :)

Don't try to scrimp on cost since you will be far away from home. Nothing worse then getting a call from a private caregiver saying she can't do this work any more and her last day is tomorrow. One reason to use a well known caregiver agency or put Dad into respire care.

Self pay usually. However, I believe Medicare and Medicaid will pay for respite stays at a nursing home if the patient is on hospice. I think my brain is a bit fuzzy on this. It has been awhile.

Hi MsMadge. Would you mind explain to me how respite works? Also how do you pay for it? Self or Medicaid or ?

Being that far away for 2 weeks, you might want to consider respite in either memory care or assisted living

I'm not sure what behavior issues occur at stage 4 but it could be quite difficult to have strangers coming in and out

Caregivers are generally $20-$25 an hour through an agency and there's no guarantee they can staff

You might want to hire 3 caregivers for 8 hour shifts each for each day that you are away. Have a great trip!

There are caregivers for hire through home health agencies. That is generally a better route that just picking some random person.

You might want to check on a memory care facility for your dad for while you are away.
You could also call the Area Agency on Aging for suggestions.
I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip.