Colorado Springs Senior AdvisorWhat are the warning signs of caregiver burnout?
Constant fatigue, poor sleep, irritability, skipping your own medical care, withdrawing from friends, and feeling resentful or hopeless; when the caregiver's health starts to fail, the arrangement is no longer safe for either person.
A spouse caring for a spouse is at particular risk. In Colorado Springs, many couples moved here for the military or retirement and have no grown children nearby, so the burden falls on one person.
What respite options exist around Colorado Springs?
Short respite stays in assisted living residences or nursing homes, adult day programs, a few hours of in-home care, and family caregiver support services through the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging.
Health First Colorado's EBD waiver can pay for respite and adult day services for those who qualify, and VA caregiver programs serve eligible veterans' caregivers. Ask assisted living residences about furnished respite apartments; availability changes with occupancy.
When should a caregiver consider assisted living or memory care?
When the care needed is more than one person can safely give, when nights are broken by wandering or toileting, when lifting is beyond the caregiver's strength, or when the caregiver's doctor says to stop.
A move can improve the relationship: the caregiver goes back to being a spouse or a daughter. Plan it with a trial respite stay if possible.
How can a working caregiver in Colorado Springs keep a job and keep caring?
By combining adult day care on workdays, a few hours of home care for the gaps, and the job protections that may apply, such as unpaid family leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act at larger employers and Colorado's FAMLI paid family leave program.
Talk with the employer's human resources office before a crisis, ask about flexible schedules, and keep a written plan for who covers when the person you care for is sick. Many caregivers in the Pikes Peak region also lean on church volunteers and neighbors for transport to appointments; write down who has offered and take them up on it.
What does respite in a Colorado Springs assisted living residence involve?
A short stay, usually a week to a month, in a furnished apartment with the same care, meals and supervision as permanent residents, after the residence completes its pre-admission assessment.
Book early for holidays and summer. A respite stay doubles as a trial: if the stay goes well, the move later is easier.
Side by side
| Sustainable caregiving has | Burnout looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| Breaks | Regular respite and days off | No time off for months |
| Help | Paid or volunteer help on a schedule | Doing everything alone |
| Health | The caregiver's own appointments kept | Postponed checkups and new symptoms |
| Plan | A known next step if needs grow | No plan B |
Drawn from 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7, CDPHE and HCPF publications, CareScout, CMS, the VA and the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging; our editorial standards explain how we check them.
