Non-medical home care

Respite care in Sacramento

The person caring for a spouse or parent is usually the one closest to collapse and the last one to ask. Respite care exists so that a family caregiver can go to their own doctor, sleep, or leave town without the whole arrangement falling over.

A caregiver sitting talking with an older woman on the sofa while her daughter leaves the house for the afternoon — Talk it through first

A person answers at any hour, and the first visit to the house costs nothing.
Call (916) 229-8120

Free in-home assessment
A person answers, 24 hours a day
Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties

Why families call about respite care

Family caregivers do not usually ask for help until something has already gone wrong: their own surgery, a shingles flare, a job they can no longer hold on to. Respite is not something you earn by being exhausted enough first. It is the maintenance that stops the whole arrangement from collapsing.

Who respite care is for

A husband or wife who has become a full-time caregiver
An adult child holding down a job and a parent's care at once
A family with a wedding, a surgery or a vacation coming up
Anyone who has not had a full day off in months

What a caregiver does

What respite care looks like day to day

Cover from a few hours to several weeks, days or nights
The same personal care, meals and companionship the regular routine involves
A caregiver introduced before you leave, not on the morning you go
A proper handover on how the days went while you were away

Where this stops

Respite covers the non-medical part of what the family caregiver does. If the person at home needs clinical care while you are away, that has to be arranged separately, and we will say so at the assessment rather than the week before you fly.

How it starts

Starting respite care with Guiding Souls

You call

At any hour. Tell us what is happening at home and we will tell you honestly whether this is the right kind of help.

We visit the house

Free, and no obligation. We look at the routine and the layout, then put a plan and a clear cost in writing before anything begins.

You meet your caregiver

Matched on skills and on temperament, and introduced before care starts. A second familiar face is kept ready for vacation and sick days.

What changes the cost of respite care

The practical question with respite is rarely the hourly cost. It is notice. A standing Tuesday afternoon is far easier to staff well than two weeks booked at short notice, and how well we can staff it is what decides whether your parent gets a face they already know. Tell us the dates as early as you have them and we will try to hold that caregiver. The more notice we have, the better that goes.

Our guide to what home care costs in Sacramento walks through hourly, live-in and around the clock pricing, and how families pay for home care in California covers long-term care insurance, IHSS and VA benefits.

Questions families ask

Respite care questions, answered

If yours is not here, ask it on the phone: (916) 229-8120. Or read our guide to how to talk to a parent about home care.

How far ahead do I need to book respite care?

The more notice the better for a good match, but call either way. Guiding Souls Home Care answers at (916) 229-8120 at any hour, across Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties, and short notice is exactly what that phone is for.

Can respite care be overnight?

Yes, including several nights in a row so you can travel.

Will my father accept a stranger while I am gone?

That is exactly why we introduce the caregiver before you leave, usually over a short visit while you are still in the house.

Related care

Tell us what is happening at home

One call, at any hour, and a free visit before anything is decided. No contract, and a caregiver only once the match is right.

Call (916) 229-8120 Request a free assessment

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