Inscription
Once we have received your application form and analyzed it, we will contact you by telephone to complete a registration form. This telephone appointment lasts around 1.5 hours, and its purpose is to fill out a detailed questionnaire on your loved one’s health. This is an important step, as it enables us to:
- assess the admissibility of your application;
- understand your situation and that of your loved one, which is unique;
- offer the best possible match with one of our respite workers;
- prepare the respite worker with the proper tools, as she will use this information to support your loved one.
After analyzing your registration form, we will contact you by telephone to let you know if your respite request has been accepted.
Don’t hesitate to share your questions or concerns with us. We’re here to help you.
Please let us know if you’ve had respite work services in the past and would like to have the same respite worker accompany your loved one again. We’ll do our best to accommodate your request, depending on the availability of the respite worker on the requested dates.
Prior to the baluchonnage, you will receive three documents by mail (or e-mail, depending on your preference): the “In-Home Respite Care Guide: Respite for Caregivers” the “Data Collection” document, and the “Agreement.” The Agreement is a contract in which both parties agree to respect the dates requested, as well as the conditions of the baluchonnage. It must be returned to us duly signed before the start of the baluchonnage.
Some specifics about the in-home respite care (baluchonnage)
During your respite time, the caregiver provides 24-hour support to your loved one. She follows the usual rhythm of your loved one’s activities and refers to the information gathered on the registration form, during the transition day and in the data collection.
Presence of another person
We emphasize the importance of a third party not being present in your loved one’s home for the duration of the in-home respite care service. We recommend that the respite worker remain alone with your loved one, so that a bond of trust can be established, and she can properly exercise her professional role. Experience has clearly shown that the presence of a third person makes it much more difficult to develop a relationship of trust between the respite worker and your loved one, as he or she will instinctively refer to the person he or she knows best. However, we encourage you to maintain your usual visits: friends, neighbours, family members, etc., especially if these are regular weekly visits. We do, however, ask visitors to inform the respite worker of their arrival.
If caregivers don’t know where to stay during their respite time, we offer the Baluchon Getaway program.
Please note: If your loved one is at the end of life or in palliative care, your presence at his or her side is necessary. In this case, the respite worker is rather on site to support you, the caregiver, and allow you to take a break in the day.
Transition day between two respite workers
In the case of longer baluchonnages, it may be necessary for two respite workers to take turns. If this is the case, the first respite worker provides an introduction and initiates the second respite worker into the home. This day is known as the “respite worker transition day.”
Care journal
During her stay, the respite worker keeps a Care Journal for you. In it, she records the course of the day and her observations for you. You will receive the journal a few weeks after your return. Someone from clinical services will contact you to make sure that the observations, strategies and personalized advice (e.g., for dealing with difficult situations) recorded in the journal are useful to you, and that it is helping you to exercise your role as a caregiver more comfortably.
Evaluation of the baluchonnage
Following the baluchonnage, we’ll send a “Baluchon Long-term Respite Care Service Evaluation” questionnaire, in which you can express your opinion. We are as attentive to your dissatisfaction with any aspects as we are to your positive comments.