A Real Break for the Caregiver Who Does It All

If you are caring for an aging parent or a spouse, you already know it is one of the hardest jobs there is, and it does not come with days off. Respite care is how you get a few. It means a trained Comfort Keepers caregiver steps in so you can rest, go to work, keep your own appointments, or just breathe, knowing your loved one in Cherry Hill is in good hands while you are away.

Comfort Keepers has cared for seniors since 1998, and our Cherry Hill office has served Camden and Burlington County families since 2007.

What respite care can look like

Respite is built around your schedule, not ours. It can be a few hours a couple of afternoons a week so you can run errands or see friends, a standing weekly break you can count on, a weekend, or full coverage while you travel or recover from your own surgery. During that time our caregiver does what you do: companionship, meals, help with bathing and dressing, medication reminders, and a watchful eye, all following the plan our nurse sets.

Taking a break is not giving up

Family caregivers run themselves down. Skipped meals, lost sleep, missed doctor visits of their own, and a slow burnout that creeps up until something gives. Stepping away for a few hours does not mean you are failing your loved one. It is what keeps you healthy enough to keep showing up for them. We will say it plainly: you cannot pour from an empty cup, and you do not have to.

The same nurse-led care, even for a few hours

A respite visit is not a stranger filling a chair. Our dedicated Director of Nursing, Carol Feliciano, BSN, RN, sets the plan of care so whoever covers for you knows your loved one's routine, their medications, and what to watch for. Your single point of contact is a dedicated Client Care Coordinator, Charice Creecy, who goes by CC, who arranges the schedule and supervises the caregivers. We try to send the same familiar caregiver each time. We will be honest that with last-minute coverage we cannot always promise the very same person, but we keep the group small and brief them well.

How to set up respite care

It starts with a phone call to Kyra, our intake coordinator, who listens to what your weeks look like and sends a written preliminary care plan before you commit to anything. There is no long-term contract, so you can use respite as much or as little as you need. Reach our Cherry Hill office at (856) 857-6120.

Call (856) 857-6120 Plan a Break

Common questions about respite care

What exactly is respite care?
Respite care is short-term, scheduled help so the family caregiver can take a break. A trained caregiver covers for you for a few hours, a day, a weekend, or while you are away, and your loved one stays home with their routine intact.

How flexible are the hours?
Very. Respite can be a couple of short visits a week, a regular standing break, or full coverage while you travel. There is no long-term contract, and you can scale it up or down as your needs change.

How do families pay for respite care?
Most families pay privately or through long-term care insurance, and when a policy covers it we file the paperwork and bill the insurer directly. We are private-pay and do not work through Medicaid or state programs. Many veterans and surviving spouses can also use the VA Aid and Attendance benefit, and Comfort Keepers is an official VA provider. If your loved one has a dementia diagnosis, ask us about Medicare's GUIDE program, which can help cover in-home respite for some families. Call us and we will talk through the options.

Will my loved one be comfortable with someone new?
That is exactly why a nurse sets the plan first and why we try to send the same familiar caregiver each time. Many families start with a short visit while they are still home, so everyone gets comfortable before the first real break.

How do you screen your caregivers?
A background check is only the minimum. We also check references, our nurse does a hands-on skills assessment, and we keep detailed notes over time. We employ our caregivers and take responsibility for them, and we are accredited by NIHCA to a hospital-grade standard.