Overnight Care

Marjorie and Harold have been married for 53 years and rarely spent a night apart. Lately, Marjorie has been attempting to sleep in a different room since Harold is up all night, but instead of sleeping, she spends the night listening for his activity and checking on him.

With Harold’s advancing dementia, he is now up and active though much of the night. It takes hours for him to settle, and even once he does settle, it’s typically short-lived before he’s up and pacing again. Marjorie is exhausted and hasn’t had a proper night’s sleep in months.

Marjorie was initially very hesitant to enlist caregiving support. She insisted she was managing and that she could do it. She was partly right—she was doing it. But she is mistaken that she can manage it indefinitely. No one can manage indefinitely in a sleep deprived state, and she was beginning to fray without realizing it.

Their caregiver arrived in the evening in time to interact with both Marjorie and Harold before bedtime. When Harold was out of bed at midnight, the caregiver remained at his side and provided reassurance. When, every few minutes, he wanted to look for Marjorie, caregiver Kim reassured him each time that Marjorie is sleeping, and we’ll see her at breakfast in the morning.

When Harold slowed down, Kim encouraged him to get ready for bed again. The pattern repeated a few times throughout the night, all while Marjorie was finally getting the proper night’s sleep that she deserves.

Your aunt is about to be discharged after a 6-week hospitalization. The idea of being at home alone at night is making her nervous, especially because it was in the middle of the night when she fell and fractured her hip.

She did some physio in the hospital, but her walking is unsteady and she’s still getting used to her walker. Her family is concerned about her and worried that in her rush to get to the bathroom, she may forget to use her walker and suffer another fall. Betty and her family are concerned about overnights since that’s when she fell and they know she’ll be up half a dozen times each night.

Overnight care provides the hands-on care that Betty needs and the peace of mind that her worried family want. Before Betty is even discharged, we schedule the overnight care so it’s in place for the first night home.

Betty sleeps better knowing that she has help available when she needs it, without worrying about whether her next bathroom trip will result in a fall. Her family also sleep better at night knowing that Betty is safe and has help onsite.

Jean and Bill have a regular routine of daytime caregiver assistance. Bill likes to go out and socialize and attend meetings throughout the week, and Jean doesn’t like being alone. She prefers to have someone with her and is highly anxious anytime Bill is out of sight.

Bill has been invited to attend a conference out of town, and it would require three nights away from home. Jean becomes anxious just at the thought of it.

Although their regularly scheduled caregiving visits are during the daytime, we can certainly provide overnight care for Jean while Bill is away. Jean has the reassurance she needs to not be alone, and Bill can enjoy his time away without worrying about Jean. Both of their needs are met, and they can maintain their preferred lifestyle.

For the past year, your uncle has been living in a retirement home, and it had been going well. But lately, you’ve received a few calls from the facility, because he’s been recorded on security cameras leaving the building at 3am.

His dementia has progressed and he’s no longer sleeping through the night reliably. He’s often up, pacing the halls. Pacing was fine, but now that he has been leaving the building in the middle of the night, it’s a safety issue.  Assisted living secure units tend to have very long wait lists and you need a solution immediately.

Overnight care ensures that your uncle remains safely inside the retirement home. Our caregiver remains with him and encourages him to remain inside his own unit and return to bed. If your uncle is not amenable, then we pace alongside him to ensure he is not knocking on other residents’ doors, and to ensure he doesn’t leave the building.

Sometimes nocturnal pacing indicates a physiological need, such as toileting, hunger, being too hot or cold. We will aim to meet those physiological needs to ensure his comfort and provide emotional reassurance, so he is not anxious or worried.

For the past few decades, your mother’s bladder has awakened her 5-6 times every night. It hadn’t been an issue, until her mobility declined to the point that she cannot get out of bed on her own.  She now needs help to the bathroom numerous times each night.

It is important that she toilets as needed and does not just become dependent on using adult disposable underwear. Remaining in soiled garments throughout the night would put her at extremely high risk of developing a urinary tract infection and experiencing skin breakdown. It is also terribly uncomfortable and undignified.

Your mother deserves to have dignified care that matches her needs.

Our caregivers will ensure that she is assisted to the toilet as soon as the need arises. If garments or bedding have become soiled, we will immediately change everything to be fresh, clean and dry so your mother can have a sanitary and dignified sleep.