The short answer: Respite care is a caregiver who comes to the home so the family member doing the caring can stop for a while — a few hours, a day, a weekend, or a night. In Volusia and Flagler Counties, TrustWise Care refers certified, background-screened caregivers for respite at $34 an hour, flat, with no minimum visit, no weekly minimum, and no contract. A four-hour Saturday afternoon is $136. You don't have to justify it, and you don't have to commit to anything beyond the hours you book.
If you are reading this, you are probably the one. The daughter who moved Dad into the spare room. The husband who hasn't slept through the night since his wife's diagnosis. The son who drives over every evening after work and every Saturday morning. You've been told to "take care of yourself," which is useless advice when there is nobody else to take the shift.
This guide is about getting you an actual break — what it costs, what it looks like, and how to set it up this week.
What is respite care, exactly?
Respite care is temporary relief for a family caregiver. A trained caregiver covers the hours you would normally cover — the meals, the medication reminders, the help in the bathroom, the company, the watching — so you can leave the house, sleep, go to your own doctor, or simply sit in a quiet room.
It is the same in-home care families use every day; the difference is the purpose. The care is for your parent or spouse. The break is for you.
In Florida, respite at home is non-medical care provided by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and trained home health aides (HHAs). It covers personal care, companionship, meals, light housekeeping, and supervision. It does not include skilled nursing, which comes from a licensed home health agency when a doctor orders it.
Why family caregivers wait too long to ask
Most families call us for respite about a year later than they should have. The reasons are always the same:
- "Nobody can do it like I do." True — and the caregiver we refer isn't there to replace you. She's there to keep your mother safe, fed, and comfortable for four hours so you can come back as the daughter instead of the nurse.
- "It feels like giving up." It is the opposite. Caregivers who get regular breaks keep their parents at home longer. Burnout is what ends home care, not respite.
- "It's too expensive." For a few hours a week it usually isn't — see the numbers below. And the alternative, when the family caregiver finally collapses, is a facility at $5,900 a month or more.
- "I'd have to explain everything." You explain it once, to us, at the free consultation. The caregiver arrives already knowing the routine.
What respite care costs in Volusia and Flagler Counties
Across the licensed Volusia and Flagler market, hourly in-home care runs roughly $26 to $45 an hour, and many agencies add weekend surcharges, holiday surcharges, and 3- or 4-hour minimum visits that make a short break cost more than it should.
TrustWise Care charges $34 an hour, flat — nights, weekends, and holidays included — with no minimum visit. Here is what common respite schedules actually cost:
| The break you want | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One afternoon off each week | 4 hours | $136 per week |
| Three mornings a week to work, shop, or rest | 3 × 3 hours | $306 per week |
| A full Saturday, once a month | 8 hours | $272 per month |
| A weekend away (two days of daytime coverage) | 2 × 10 hours | $680 |
| One night of sleep (awake overnight caregiver) | 10 hours | $340 per night |
Overnight respite uses our overnight care arrangement — an awake caregiver from roughly 8 PM to 8 AM. Multi-day, round-the-clock coverage is quoted separately after a conversation about the schedule.
There are no setup fees, no deposits, and no contract. Book the hours you need; change or stop them with one call.
The schedules families actually use
The standing weekly break. The most common arrangement: the same caregiver, the same afternoon, every week. Your mother gets company and her routine; you get four predictable hours. Families use them for their own medical appointments, their grandchildren, or nothing at all.
The work-week bridge. Three or four short visits on weekdays — a meal, medication reminders, a shower, an hour of conversation — so an adult child can keep working without worrying about lunchtime. Short visits while you're at work are one of the schedules we set up most often.
The weekend off. A full day, or a Saturday and Sunday, once or twice a month. Enough to leave town.
The recovery stretch. When the family caregiver is sick, has surgery, or has simply hit the wall: daily coverage for one or two weeks, then back to the normal schedule.
The overnight. For spouses of people with dementia, nights are often the hardest part. An awake overnight caregiver handles the bathroom trips and the 3 AM wandering so you can sleep in your own bed. See sundowning and evening care for what that looks like.
What a respite caregiver does during the visit
The caregiver follows the plan you gave us at the consultation. Typically that means:
- Meals and snacks, with any dietary notes you've given
- Medication reminders at the right times (reminders — not administration, which is a nursing task)
- Help with bathing, dressing, toileting, and getting around safely
- Company: conversation, a walk, cards, the TV program she likes
- Light housekeeping tied to the visit — dishes, laundry, a tidy kitchen
- A simple written or texted update when the visit ends
Every caregiver TrustWise Care refers is a Florida-certified CNA or a trained HHA, has cleared a Level 2 fingerprint background screening, holds current CPR, and has been reviewed by our RN Administrator before any referral. Caregivers with dementia experience are matched when that's what's needed.
Who pays for respite care?
- Private pay is the simplest and fastest: billed weekly, paid by card or check. Most respite in our area is private pay.
- Long-term care insurance usually covers hourly in-home care, including respite, once the elimination period is met. Bring the policy to the consultation and we'll help with the paperwork — see using long-term care insurance for home care in Florida.
- Medicare does not pay for hourly respite at home. It covers short inpatient respite stays only under the hospice benefit. Details in when Medicare pays for home care.
- Florida Medicaid waivers (the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program) include respite for enrolled members; waiting lists apply. See Florida Medicaid waivers that pay for in-home care.
- VA programs fund respite for eligible veterans and their spouses, including Veteran-Directed Care through the local Area Agency on Aging.
How to set up respite care this week
- Call (386) 585-7977 or request a free consultation. A real person answers seven days a week.
- The free consultation. We come out, meet your parent, and learn the routine — the schedule, the meals, the medications to remind about, the things that calm her down and the things that don't. You explain it once, to us.
- The match. We refer a certified caregiver whose experience and personality fit, and we keep that person on the schedule whenever possible.
- The first visit. Many families stay home for the first hour and then leave. By the second visit most just go.
- Adjust freely. More hours, fewer hours, a different day — one call. No contract, no minimums.
Help can start right away once a caregiver is matched — often within days. What's included is on our respite care service page; the full rate card is on the pricing page.
A word to the caregiver reading this at midnight
You are allowed to need a break. The people who keep a parent at home the longest are not the ones who never stop; they are the ones who built relief into the week before they broke. Four hours on a Saturday is $136. Call us and take it.
TrustWise Care LLC is a Florida AHCA-licensed nurse registry (#30213194) serving Volusia and Flagler Counties. Caregivers referred by TrustWise Care are independent contractors; the registry matches, screens, and coordinates but does not employ them. Free consultation: (386) 585-7977.