Adult Day Care

Adult day care is a planned set of activities created to promote and encourage well-being through various health-related and social services. These centers often distribute well-balanced, nutritious meals with consideration of special diets as per request. Adult day care centers are open during the day, typically on a weekday schedule, involving a capable staff in a clean, healthy and happy setting.

Adult day care centers has different type of structures, it can be public, private or run in cooperation by both entities. An adult day care center serves:

• To give caregivers a reprieve in their day to day care of the seniors they work for, giving them time to take care of other personal chores or deal with their own personal time as they see fit.
• To provide seniors the chance of activity, getting the chance to continue stimulating both mind and body.

Adult Day Care Services: What are they?

Well programmed adult day care centers revolve around certain key goals and that is delivering a plan with focus on mental stimulation, improving each and everyone’s strengths and capabilities, coupled with light to moderate physical activities. Below are some of the activities that may be available:

• Karaoke nights
• Bingo nights as well as various card games for mental stimulation
• Arts and crafts
• Yoga, calisthenics with light to medium exercise
• Meetups and review groups
• Birthday and holiday outings
• Movie nights

There are also some adult day care centers with programs that involve their community. Live Oak in California has a program that art created by older adults from the center is showcased around the different schools in the area.

Some extra services provided by these centers are counseling support for caregivers, limited transportation to and from the center, adult care social services, and limited medical exams such as vision checkups and blood pressure monitoring.

Benefits of adult day care

Being a primary caregiver is an immense task. Be it family, a trusted family member or a paid health aide, caregiving is a very physically demanding and stressful job as it is round-the-clock. Having adult day care centers delivers a reprieve for the caregiver, having that breathing space to take a little time off the day to center oneself and connect with other caregivers. It is a great environment and solution for everyone involved in the caring of their loved ones.

For the participant, an adult day care center’s benefits can be extensive:

• Delivering a sense of self and independence
• Providing avenues for group support and socialization
• Improving physical and mental health
• An environment that is safe, with a sense of camaraderie among professionals and peers.
• Activities that are fun and goals focused
• Well-balanced meals and snacks

Is an adult day care the right choice?

Things to think about when figuring out if you are a candidate.

• Are in the early stages of Dementia, which can lead to Alzheimer’s
• Has some physical and mental challenges but do not require round-the-clock monitoring
• Would like to be a part of the camaraderie and companionship being among peers
• Possibly continent

When to opt for an adult day care center

As you age, it can be difficult to ask for help especially with the level of independence you have had over the years. As members of the immediate family, you will all be choosy in picking the right person to be the your loved ones primary caregiver.

The good news is, a number of adult care centers do provide a lot of information about their service either online or on-site, as all of them provide tours of their facility. The following are things to consider when thinking about an adult day care center.

• Is physically challenge to continue planning their day to day pursuits
• Lives by himself/herself and needs group companionship
• Can’t function by themselves safely at home
• Lives with friends or family who are constantly busy which keeps them away from the home during the day.