




Being a member of the “sandwich generation” places you with responsibilities for your own children as well as your elder parents or loved ones. You want the best for both of them, but in many cases, you can’t take care of all of them.
If you are looking for a rather economical place for your elder parent or loved one that meets their needs of independence, yet gives you the flexibility to continue your daily routines such as keeping your job, taking care of your own necessary activities, or simply giving more time to take care of your kids, adult day care may be the answer.
Senior day care centers provide a safe setting for adults during the day with the advantage of other services such as access to medical care, social activities, and meals.
For seniors are outgoing and love social activities but need some assistance during the day with activities of daily living, going to a senior day care program could be ideal. Still, you’d be surprised how much a shy parent could enjoy a senior day care center, with the right staff and programs. In addition, besides offering your elder parent or loved one a more social experience, some daycare centers can offer even more:
Wandering and memory deficits make for dangerous situations to leave your loved ones with cognitive problems at home. Sometimes these problems come and go, making it seem ok for the caregiver to leave for work or shopping, but still with the anxiety that these conditions could suddenly come back.
Specialized adult daycare centers offer security features to prevent wandering. Sometimes they have more staff to help meet the extra needs of these seniors.
Specialized adult day centers can offer activities for your loved one which can be adapted to their individual abilities. People with dementia can benefit highly from socialized activities such as card games, crafts, exercise, dancing, and cooking. Other social events usually include holiday and birthday celebrations.
Adult day cares can’t take the place of nursing homes. However, like homecare services, they still can assist with normal activities of daily living, such as toileting and incontinence care. Some programs also offer medication management and even occupational and physical therapy. Some can coordinate the care between physicians and other care providers. Such places can assist you in making this determination as to the level of care they need, however.
Some centers may provide additional services, such as:
Having underqualified or undertrained workers
Programs that do not provide the services your loved one needs.
Not being able to meet your elder parents’ dietary needs.
The industry may not be well regulated in your state
You would think that dementia and Alzheimer’s disease would make adult daycare too complicated for your loved one. Still, if you are a caregiver for your elder parents or relative, there are times when you need a break to take care of basic things. There is one solution: adult day care programs that provide specialized services for such seniors.
It’s hard to determine who could benefit from adult day services, and how often they would require going there (daily, twice a week etc.). That is, would part-time visits benefit your parent, who is more introverted, than others? How advanced is their dementia? Would they become very confused? Would a new environment lead to negative emotions? Keep in mind that sometimes it takes time to get into a new routine, something that many seniors with cognitive decline depend on.
You can talk to an adult day care referral specialist. Or if you prefer to take a tour of several daycare facilities in your area. Things to look for could include:
Sometimes you might not need to have your loved one full time in a daycare facility except for a needed break. In the elder care business, they call this “respite” or time off for the caregiver. This could be done on a part-time basis, or just occasionally. Respite workers would give your loved ones monitoring and companionship. They could also prepare meals, provide activities of daily living such as bathing or toileting, or medication administration.
As we said, adult day care averages about $70 daily, or $1400 a month.
Because Medicare and even Medicare Advantage (part c) typically don’t cover the cost of senior daycare, much of the cost may have to come from savings. Medicaid, however, may cover a portion of your parents or loved ones are eligible. Ask the program if they offer any direct financial assistance as well. Some programs allow for sliding scale payments depending on your elder parent’s or loved one’s income.
Your elder parents or loved ones may have long-term care insurance which may cover some costs as well. They could also consider using the cash value of any life insurance policy they may have. Reverse mortgages could be another possible source and are getting more popular. But please make sure you and/or your elder parents know all the pros and cons.
PACE is a comprehensive national program for adults 55 and older who meet the criteria for nursing facility placement, prefer to stay at home and have an assessment indicating that living at home with the support of the PACE program is a safe alternative. About thirty states have PACE programs to date. The average PACE participant is 76 years old.
Services include medical care, nursing, physical therapy pharmaceuticals, day health center services, home care, health-related transportation to name a few.
To find out if a PACE program is nearby your elder parent or loved one, find out here:
https://www.npaonline.org/pace-you/find-pace-program-your-neighborhood