Day Care for Adults?

When Frank Eisele of Cincinnati, Ohio, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, his children wanted to care for him at home instead of placing him in a nursing home. As his illness progressed, however, it became more and more difficult. Frank's adult children all work during the day, but he could no longer be left alone. Not only that, but Frank, who had been very active his whole life, was getting depressed just sitting around the house all day.

Adult day care proved to be the answer. Frank now attends day care twice a week. The day care center even provides transportation. Despite his growing confusion and disorientation, Frank knows what days he goes to the day center. He gets up early on those mornings to get dressed and shave before the bus comes. He enjoys having someplace to go and likes participating in the activities. Meanwhile, his children are relieved to know he is getting the care he needs while they go to work, and they are happy to know he is enjoying his time there.

For elderly people who need some supervision and support during the day, adult day care can be the perfect solution. Adult day care centers (some prefer to call them adult day centers or adult day health centers, because day care sounds like care for children, not adults) serve elderly people with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and other cognitive and physical disabilities. There are currently about 3500 such centers in the United States. Many more centers are needed, according to Nancy Cox, MSW, national director of Partners in Caregiving and instructor at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Adult day care centers are valuable, she says, because "they help keep individuals who are in need of chronic care at home, in the community, with family and friends as long as possible."