{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Adultday care group","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.adultdaycaregroup.com\/blog","title":"Why adult day care can help you - Adultday care group","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"7fH5bRiKgz\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adultdaycaregroup.com\/blog\/news\/why-adult-day-care-can-help-you\/\">Why adult day care can help you<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.adultdaycaregroup.com\/blog\/news\/why-adult-day-care-can-help-you\/embed\/#?secret=7fH5bRiKgz\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Why adult day care can help you&#8221; &#8212; Adultday care group\" data-secret=\"7fH5bRiKgz\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.adultdaycaregroup.com\/blog\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","description":"PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 Sally White helps her husband of 46 years get dressed, fed and on the bus for the short ride from their home to Third Age Adult Day Center four mornings a week. Preparing 74-year-old Rodger White to leave the house for the day can be a chore since he\u2019s been in declining health for more than a decade and has severe memory loss. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a small child,\u201d said Sally White, 78. \u201cThis long goodbye is hell. I\u2019m exhausted. When he\u2019s at Third Age, I clean the house and try to get errands done.\u201d For thousands of older Americans like the Whites, Third Age Adult Day Center and similar adult day services provide safe, stimulating places for those who have physical or cognitive disabilities and give respite to their caregivers. William Zagorski, chairman of the National Adult Day Services Association, estimates there are about 8,000 adult day service centers across the U.S. catering to people with varying needs who want to remain in their own homes. More than half of these centers serve homebound seniors who need supervision and opportunities to socialize. &nbsp; After raising four children and retiring from their teaching jobs, the Whites each began studying for the ministry. During their studies, Rodger White suffered a brain bleed in 2013 and memory problems he\u2019d been having for several years began to escalate. Sally White said his memory loss has stolen from her the intellectually sharp, active man she knew and the life they had planned as they grew old together. &nbsp; To keep her husband in a safe environment while she handles household tasks and gets a break from being a full-time caretaker, White enrolled him at Third Age Adult Day Center in January 2022. \u201cI can\u2019t put a price on what it\u2019s done for us,\u201d she said. \u201cRodger has a routine and a community there and I keep my sanity by getting the bills paid and keeping the house in good condition and tidy so it\u2019s safe for him here.\u201d &nbsp; Cost and location Adult day services are prevalent in areas across the country, particularly California, New England and southern states, such as Tennessee, which experienced a 20% increase in these programs in the past 13 months, Zagorski said. Meanwhile, middle America and rural areas struggle to either staff or fill the centers with clients. Adult day programs cost under $100 a day nationally, which is less expensive than a nursing home. It\u2019s one of the reasons Zagorski and organizations like the National Council on Aging are advocating for more support of senior day programs. \u201cUnfortunately, Medicare is not an option and that has been a barrier to its growth,\u201d Zagorski said. Medicaid covers about half the revenue collected for these services across the U.S., and Veterans Affairs is increasingly supporting it, but about 15% of users still have to pay out-of-pocket. That may account for only about 237,400 older Americans participating in structured day programs, according to the Centers for Disease Control, even though adults 65 and older make up 18% of the U.S. population. Sally White said she struggles to afford the roughly $2,200 a month for her husband to attend the program since the couple doesn\u2019t qualify for Medicaid. Because of his health decline, she\u2019s been solely responsible for handling all the bills and the stress they bring. &nbsp; Transportation also poses a problem in accessing senior day programs in rural areas like central Pennsylvania. \u201cIt\u2019s been my experience in 36 years that adult day services are not a concept that\u2019s right for people here,\u201d said Holly Kyle, director of the Area Agency on Aging serving Pennsylvania\u2019s Snyder and Union counties. Since 1987, 13 adult day centers have opened and closed in the two counties, which Kyle attributed to a lack of mass public transportation, cost and non-flexible hours. \u201cMany families want services in their home, want to take care of family members on their own or still equate it to a child-care setting,\u201d she said. The stigma of aging may also play a role in adult day programs being underused, said Georgia Goodman, director of Medicaid at LeadingAge, which represents more than 5,400 aging services. \u201cA lot of (older) people don\u2019t seek services until they\u2019re in a crisis,\u201d she said, adding that earlier access could offer more preventative care. Marilyn Vargo, 79, of Milton, Pennsylvania, has been attending VNA Caring Center in Shamokin since February. Vargo, who for years worked as an administrative assistant to several Bucknell University presidents, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall about five years ago and now has short-term memory loss and is unable to care for herself. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult,\u201d said her husband, Joe Vargo, 81. Standing in the couple\u2019s dining room filled with family photos and Christmas decorations he has yet to take down, Vargo said: \u201cVNA has helped in a lot of ways. She gets some socialization and she really likes the bus rides. I often ask her what she did in the day, but she can\u2019t tell me.\u201d More than dancing and dominoes VNA Caring Center is the only adult day services program for cognitively impaired seniors in the Susquehanna Valley. Full-day attendance, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays, costs $44, including meals. Although the center has the capacity for 19 clients, only five clients are enrolled, director Angela Loeper said. Another major hurdle to expanding access to adult day services, Zagorski said, is the lack of public awareness and research about the benefits of the service, which he said helps reduce depression, loneliness and isolation. There\u2019s been a nationwide effort to rebrand the program as adult day services, instead of day care, and distinguish it from child care or senior centers. \u201cWe\u2019re a lot more than dancing and dominoes,\u201d Zagorski said. \u201cWe do have fun and social activity is promoted, but we have cognitive-based activities, and physical games and range-of-motion exercises. Food insecurity is a massive problem for seniors and we offer nutrition. We help reduce falls and decrease medication errors because people are right there. We\u2019re the best-kept secret in long-term care. We offer a holistic level of care that allows people to remain healthy and with friends.\u201d At VNA Caring Center, Loeper starts the day reading the newspaper aloud. \u201cWe recently read that students at Our Lady of Lourdes will be performing \u2018Finding Nemo,\u2019 \u201d Loeper said as two patrons watched the animated film in anticipation of attending the school play. Reading the newspaper is \u201cvital to keeping them engaged. It opens up memories,\u201d Loeper said. The center is filled with tables where clients can work on puzzles, paintings and arts and crafts. It also has space for daily exercise. MemoryLane Care Services in Toledo, Ohio, serves about 34 people a day, despite having capacity for 50. Attendance has fallen since the center reopened after being closed for nine months during the COVID-19 pandemic, director Salli Bollin said. \u201cIt is an underutilized service. A lot of family members and professionals don\u2019t know it\u2019s available or they don\u2019t think their family member will want to be here,\u201d she said. \u201cMost people hear about it through word-of-mouth, but that\u2019s a hard marketing strategy.\u201d Bollin has worked at the center since 1998 and has seen clients who\u2019ve attended several times a week for as long as 16 years. Third Age Adult Day Program is the only center of its kind in the area. It\u2019s open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a cost of $20 per hour. Transportation is provided at an extra cost to clients within about a 20-mile range. The center has operated since the 1990s, but has curbed its offerings since the pandemic, including no longer offering a daily meal, while continuing to provide activities to stimulate the mind and body and a weekly visit by clergy, director Nicholas Drown said. There\u2019s capacity for 50 people, but only 15 are being served because of the difficulty in retaining staff. \u201cWe have a wait list of 45 to 50 people,\u201d Drown said. \u201cI get phone calls on a weekly basis.\u201d Staffing is a major challenge, the \u201cpay is not that great,\u201d and the pandemic dealt an additional blow, said Kathleen Camero, senior director of the National Council on Aging\u2019s Center for Healthy Aging. \u201cWe expect to see increases in need for adult day services because of the (increasing) rates of Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia and I wonder if we\u2019ll be able to keep up with demand if we don\u2019t recruit and pay better,\u201d she said. It\u2019s a sentiment echoed by Mary Michlovich, executive director of OPICA, an adult day service program in West Los Angeles, California. \u201cWe need to bring an awareness that there is more support needed across the board. We have this aging tsunami coming toward us,\u201d Michlovich said. \u201cEveryone is living longer and they\u2019re being diagnosed (with dementia-related issues) so much younger. The need has exploded but the funding support is just not there.\u201d Joe Vargo said he\u2019s not able to keep up with the demand of owning the home he and his wife have lived and raised three children in since 1974. He\u2019s considering moving them both into a nursing home soon. Before Marilyn\u2019s fall and brain injury, the Vargos never discussed how they would handle getting older together if their health failed. \u201cI oftentimes think about that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe probably should have.\u201d ___ The share of the U.S. population older than 65 keeps rising \u2014 and will for decades to come. Since nearly half of Americans over 65 will pay for some version of long-term health care, CNHI News and The Associated Press examined the state of long-term care in a series called\u00a0the High Cost of Long-Term Care, looking at everything from adult day cares to assisted living facilities to understand the\u00a0challenges in affordability, staffing and equity\u00a0that exist today and lie ahead."}