3 Things to Know About Adult Day Care

By Jill Grinnel, Center Director at Town Square Sarasota 

If you are a full-time caregiver, adult day centers can offer benefits to both you and people with dementia, while providing a much-needed break. While the person with Alzheimer’s is at the center, you’ll have time to rest, run errands or finish other tasks.  

Here are three key benefits:  

1. The engagement and socialization provided is critical to your loved one with dementia, and it is very difficult to replicate at home. These centers have dementia-trained staff that provide incredible programming all day long that is specifically designed to engage each member with exercise, music, dancing, brain games, crafts, outside entertainment and much more, all while socializing with other seniors that are similar cognitively to your loved one.  It gives them purpose and something to look forward to each day, a critical element of everyone’s well-being! Many seniors are even known to be more talkative at home after being engaged in this manner, while also sleeping better at night due to their increased activity level. 
2. When a caregiver drops a loved one off at a day center, they get a respite that is critically needed! A caregiver can then focus on their own health, both mental and physical. Not only can they get work done at home and run errands, but they can reconnect with friends over lunch, go to the gym, or just recharge with a nap or walk on the beach. We all know that caregiving can be extremely taxing, and day centers can provide relief up to 40 hours per week. 
3. These centers also provide additional resources that can help make the journey as a caregiver just a bit easier. On-site nursing staff not only provides care but can alert families to potential issues, like a urinary tract infection (UTI) or gait changes, that can then be attended to appropriately. These centers provide services on site that can reduce trips to public places that can sometimes be daunting – like for haircuts and physical therapy and speech therapy services. Day care centers provide caregiver support groups and even host health fairs with other critical community partners that caregivers can access. There is also the wonderful interaction between families at pick-up and drop-off where new friendships and support systems are sometimes created.

While putting others in charge of your loved one can be daunting at first, reach out to your local day care center, take a tour and talk to the staff about the things they provide that can make a positive impact on both you and your loved one!

Learn more about adult day care and home care options on Friday, June 16 at 12 p.m. ET in Language of Care Series: Adult Day Care and Home Care, a no-cost webinar from the Alzheimer’s Association Florida chapters. 

About Jill Grinnell