Tuesday, May 13, 2014

How Adult Day Care Helps the Aging to Live in Place

Adult day services act as an alternative or supplement to home care and an alternative to moving to assisted living or a nursing home to receive care. The centers enable continued community-based living for individuals with physical and cognitive limitations and provide respite for their caregivers.
In recent years, adult day services centers have played and increasing role in providing long-term care services, as evidenced by the rapid growth in programs from 2,000 in 1989 to over 4,600 in 2009.
While this increase is partially due to the aging of our society, much of this growth can beattributed to the benefits offered through adult day services. First, adult day services centers allow individuals toremain in their home settings rather than an institutional setting, which is what the majority of caregivers and care recipients desire.
Adult day services are also far less expensive than nursing home care. The national average daily rate for ADS was estimated at $67 compared to $198 for a semi-private room in a nursing home. (Note: the average daily rate for adult day services among respondents in this study was under $62). Finally, new evidence from case-controlled study suggests ADS can improve health-related quality of life for participants. In addition, ADSare effective in improving caregiver well-being and reducing burden, role overload, worry, anger, and depression