![\"Adult](\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/04\/Adult-Day-Services-350x350.png\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nIn the morning, Homer often wakes up before his daughter<\/span>, Alice<\/span>. As soon as Alice gets up, she gives Homer a sponge bath and dresses him. Homer is a sharp, happy 93 year-old, even though he is in a wheelchair now. He hurries through his breakfast and is out the d<\/span>oor <\/span>before Alice can do the dishes – <\/span>he\u2019s wheeling himself down the sidewalk to the adult day care center near his home. He can\u2019t wait to play dominoes with his buddies until lunchtime, when he and his friends will all enjoy a meal together.<\/span><\/p>\n Staying home ca<\/span>n get boring, especially if a person isn\u2019t able to get around as well as they used to. Watching TV alone isn\u2019t much fun. On the other hand, the Baby Boomer generation is discovering as they age themselves that many of them are caring for aging parents and <\/span>it\u2019s a tough job. They need a break. All the while, money seems to be scarce for every household. Surprisingly, adult day care centers can be a solution to all of these problems.<\/span><\/p>\n An adult day care center<\/strong>, also known as adult day services<\/strong>, is like a community center f<\/span>or those 60 years and older, as well as those over 18 with disabilities. These centers are non-residential and offer nutritional and social support from professional staff in a group setting. The downside? There is a fee for this, but it is a lot less tha<\/span>n the alternative of long-term care or a nursing <\/span>home which<\/span> can cost five times as much. So Homer drinks coffee with his friends and looks forward to the mid-morning snack at the center. He tries to stay away from Arlene, a lady that talks too much accordi<\/span>ng to Homer. \u201cShe\u2019s just a gossip,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n Adult day care centers are becoming providers of transitional<\/span> care. Most centers are open for about 10 to 12 hours a day and provide meals, social <\/span>activities, and <\/span>depending on the level of your loved one\u2019s needs some type of adult supervision. Adult day care centers vary in the offerings that they provide – some are geared towards social activities, while others <\/span>target<\/span> specific medical needs such as Alzheimer\u2019s or dementia. <\/span>They are licensed or approved and are operated by public or private nonprofit organizations, and over 4000 for-pr<\/span>ofit organizations. They employ more than 133,600 people in the U.S. <\/span><\/p>\n After lunch Homer usually takes a nap in his wheelchair, but he will claim he was watching TV with Fred and Mabel. While Homer is at the center, his daughter Alice has time to do the shopping, wash cl<\/span>othes and even get her hair done.<\/span><\/p>\n Some community-based centers are eligible for Child and Adult Care Food Program<\/strong> reimbursement (CACFP, a USDA federal program) for balanced meals that they serve. This helps to lower the cost of serving meals at centers. To<\/span> enroll, a senior must be at least 60 and be physically or mentally impaired to the extent that it limits their independence and ability to carry out activities of daily living. Enrolled participants are often eligible for free or reduced price meals based<\/span> on each participant\u2019s income status.<\/span><\/p>\n In the afternoon Alice usually has to\u00a0<\/span>come get her father from the center – he seldom is ready to go home but he is also too tired to wheel himself and enjoys having his wheelchair pushed. Alice feels good that her Dad <\/span>likes the center and is really appreciative of the break that it gives her five days a week. Without this break she probably wouldn\u2019t have been able to take care of her father for so long. Homer is alert and active – within his abilities, and the ad<\/span>ult day care center is a huge part of that.<\/span><\/p>\n So more and more caregivers are dropping off their senior parents or loved ones at an adult day care center, giving them a regular break from supervising them and giving the seniors a chance to hang out with people their own <\/span>age.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Adult Day Services In the morning, Homer often wakes up before his daughter, Alice. As soon as Alice gets up, she gives Homer a sponge bath and dresses him. Homer is a sharp, happy 93 year-old, even though he is in a wheelchair now. He hurries through his breakfast and is out the door before Alice can do the dishes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2267,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117,200,29],"tags":[118,30],"class_list":{"0":"post-4656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-adult-day-care","7":"category-families-caregivers","8":"category-caregiving","9":"tag-adult-day-care-2","10":"tag-caregiving-2"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n