Pros and Cons of Adult Day Care

Many people find that senior day care is a good choice for their family. But before you make this decision, there are things that you should know about this service. While it is helpful for some, it’s not right for everyone. Adult day care, simply put, is a care service where your elderly parent can be dropped off for the day while you are at work or out running errands. Medical care may or may not be provided here, depending on what services you enlist.

 

If you do decide that this is right for your family, make sure that you visit the center before you go. You should do this at least twice, once without your parent, and then once with them. This will give you a feel for what it’s like, and then it will allow your mom or dad to do the same. After you have done this, you can then make a more informed decision about what’s best. It is important that you check in with a physician before this is done to make sure that there are no medical conditions or anything similar that could prove to be problematic to this type of care.

 

Paying for Day Care

 

Medicare doesn’t cover adult day care services. Medicaid does, though, and if your elderly loved one receives Medicaid or Medi-Cal, then this is something that you may want to consider. It’s typically seen as an alternative to residential nursing homes, except it’s much cheaper and puts a far smaller stress upon the usually overburdened state financed nursing homes out there. Many states have alternatives ways that are non-Medicaid based that will help offset costs of day care. In California, the Alzheimer’s Day Care program is the most prevalent method. If you have a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, looking into this program will undoubtedly be helpful for your entire family as it can help provide care at reduced costs. That is, if senior day care is right for you.

 

Adult day care services are helpful for some families, but not all. Alternatives like in-home care can sometimes be better.

 

Alternatives

 

In-home care is the most trustworthy and cost effective alternative to adult day care. There are several benefits here, so it’s worth listing a few of them. One, in-home care takes place within the home. There’s no need for getting your mom or dad in and out of the car a couple times a day with this. For those that have a physical disability, this is a very big help. Two, in-home care allows your loved one to stay in a familiar place and avoid the stress of being in a different place. Even when your mom or dad has dementia and the state is helping pay for day care, staying in a familiar location has huge mental health benefits.

 

Also, keep in mind that many seniors are not happy when they are surrounded by others that are suffering from dementia, especially if they are mentally healthy. Alzheimer’s and other permanent types of dementia are the most common conditions that senior day care goers have across the nation, and your parent might not be happy if they are worrying about others. In-home care can help to avoid this discomfort.

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