Adult Day - Something for Everyone

Article submitted by Caroline Tysseland, RN, the director of The Johnson Adult Day Center in Englewood. She can be reached at 303 789-1519. For information: www.jadp.org
For resources: www.CAHSA.org.

Do you remember when day programs for older adults were few and far between? Fifteen years ago, a half a dozen elders with special needs might be taken to a church basement or school cafeteria for crafts and conversation several days a week. Not so any longer. Adult day programs are sprouting up in both non-profit and for-profit sectors. The Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (CAHSA) has more than 25 adult day program members. Additional programs exist in the metro area for organizations that are not members of CAHSA.

Open from daybreak to sunset, some of these programs have as many as 70 participants a day providing specialized medical services, day trips, personal care or exercise. Still others primarily serve the needs of those with memory loss or post-stroke disabilities. "Something for everyone" is the adult day provider's challenge, including support and education for caregivers. As we enter the boomer generation, staying physically and mentally active despite impairments is the goal.

At the Johnson Adult Day Center in Englewood, a specialized facility for those with memory loss and other impairments, many caregiver support groups as well as cultural and social programs have sprung up. Working with community partners such as the Alzheimer's Association and the American Red Cross, we are able to offer a variety of services to clients and family members with diverse needs. Multi-level activities for varying levels of impairment are customized to meet the changing needs of participants as they age. Recently, for example, adult day centers have been creating expanded programs for a growing number of early-onset memory loss participants and for those clients whose drug therapies are slowing the process of Alzheimer's Disease. These centers are busy adapting services originally designed for frail elders to be appropriate for more active clients who have been hit with the disease in midlife. Efforts are underway to re-educate law-makers and the public to the challenges that early-onset poses. Most early-onset clients are in good physical health and want to stay active, yet medical benefits and services may not be available for those younger than 65 years of age. Participants of this age, and sometimes older, are still physically sound and need activities, relationships and above all, good social experiences. Adult day programs are the perfect match for their needs.