Senior day care is a growing means for the elder to be able to stay in their home longer or live with family members while not having them bear the entire burden for their care. It offers care givers the security of knowing that their loved one is being cared for during the day while they are working or just needing a break. Here is a detailed look at how senior day care works.
What Exactly Is Senior Day Care
Senior day care centers are a means to assist seniors and their care givers by providing a safe place for seniors to go during the day. These centers are a great resource offering senior’s companionship as well as supervision and care, most often during business week day hours. Some centers provide minimal health services while others offer complete treatment for even those seniors with Alzheimer’s disease, for example.
What Services Are Typically Offered At A Senior Day Care Center
Depending on the type of center and how extensive the care is they provide, there are usually an array of services that are offered including the following.
- Supervision with varying levels depending on the needs of the individual and the level of care provided at a particular center
- Activities for socializing with others
- Other recreational options including senior exercise classes
- Meals
- Educational courses
- Medication distribution and management throughout the day
- Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy
- Health screening
- Other types of medical care as needed and provided by the center.
- Transportation
- Personal care like bathing, shaving, etc.
Who Can Benefit From A Senior Day Care Center
It can be a difficult decision to place a family member or loved one in a senior day care center but at the same time it can give relief and reassurance to the caregiver(s). While many seniors can benefit from attending a senior day care here are some signs that you might want to consider one for your loved one:
- He/she is unable to care for themselves without assistance and the caregiver works during the day or needs a break during the day.
- He/she is not safe when left alone. They might be forgetful and leave the stove on for example or leave the home and wander and get lost.
- He/she is lacking in any social contact with others and could benefit from socialization and activities during the day and other options are not available or feasible.
What To Look For When choosing A Senior Day Care Center For Your Loved One
If you have decided to look into a senior day care center for your loved you will want to visit available centers and find out what services they offer to determine whether or not they will meet your needs. It is also a good idea to get reviews and referrals from others in your community who use the centers you are looking at. This will help you feel more comfortable leaving your loved one in the care of the center.
photo credit: Christiana Care
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Being 68 myself, I work as a therapist for seniors. They sure need mental care. But most of the care personnel does not seem to realize it. Or they maybe but can’t act upon it because of their hourly duty or short duration allowed to one client. So, there would be some people who would agree with me.
As their children left home and on their own, they had lost a few to talk to. Children could had been their primary cause of annoyance, joy and life. But they lose that all at once. Don’t you call it the tragedy?
My experience tells that listening to senior people attentively for 50 minutes a week does improve their mental status amazingly. You have to listen with paying full attention. It is the best to have meeting set up in private room for that matter so that there won’t be any disturbance.
Here’s my proposal. You should integrate psychotherapy in the day care and care home program.
There is so much that we have to look at when we are dealing with the whole subject of senior’s lifestyle, physcial and financial needs along with health. What applies to people in their 30′s or 40′s doesn’t necessarily hold true for seniors. It’s great to have articles and sites like this whose focus is on these issues. After all most of us (hopefully) will become a senior some day.