Adult Day Care

I spent today at an adult day health facility hanging out with over 50 seniors (and a few younger patients with brain injuries) and a very enthusiastic staff. The day began around 8 am with a staff planning meeting that included RNs, PT, OT, speech therapy, social work, nutrition, and volunteers. Next we reviewed some cases of seniors who had been referred to the program by relatives, physicians, and other agencies. The initial assessment that was done on the seniors was very extensive and included a home visit by social workers, family interviews, and a visit to the center for a few trial days.

Going into today I really knew little about adult day programs. Based on visiting some nursing homes, I had some depressing images in my mind of groups of people being babysat as that sat in front of televisions and made art projects. I could not have been more wrong. The program was so much more than that. Each client got a health plan that targeted their needs, from PT/OT reconditioning to diet and medication management to Alzheimer's care. And the staff was the happiest group of people I have encountered in any of the many medical settings I have been at during medical school. They clearly loved the clients and enjoyed working with them. It really made the workday relaxed and fun to be in such a generally happy environment.

The Alzheimer's care group was really interesting to observe. There were 2 staff members and about 10 clients in a smaller room off of the main group area. Since the clients for the most part had intact long-term memory, but lacked short-term memory, the group was focused around reminiscing about the past. Big band music played, we celebrated one client's 90th birthday, and the staff ran the group through mental exercises like trivia about movies stars of the 30s and 40s. I had fairly extensive conversations with some of the group participants about their pasts. One woman had married a WWII GI in Europe, came to America with no knowledge of English in her early 20s, and ran her own successful business for many years. I actually heard her story about 17 times throughout the day because she repeated herself about every 5 minutes. Another gentleman had been a military officer and served in three wars. He took pride in leading the group through range of motion exercises at the end of the day. Overall, it seemed to be very effective for the clients.

I left the adult day health center really impressed with the services they offer and the dedication of the staff. In the future I will definitely keep this type of program in mind for patients in need of anything from socializing with peers to more extensive rehabilitation.