Adult day care is a stunning respite care option for family caregivers and a valuable medium of stimulation and socialization for most seniors. However, when choosing an adult day center, you must ensure your parents are happy, safe and acquire quality care. You must remember that there are three major kinds of adult day services; medical, social, and specialized, which caters to seniors with a certain health condition like dementia.
Tips to Select a Reliable Adult Day Care Center
- Location: The first factor you must check is the location when it comes to choosing an adult day care. Check if a certain adult day care is easily accessible or not. How your loved one gets to and from the facility, if it is. You must know if the adult day care program offers transportation services to and from the center, or you’ll have to drop and pick your loved one. However, suppose the center offers transportation services, what are charges for it, if there are any.
- Licensing & Complaints: One of the vital factors that you should consider is the active years of the senior day care facility. Whether the center is well-licensed, certified, or a state agency regulates another side. Besides licensing, you must check the reviews to know if the facility has earned any complaints regarding the services and care it offers.
- Hours & Costs: Knowing the hours and days of the center’s operation is one of the most vital points. It will help you choose the adult day care center that matches your office time or the time you can’t look out for your loved ones. Another essential pointer to consider is the overall cost of care. You must know if the center changes based on hours, weeks, or days. You must also ask if a senior has to commit to a minimum amount of services, for example, at least two days every week. Moreover, you should even ask about meals and snacks available and any dietary restrictions and nutritional services.
- Level of Care: Before finalizing the adult care center for your loved one, you must check what level of care is offered there. Crosscheck whether the center provides social programming (supervision senior activities and events), medical program (personal care, health monitoring, nursing care, and physical therapy), other services like bathing, annual immunization, dental check-ups, etc., and accordingly make your decision based on what type of care you’re looking for.
Hopefully, these tips will help you make the right choice. Although, speak with your loved one and their primary care physician before deciding what kind of outside care to pursue.