Adult day care centers.

A new trend in the Midwest

Even the most devoted caregiver for an older person needs a break. Maybe the aging person could use new activities or a change of scene. Adult day care is designed to help in both situations.

Just as you'd shop carefully for day care for a child, check out adult centers before dropping off family members. See if the help is friendly--if they're not pleasant to you, there's a good chance they won't be warm with a person left in their care. Try a meal there with your senior; most facilities will let you do this. Other factors to size up: safety, cleanliness, comfort, stimulation and the ratio of personnel to guests.

If the older adult has dementia, your shopping may take longer. Some facilities are unwilling or unable to accept people with Alzheimer's disease or similar conditions. Others take dementia patients but only in an early stage of illness. Centers for Alzheimer's patients do exist.

Adult day care is fairly new to the Midwest. Opening early in 1991, Goshen Adult Day Care was the first exclusively adult day care center in Elkhart County. A not-for-profit group, the center seeks money from the community and holds fund-raising events--its $4.50-an-hour care rate doesn't begin to cover expenses.

Jo Track, director of the Goshen facility, says one goal of her emphasis on activities is getting participants tired so that they'll be able to sleep well at home. Those activities include cooking, making holiday decorations, walking at malls, bowling, golf and armchair fitness programs.

Track says the center wants to help its participants remain at home as long as possible. She intentionally hires part-time staff to avoid burnout in a demanding field; "the most important thing I can do is keep my staff fresh," she says.

Giving families a rest so they can be better caregivers is something Barbara McLimore, president of Evansville's Senior Circle Adult Day Care, likes about her work. She learned about the stress facing caregivers from a situation in her own family. In fact, McLimore's employees typically have family experiences with older adults as well. Of the staff at her center she says, "Everyone is here because they want to be."

Hooverwood in Indianapolis offers some uncommon day care services. The facility can provide bathing, dental care, speech and dance therapy, and transportation up to 5 miles from the center. Participants at Hooverwood must be able to handle their own continence and not be beyond earlier onset of dementia.

Byron Arbeit, executive director of Hooverwood, cites some advantages of day programs. Dropping off an older adult during business hours may allow a caregiver to get or keep a job. Additionally, such care can be cheaper than paid home care--as much as 40 percent less, says Arbeit. Then, too, a sitter in the home may not provide any significant recreation for the person attended. Participants at Hooverwood have a choice of their own day recreation programs or activities designed for residents of the center.

Indiana's area agencies on aging maintain lists of adult day care centers and programs across the state. To find the location of the nearest agency or council on aging, contact the Central Indiana Council on Aging Inc., 317/254-5465.

Also, The National Directory of Adult Day Care Centers lists two dozen Indiana facilities, spread throughout the state. It is available from Health Resources Publishing, Brinley Professional Plaza, 3100 Highway 138, P.O. Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719; 908/681-1133; fax [phone].