What Are the Types of Adult Day Care?
If you’re a full-time or part-time caretaker to a beloved friend or family member, you’ve likely experienced a wide range of emotions. The feeling of pride that comes with making a real difference in someone’s life is incomparable, but the job itself can be incredibly demanding.
If you find yourself daydreaming about having an extra set of hands to help share the load — an adult day care program could be a great option to consider. We have everything to know about adult day service programs. So don’t concern yourself with the common myths of adult day cares, we treat our senior members like family.
Adult day centers are responsible for providing daytime assistance, daily activities, personal care, and companionship for older adults to help prevent isolation, loneliness, and caregiver burnout.
Adult day care services allow friends and family members to take some much-needed time to relax and recharge knowing their loved one is left in caring and capable hands. It’s also a great way to help them socialize, stick to a daily routine, and find mental and physical enrichment while providing specialized meals, medication monitoring, and other health services.
Types of Adult Day Care
There are 4 types of adult day care models: 1.) social adult day cares, 2.) specialized adult day cares, 3.) senior enrichment centers, and medical adult day cares. Among these types of adult day cares, each tend to have programs geared to holistic or specialized care but, some may lack other enticing features from other models. Meanwhile Town Square’s model incorporates all of these adult day care services. Explore the difference! It’s helpful to note that different centers provide different services and varying levels of care, so before signing up, be mindful of the signs a loved one needs support and that the type of care you’re looking for matches what is offered.
1 — Social Adult Day Care
Social adult day care facilities provide access to arts and crafts, musical entertainment, brain games, group outings, holiday celebrations, gentle exercise programs, and other social activities in a fun and safe environment.
Social daycare is targeted towards older adults who wish for a more active social life, and who are still moderately healthy and active. Most centers offer gentle physical activity and a basic level of senior care including counseling, medication monitoring, and other simple screenings.
Please note that while the majority of social adult day centers are equipped with walkers, wheelchairs, and other medical devices — they don’t necessarily offer comprehensive medical services or have medical centers available.
The social activities and programs offered at Town Square Jersey Shore promote positive socialization and other activities, to keep members mentally and physically healthy and maintain or improve their quality of life. Looking for more info on “What is a Social Adult Day Care?”
2 — (Alzheimer’s & Dementia) Specialized Adult Day Care
Often called “memory care” or dementia care facilities, these are specialized adult daycare centers whose programming is designed to give seniors with cognitive challenges a safe, comforting, and joyful environment.
Memory care is any type of senior care specializing in the needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s or those in the stages of dementia. The staff at memory care facilities are trained in the best practices of how to best assist and engage seniors with memory loss.
Town Square specializes in Alzheimer’s and dementia care. All our communities are built on a foundation of memory care and reminiscence therapy, with an immersive 1950s design that helps our members ignite their cherished memories, wherever they are in our facility.
Reminiscence therapy is an approach to senior care pioneered by George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers. This approach uses all the senses to help awaken memories from a seniors’ formative years — through the use of music, imagery, storytelling, conversation, imagery, and cultural or personal touchstones from that time period.
This practice has been proven to yield a number of social and emotional benefits, such as reduced anxiety, increased happiness, and better sleep.
3 — Senior Enrichment Center
A Senior Enrichment Center is a broad category, referring to any senior day center with a special focus on improving quality of life.
Adult enrichment centers may help seniors maintain strong emotional, mental, physical, and social health. These are spaces where they can participate in inspiring and engaging hobbies or activities like board games, card games, intergenerational meetings, therapeutic services, workshops, and crafts.
At Town Square Jersey Shore, we provide the activities for seniors listed above, and beyond. Each of our 13 storefronts hosts a unique array of activities designed to enrich our members’ lives in different ways. In addition, we get to know all of our members and keep close track of all their preferences and needs. This helps us design the appropriate, engaging daily schedule for you and your loved ones.
4 — Medical Adult Day Care (Adult Day Health Care)
Adult day health care (ADHC) is similar to social adult daycare, except it provides additional support to seniors needing more intensive care for a range of physical ailments. The care in a medical senior day facility is equal to what you’d find in any skilled nursing facility.
Although Town Square Jersey Shore can provide assistance for mild conditions and screenings — and we happily welcome members with a wide range of abilities — please reach out to our team if you believe your loved one requires a high level of medical expertise.
We do offer a space in our facility where you can arrange to meet with outside care providers for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other health-related services.
What Is An Adult Day Care | How Can it Help Caregivers?
Adult day care facilities provide an incredibly valuable service for both older adults and their caregivers. According to research by Harvard University, seniors that utilize the social aspects of adult day centers thrive better both mentally and physically compared to those who don’t.
Soliciting help from adult day services also goes a long way in easing the physical and psychological stress that naturally comes with taking care of others.
Our Town Center Jersey Shore location is here to improve the lives of both our members and their dedicated family and friends.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about any of Town Square’s services — or if you want to schedule a free tour — please feel free to reach out and contact us.
