I am very confident that the future of Alzheimer's day care will change dramatically and for the better. In fact, during my tour of duty it already has.....
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
Earlier today I wrote --
The Alzheimer's Diagnosis -- Help Me.
I learned about the importance of socialization. If you let someone suffering from Alzheimer's sit around at home, alone, it is my belief that they will go down hill fast. Real fast. Alzheimer's day care is a good solution to this problem. Even if its only for a couple hours a day.
This lead Carol to ask in a comment under the article
Are you telling us that Dotty goes to day care a couple of hours daily? If so, I wish you would write about it. How you found it, your criteria of selection, ballpark cost, other participants there, etc...
I probably should have done a better job of writing. The answer is, no, Dotty doesn't go to Alzheimer's day care.
However, I do know a lot about Adult Day Care, and I do know several people that use it. In addition, I never pass up the opportunity to ask other Alzheimer's caregivers if they use day care and their opinion on the experience.
The Alzheimer's day care facility that I am most familiar with is run by the
Volen Center in Boca Raton, Florida . They have a Dementia-- specific program right here in Delray Beach. To be honest when I first looked at it I would not have used it. However over the years, and as Alzheimer's day care has evolved, the program has been strengthened and refocused.
I can recommend the Volen Center without reservation. The people I know that use it rave about it, and swear by it. By this I mean, both the patient and caregiver are benefiting.
The Volen has everything from soup to nuts. This includes music, art and activities that bring patient and caregiver together. I don't know if they do crossword puzzles but don't worry Max, I'll check. Gotta work Delray Beach into the equation.
One excellent feature of the Volen Center is that they have their own transportation system. They pick up the Alzheimer's patient right at their door. I particularly like this because the patient rides to the center with other patients. This is excellent socialization. They also get into and out of the van on their own if they can.
I have not checked the price in a while. It was $55 for a full day, and half that for a half day. They also had a weekly rate. I will check on the price tomorrow.
I did run into one interesting family caregiving situation.
One daughter was taking care of the mother who suffered from Alzheimer's. Her two brothers and one sister all chipped in and paid the cost of the half day session at the Volen. This meant the sister got a 4 hour or so vacation every day. I can just see many of you huffing and puffing. Now how wonderful would that be?
As for Dotty. I thought about Alzheimer's day care. Instead I went for exercise at the gym, other activities like cart riding at Walmart, and walking in the pool. The gym alone can carve two to three hours out of day. Get ready, get there, workout for an hour or so, leave, get back home.
Walmart takes about an hour and one half and its only five minutes away. My little tortoise is moving very slowly these days. She can drive the Walmart cart like a champ. She has actually gotten better and doesn't look like she is wiped out when finished like she did in the beginning. She does "nod off" when we get back home.
Sometimes I do get wild ideas in my head Carol. Sometimes I envision all these little old ladies suffering from Alzheimer's in the gym with Dotty and me. I call them Bobby's girls. Or how about all my Bobby's girls driving their carts together in Walmart?
I am very confident that the future of Alzheimer's day care will change dramatically and for the better. In fact, during my tour of duty it already has.
More About the Alzheimer's Reading Room
Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. Bob has written more than 1,400 articles with more than 9,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room 
By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading Room
Earlier today I wrote -- The Alzheimer's Diagnosis -- Help Me.
This lead Carol to ask in a comment under the article I probably should have done a better job of writing. The answer is, no, Dotty doesn't go to Alzheimer's day care.
However, I do know a lot about Adult Day Care, and I do know several people that use it. In addition, I never pass up the opportunity to ask other Alzheimer's caregivers if they use day care and their opinion on the experience.
The Alzheimer's day care facility that I am most familiar with is run by the Volen Center in Boca Raton, Florida . They have a Dementia-- specific program right here in Delray Beach. To be honest when I first looked at it I would not have used it. However over the years, and as Alzheimer's day care has evolved, the program has been strengthened and refocused.
I can recommend the Volen Center without reservation. The people I know that use it rave about it, and swear by it. By this I mean, both the patient and caregiver are benefiting.
The Volen has everything from soup to nuts. This includes music, art and activities that bring patient and caregiver together. I don't know if they do crossword puzzles but don't worry Max, I'll check. Gotta work Delray Beach into the equation.
One excellent feature of the Volen Center is that they have their own transportation system. They pick up the Alzheimer's patient right at their door. I particularly like this because the patient rides to the center with other patients. This is excellent socialization. They also get into and out of the van on their own if they can.
I have not checked the price in a while. It was $55 for a full day, and half that for a half day. They also had a weekly rate. I will check on the price tomorrow.
I did run into one interesting family caregiving situation.
One daughter was taking care of the mother who suffered from Alzheimer's. Her two brothers and one sister all chipped in and paid the cost of the half day session at the Volen. This meant the sister got a 4 hour or so vacation every day. I can just see many of you huffing and puffing. Now how wonderful would that be?
As for Dotty. I thought about Alzheimer's day care. Instead I went for exercise at the gym, other activities like cart riding at Walmart, and walking in the pool. The gym alone can carve two to three hours out of day. Get ready, get there, workout for an hour or so, leave, get back home.
Walmart takes about an hour and one half and its only five minutes away. My little tortoise is moving very slowly these days. She can drive the Walmart cart like a champ. She has actually gotten better and doesn't look like she is wiped out when finished like she did in the beginning. She does "nod off" when we get back home.
Sometimes I do get wild ideas in my head Carol. Sometimes I envision all these little old ladies suffering from Alzheimer's in the gym with Dotty and me. I call them Bobby's girls. Or how about all my Bobby's girls driving their carts together in Walmart?
I am very confident that the future of Alzheimer's day care will change dramatically and for the better. In fact, during my tour of duty it already has.
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Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room