Quote:
Originally Posted by dwnmo
Has anyone activated a long term care insurance policy for adult daycare? I'm wondering if there is the same requirements to be able to use it as there is for regular home care - unable to perform 2 of the Activities for Daily Living.
Mom is in early-mid stages of Alzheimer's and has no issues with the ADL's but would greatly benefit from attending a daycare once or twice a week. It's pricey, though. I will call the LTCI provider but thought I would see if anyone has experience this. Thanks.
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Please check around to different adult day care centers. My husband used to attend one that had actual "classes" to slow the decline of dementia & brain functioning in general. It meet from 9 AM to 2 PM and cost $60 a day. It started with a healthy snack and then they did a little bit of everything each day. A little reading out loud, a little simple writing, a few fun, practical, every day math problems, discussions about current events or that days headline news. They had lunch together in the cafeteria (of the next door independent living facility) and the leaders encouraged positive social interact and took nature walks after lunch. Some days they had art therapy or did crafts to strengthen eye hand coordination. Or had music therapy. Other days they did simple strength building exercises or arm chair aerobics. Occasionally, they had a "guest lecturer" talking about a fun topic, such as music from the 50s/60s (that was the common age group) or old cars or "back on the farm" often with a slide show. There were quite a few places in my city that held similar "classes". Hubby attended a program called "Brain Stretchers" for $60 a day, IMHO, it was quite a bargain. It helped keep his skills from deteriorating as fast plus it gave me a break from caregiving. Heck, my sanity was worth $60 a day to me and my family.
The actual adult day care, for adults that needed more assistance still had fun activities, games, discussions, crafts, etc. but not as structured and not at as high a level. At that time full days (maximum 9 AM to 5:30 PM) was also $60 a day. It was a much, much larger group and they did not leave the rooms for lunch or walks (doors were alarmed). The cost varied from day care center to day care center. This was a few years ago. Some were $70 a day and a few (in the higher cost of living areas were $80 or $90 a day). I do not know what those programs cost now.
BTW, unless your mom is in the very earliest stages of Alzheimers I am surprised that she is able to handle all aspects of daily living completely. Take showering as an example. When my late husband had dementia, while it was true that he could "shower independently" there were aspects that he needed help to do. Unless reminded, he would sometimes go several days without a shower or shower twice in one day. Occasionally, he would use way too much shampoo on his hair or skip the shampoo totally. Sometimes, he would accidently put his dirty clothes in the waste basket and not the laundry basket. While none of these were major, it meant that he really was not handling showering "independently." And, similar things were happening in other ADL, using dish soap (for the sink) in the dishwasher (the bubbles and water covered the entire kitchen floor two inches deep), cooking something using way too high heat or forgetting things on the stove. He had done the laundry for decades, but started to do loads of laundry with just one or two items instead of the usual load size. Just something to think about.
BTW, my state has a program where caregivers are allowed 120 hours of free assistance per year. It was not connected to any income level. I used it to go to Dementia Support Groups or other things in the evenings and know that my husband was safe at home with an experienced caregiver (through an agency).
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