8 · SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018 TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
STOCK.ADOBE.COM
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE
There are many options available when it’s time
to consider day care or home visits for aging seniors
As loved ones become less independent
and more reliant on others as they age,
caregivers often find it’s necessary to sup-plement
their own assistance with outside
help.
For some, that might mean finding an
adult day care facility where mom or dad
can go during work hours to ensure they’re
safe, taking medications on time and hope-fully
enjoying some socialization and fun
in the process. But how do caregivers know
when it’s time? How do they go about find-ing
the right facility to meet their needs?
Richard DiTommaso is the president of
Community Life, a joint venture between
UPMC Community Provider Services, the
Jewish Association on Aging and Presbyte-rian
Senior Care. He said some signs that
a caregiver might want to start considering
day care include the need for check-ins to
make sure a parent is taking meds and eat-ing,
or if a family member has some level
of dementia to where the caregiver worries
about them being alone for too long.
“There are some people who won’t eat
unless someone is next to them eating, for
example, or where the isolation is having
a negative impact and you’re concerned.
Those are conditions in which I’d say it’s
time to start looking into day care or home
visits.”
There are advantages to both day care and
in-home care. The nice thing about day care
facilities, DiTommaso said, is that not only
does the care recipient get socialization
with multiple people, but it’s also often a
more steady environment, where the illness
or schedule change of one employee, for
instance, won’t make as great an impact as
the illness or schedule change of an in-home
care provider.
However, if a loved one is becoming
increasingly homebound because of mobil-ity
issues or is moving toward the need for
more specialized care, for instance, in-home
care might be the best choice.
“Maybe dementia or Alzheimer’s is pre-venting
them from wanting to leave the
house, so maybe adult day care may not be
the best option for them,” said Lisa Evans,
director of service coordination with Fami-lyLinks.
“So bringing someone into the
home to care for them is probably the best
RESPITE CARE
Some signs that a caregiver might want to start considering day care include the need for check-ins to make sure a parent is taking meds and eating.
BY KAREN PRICE
FOR TRIB TOTAL MEDIA