Adult Day Health Care

In the past 20 years, long term care for the elderly has shifted away from traditional settings like nursing homes to a variety of community based environments including adult day healthcare centers. Gunn Leater, caregiver for her 95-year-old father with dementia, takes her dad to the Graceful Senescence Adult Healthcare Center as often as she can. Nina Nolcox, a registered nurse and CEO of the center, describes support services like physical therapy and a registered dietician offered on site. Ms. Leater tells how her father enjoys the social interaction with people of his own age. These centers not only allow the caregiver a break but they assist the senior in maintaining his or her independence.

More than 50% of the funding for these adult healthcare centers comes from Medicaid. These centers are in jeopardy of losing all of their funding due to California state budget cuts. Ms. Nolcox and California State Senator, Kevin De Leon, discuss the tremendous benefit these centers provide the community and what happened when the state legislature looked at cutting all financial backing, leaving seniors and their families with no alternative options.