Santa Barbara, did you know that there is an extremely low-cost, high quality therapy for adults living with various forms and stages of dementia available here in our community?
I'm not talking about a medication or some revolutionary cure (because there are none). What we do know, however, is that cognitive and social engagement can have significant impacts on those experiencing memory impairments, and adult day services are just the ticket! Adult day services, commonly referred to as "adult day care," offer the unique combination of purposeful engagement and peace of mind to those living with cognitive decline and their family caregivers, respectively.
Tina Sadarangani, PhD, RN, has dedicated her impressive career in geriatric research to championing adult day services as "highly effective platforms for chronic disease management, and a fundamental lifeline for chronically ill and cognitively impaired people and their families." In her most recently published article at McKnights, "Adult day services offer more than ‘dancing and dominoes,’" Sadarangani doubles down on the "damaging" stigma of adult day care centers, which were deemed nonessential during the COVID-19 pandemic in many states and forced to close their doors.