European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine recreation therapist Nancy Nolan gives an exercise class at the adult Day care Center i Scranton a. Participants from left Are Lena Chickillo Mary Moffitt and Doris Coombs. Day care centers for the elderly by David s. Martin associated pressm Ichael Chickillo has lost weight and developed High blood pressure As his wife s alzheimer s disease has progressed to the Point where she often forgets what she had for lunch by mid  told the doctor i d give my right Arm to make it Stop Chickillo said recently choking Back tears. To give himself time for chores around his Home in Scranton pa., Chickillo has joined a growing number of americans choosing Day care for an elderly family member. Health care officials say Day care is less expensive than a nursing Home and keeps the elderly at Home longer. They said it also provides a respite for people like Chickillo who must keep a constant watch on his wife Lena when she is Home. There Are 1,700 adult Day care centers nationally serving More than 50,000 people nearly three times the number of centers open in 1980 and up from 1,200 in 1985, authorities say. Adult Day care centers now operate in All 50 states and the District of Columbia says Dorothy Howe program coordinator for the National Institute on adult daycare. It s across the country but it s still quite Small Howe says. Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro n.c., was a Pioneer in adult Day care in the United states in 1969 when it recruited an English doctor to tart a gerontology program. Or. Lionel z. Cosin who taught at Oxford University s medical school began a Day care Center for patients in the Hospital which is 50 Miles East of Raleigh says Lulu Jolliff an administrator who worked with Cosin. Cosin had opened a number of the centers in England before coming to the United states. About 2.2 million people care for a spouse or relative who has a problem with at least one activity of daily living such As bathing dressing or eating says Lynn Osterkamp editor of Parent care a National newsletter. About 5.8 million of the 29.2 million americans 65 or older Are in nursing Homes she says. Elderly care officials Point to the grading of America As one reason Why adult Day care will continue to grow. By 2030, 65 million americans will be 65 or older according to an estimate by the american association of retired persons three Days a week Chickillo drives his 75-year-old wife to Community Day services in Scranton where she joins about 30 other elderly people unable to care for themselves. There they watch television sing songs play games and get physical speech and occupational therapy under the supervision of a staff that includes two full time nurses. We try to make it As much like a senior Center As possible says Janet Ann Melnick in charge of the four year old Center. On a recent afternoon Kathy Herne a Volunteer strummed tunes such As Harvest Moon and singing in the rain on a guitar while half a dozen elderly men and women sat in front of her clapping singing along or just listening. At one Point two women danced together on the tile floor. Helga Hartman who suffers from diabetes and walks with difficulty sat at a table toward the Back of the room and worked on a Puzzle. Others sat silently at different tables. Howe and Day care administrators said the number of centers would increase even though they have been Hurt financially because adult Day care is not covered by medicare. There Are a number that have to get out of the business simply because of funding Howe says. Financially needy people Are eligible for medicaid funding for adult Day care in 25 states but not in Pennsylvania Howe says. The state has budgeted $5.2 million through county agencies for financial assistance for Day care costs at the state s 118 centers says John Holloway who is in charge of adult Day care for the state department of aging. Adult Day care costs an average of about $28 a Day less than half the Cost of a nursing Home authorities say. It gives people options where before we had the centers they did t have those options says Mary Ann Outwater executive director of Windsor House adult Day care in Cambridge mass. Corporations Are beginning to  attention to the growing need for adult Day care. Hallmark cards inc., based in Kansas City mo., in 1986 began offering employees a free referral service for Day care or other health needs for their children elderly parents or disabled family members. Meg Townsend a company spokesman says two career families will increase the need for adult Day care for elderly family members. There s just not As much time to address family concerns but they re As important As Ever she says. Monday August 1, 1988 a stride rite corp. Of Cambridge mass., is considering expanding its subsidized child Day centers at two Boston area plants to include the elderly. A Survey at the company showed 25 percent of employees care for an elderly relative and 13 percent More expect to in the next five years says Amy Derbedrosian a spokeswoman for the company. Nursing Homes have adapted by starting adult Day care centers of their own. A 1985 Survey of 847 adult Day care centers nationwide showed 22 percent were in nursing Homes Howe says. Churches ran 18 percent of the centers senior centers 12 percent Community centers 7 percent and hospitals 5 percent the Survey showed. Howe says 40 states and the District of Columbia have developed standards for funding licensing or certification. Elderly people suffering from alzheimer s disease or other forms of cognitive impairment make up the majority of adult Day care clients authorities say. A 1987 Survey by the Pennsylvania adult Day care association found two thirds of the elderly attending Day care centers in the state fit into this category says Barbara k. Visconti president of the organization. In Pittsburgh Council care adult Day care has designed one of its three centers specifically for people with alzheimer san irreversible neurological disorder that affects 2.5 million americans. Ruth Kaplan executive director for the centers says staff members at Council care ii play games with the elderly to help them remember the events of the Day and talk about memories of their youths. They Are being stimulated. If they sat at Home and were not stimulated it is our feeling they would lose their skills More rapidly Kaplan says. In Scranton Chickillo washes the dishes does the laundry and cleans the two Story Century old House in an ethnic working class neighbourhood when his wife goes to the Day care Center. She likes it there and i Tell her she s going to the club says Chickillo 71. Even with the Day care Center Chickillo a retired Quality control Engineer has had to give up playing in the local Bowling league where he had a 200 average it s a Burden. My friends they think i m dead Chickillo says. In the three years his wife s memory has faded and her disorientation has increased Chickillo says he has lost More than 20 pounds and started taking medication for High blood pressure. Chickillo says the Day care Center has lessened the stress of caring for his wife of 38 years. This is heaven sent for me because i m a 24-hour nurse at Home he says. The stars and stripes Page 13