Inside Healthcare - August 2010 - (Page 84)
Active Day This organization offers a cost-effective, long term care solution, and with revamped programming and an emphasis on outreach, it’s set to grow in the years ahead. Gaining Recognition W ith healthcare costs rising, it’s now more important than ever that providers across the spectrum of care find better ways to deliver their services, and sometimes this means moving away from the traditional model. Nursing homes and home-health services have dominated the long term care arena for several decades, but Peter Harris said there’s another option that, although all-too-often overlooked, is beneficial for many people: adult daycare services. “It’s incredibly effective and a great benefit. It extends the time people can stay in their homes, which is typically where they want to live, and it’s inexpensive compared to other long-term solutions,” he explained. Harris is president and CEO of Active Day, Inc., a Marylandbased adult daycare provider that services elderly and disabled individuals with a range of conditions. The organization was founded in 1995 and has grown significantly throughout the last 15 years. With 54 facilities in seven states, it serves 3,000 clients every day, making it one of the largest medical adult daycare providers in the country. Adult daycare services are not as well recognized as other long-term services. Most people are familiar with nursing homes and home healthcare, but medical adult daycare hasn’t captured people’s attention in the same way. Harris and his team are working hard to change that. “One of the reasons we’re not as well known is because it’s still relatively small compared to the other long-term options. However, we are working closely with case managers, physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to raise awareness,” he said. “We also do community outreach near our centers, which works well because our clients live in close proximity to our centers.” Working together Adult daycare is cost efficient because it’s a model that focuses on shared care delivery. Active Day picks its clients up from their homes in the morning and brings them to the nearest care center, where they receive all of the care and attention they need throughout the day. At the end of the day, each client is brought home to his or her family, or other caregiver. “One of the reasons the costs are so much less is that we’re sharing the care with the family,” Harris said. He added, however, that the service has yet to receive the attention it deserves from policymakers, especially in the face of rising healthcare costs. “Most of our clients are covered by Medicaid, and it surprises me that state regulators have yet to really focus on the cost differential. Our services often get lumped into a group with all of the home- and community-based services, or even all of the long-term services. As a result, the efficiencies we offer are overlooked,” Harris explained. 84 Inside Healthcare August 2010
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