Limited funding avenues have been a long-term pain point for adult day services providers, and sadly, many have not been able to re-open since the start of the pandemic, especially those who are not connected to larger provider systems. LeadingAge advocates for Adult Day as an important part of the continuum of aging services, and with our state partners and members, continues to seek solutions to stabilize and bolster adult day.

Innovation Senior Living CEO and Founder Pilar Carvajal was recently a featured guest on the Senior Housing News Transform podcast. She sees adult day services as an avenue to serve both low-income and middle-income older adults as an entry point into senior living communities, and is posing the question: if so many senior living operators want to make their services more affordable, why don’t they consider expanding into adult day services?

In addition to offering Medicaid-funded adult day services, senior living providers may choose to transition to also offering or partnering to provide adult day services for middle-income older adults. One approach Carvajal noted is to establish adult day centers within assisted living communities: “adult daycare, I think, is just going to be a natural option just like assisted living can be, just like respite can be. Eventually, it will become more part of what we do.” A summary of the podcast, including thoughts on re-branding Adult Day to attract a broader group older adults and their caregivers to a recognized suite of services, is found here.