After his father had a stroke and needed some help, Mark Harlow searched high and low for an adult day care that could help provide services for his dad while providing him time to work and get tasks done.
But aside from dementia patient programs, he found them nearly nonexistent. Fortunately, he was able to find the Sky-Hy Adult Day Program in Topsham, not far from his home in Yarmouth.
The Sky-Hy Adult Day Program is a place for the elderly and other impaired adults who need help with social, nutritional, health, educational, and personal care. It can increase an individual’s sense of independence while providing respite for caregivers.
Normand Houde chairs the Sky-Hy board of directors and said the adult day program is licensed to serve up to 48 clients, but recently the center has approximately 13 attending the program — often less daily. It is a program he believes many just don’t know about, and he is working to get the word out.
The National Adult Day Services Association identifies these programs as a growing source of longterm care. There number of adult day services centers across the U.S. has grown 35 percent since 2002. The number of participants and family caregivers utilizing the services has grown 63 percent in that same time.
Houde said the Sky-Hy Adult Day Care Center is licensed and certified by the Bureau of Elder and Adult Services and while people can pay out of pocket, Sky- Hy accepts payment from MaineCare, MediCare Waiver, and Home Based Care. Many veterans are covered for the program by the Veterans Administration. The program has up to $100,000 in Section 61 funding available for adult day services.
Wednesday, program participants and their family members attended the Christmas party at the center, including Harlow and his father, who at age 74, has attended Sky-Hy for nearly four years.
“He wasn’t on board with it when we started,” Harlow said. But then asked to go more often.
“It’s meant a lot to me, just to get him out, especially in the winter time, not being stagnant, being able to move, interact, function, and do the things that they do here,” he said.
Harlow gave up a full time job to care for his father. The adult day care program allows him to work those three days a week his father is at Sky-Hy. Fortunately, because his father is a disabled veteran, the VA covers the program. His advice to anyone considering adult day care is to stop by the facility for a tour and speak to staff.
The program has also been a great experience for Lee Trask’s daughter, Julie, who was diagnosed three years ago with Huntington’s disease. A state social worker said it would be good for Julie, now 38, to get out and be social. She also needed someone to watch over her, Trask said, so they were pointed to Sky-Hy which Julie now attends daily.
The disease progresses in stages and you never know what’s coming next, Trask said. It is accompanied by twitching of the muscles and eventually, difficulty eating and voice loss.
“What we’re seeing is in time, degradation of her being able to adapt and getting around,” Trask said.
Depression also often comes with the disease, which is why socialization is important.
Trask and his daughter live on the same road in Lisbon Falls. Retired, he brings her to the center two or three times a week.
“Right now this is quality time for me to pick her up and share the drive home,” he said. “It tears you apart knowing that you’ll lose a child before yourself and remembering all the days of them growing up. But the time coming here … she may be eating and I’m sitting right there — that’s good quality time. You’ve got to grab every moment you get.”
Sky-Hy Adult Day Program is MaineCare, MediCare Waiver, Home Based Care, Veterans Administration approved. Hours are 8-5 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call (207) 725-7577, email info@sky-hy.net or visit skyhy.net.
At Sky-Hy
• MEDICAL SUPERVISION by a registered nurse
• SPECIAL SERVICES for physically, mentally challenged adults
• PERSONAL CARE as needed such as baths
• NUTRITIOUS MEALS, snacks
• FOLLOW-UP physical and occupational therapy
• DAILY TRANSPORTATION for qualifying members
• CREATIVE, social, physical and educational activities
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