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COVID has shone a harsh light on the inequities of health care in the United States, particularly in how we care for older people. We summarize some of the effects of lockdown orders on clients, family caregivers, and staff of adult day service programs throughout the United States, which may serve as a counterpoint to scientific evidence suggesting a lack of efficacy of these programs.
Given the ramifications of state lockdown orders for users and staff of the long-term services and support system, we provide recommendations to better support community-based programs and those they serve. Specifically, 1 adult day programs should be classified as essential, 2 a focus on the value of adult day and similar programs is needed, and 3 an exploration of new ways to finance home and community-based services is warranted.
Such advances in policy and science would help to integrate adult day services more effectively into the broader health care landscape. Keywords: Long-term services and supports, caregiving, older adults, respite, policy. Older persons and care staff in nursing homes have faced appalling challenges because of COVID particularly those who are underserved and underrepresented.
However, less public health or media attention has considered those who provide the majority of long-term care in the United States: family caregivers. In order to manage their day-to-day care activities, many family caregivers rely on a patchwork of community services and supports that allow them to continue to provide care to relatives at home and, for many, to remain employed.
