Kathryn Walker, MA
Dancing and clapping, music and singing, jokes and laughing--this is what I found at the end of the day on my visit to the Baycrest Centre Special Day Program. There was a spontaneous tap dance demonstration by one of the student social workers. The tap dance drew a rowdy crowd, eliciting cheering, clapping hands and keeping time with canes. Daycare programs for elders, among other things, offer a social environment that can help improve a participant's quality of life.
Daycare programs offer many benefits to the patients. Social workers and nurses can provide health monitoring and counseling. Upon admittance, most daycare programs generally require that the participant be assessed both physically and cognitively and most also offer some form of continual assessment. A program with a nurse on staff is able to monitor changes in a participant's condition. For example, it may be determined that a participant's condition has changed and that they now require a cane or walker. This timely recognition of a newly developed need could prevent a potential accident. However, most daycare programs have limited nursing involvement and the participants are expected to be medically stable. Daycare programs offer activities designed to improve the quality of life for the participants.
