SERINO URGES ACTION FOR ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS

HYDE PARK, NY – With the Governor’s recent State of the State Address focusing largely on ways to safely reopen, Senator Sue Serino today is urging the state to take immediate action to help Adult Day Health Care programs safely resume to ensure the vulnerable New Yorkers they serve are not left behind in the process. Adult Day Health Care programs are the only in-person healthcare setting in the state that have not been allowed to reopen in some capacity since New York went on ‘PAUSE’ last March. 

“Adult Day Health Care programs play a critical role in empowering New Yorkers living with physical and mental disabilities—as well as vulnerable seniors—and they provide necessary respite for caregivers,” said Senator Serino. “To have Adult Day programs shut down by the state for almost a year, with no end in sight, is absolutely unacceptable when all other healthcare settings have been allowed to reopen for in-person care in some capacity. This decision is hurting our most vulnerable, and it is just not right.  We have a duty to do all that we can to provide the support necessary to get these programs safely back up and running.”

Adult Day Health Care includes medically-supervised services for individuals with wide-ranging physical and mental impairments from dementia and Alzheimer’s to AIDS and Parkinson’s, and can serve New Yorkers of all ages. Services provided by these organizations include everything from nursing and transportation to speech and physical therapy, to psychosocial assessments, socialization opportunities and more.

While the state has argued that it has expanded telehealth services to help support residents who typically utilize these services, Serino argues that telehealth is not enough to meet the needs of the populations these programs serve. 

“Telehealth has been a saving grace throughout the pandemic, but when it comes to this vulnerable population, it needs to be used as supplement, not a substitute for in-person care,” Serino continued. “Many of the individuals served by these programs require care and assistance that cannot be provided over the phone or through a screen, and their lack of access to in-person care and socialization can result in notable mental and physical declines. Now, more than ever, we need to be doing all we can to ensure New Yorkers have the resources they need to age in place, safely in their homes, and Adult Day Heath Care services are a key component of that goal.”

In her letter, Serino also notes that these program providers could meet a critical need by helping to get COVID-19 vaccinations to the vulnerable New Yorkers they serve if given the proper resources and authorizations. 

To read Senator Serino’s letter in full, click here. 

Senator Serino is the Ranking Member of the NYS Senate’s Aging Committee.

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