Adult Day Health Care

  • Medically-supervised services for individuals with physical or mental impairment (examples: children, people with dementia, or AIDS patients)
  • Services include:
    • nursing, transportation, leisure activities, physical therapy, speech pathology, nutrition assessment, occupational therapy, medical social services, psychosocial assessment, rehabilitation and socialization, nursing evaluation and treatment, coordination of referrals for outpatient health, and dental services.

Who is Eligible?

This program is available through Medicaid, private payment, and some health insurers.

How do I find Adult Day Health Care services?

When looking for services, the patient or the patient's family may seek the help of community organizations, health care providers, or hospital discharge planners. All patients are required to be eligible for nursing home placement and have a physician's order for the day services. Most services are operated by nursing homes, but are not necessarily located at the nursing homes. Generally, services are offered from one to five days per week, with some services available on weekends.

New York State law provides general standards under which the adult day programs operate, and the NYS Department of Health is responsible for quality assurance. The standards to which the services must adhere relate to admission, assessment, staffing qualifications, and patients' rights.

For Information on Adult Health Care Need Estimates by County