Veterans Administration Holds Two Day Conference on Adult Day Health Care

The staff of VA Medical Centers Long-Term Care Divisions and staff of VA Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) gathered in Chicago on August 20 and 21, 2008 to develop strategies to meet the increasing need for ADHC brought about by changes in the American culture as they relate to transitioning to non- institutional long term care.

Merle Griff, Beth Meyer-Arnold and Jed Johnson presented to the staff of VA Medical Centers

Beth Meyer-Arnold, Merle Griff and Jed Johnson were featured speakers on the first day of the conference. Beth, Merle and Jed shared information on trends, issues and best practices for adult day services. Approximately 120 persons heard Jed start the day with a fabulous keynote address on "The Future of ADHC." This was followed up with two sessions in which Merle, Beth and Jed talked about quality measures and best practices, and answered questions from the audience. During the day the participants were also updated on the new ADHC Handbook, challenging patient care issues, performance improvement, expansion and marketing strategies, and provider agreements.

On day two, Beth spoke to a smaller group of VA-run ADHC center administrators on advances in environmental design and enhancement of participant engagement and interaction.

The two days were an amazing opportunity for NADSA representatives to network and educate the VA Medical Center staff on the value the adult day centers play in the community based services for their veterans. The new VA guidelines were shared (in principle) with the VA Medical Center representatives; however, bureaucratic "roadblocks" are still preventing the printing and dissemination of these manuals.