ADULT DAY HEALTH-CARE ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS

A survey of 31 adult day health care (ADHC) programs assessed the exte nt to which the programs were implemented as intended by the VA. The s tudy described and compared the host communities, ADHC organizational characteristics, program characteristics, and patient use of services. Four of the centers were operated by the Department of Veterans Affai rs in VA Medical Center facilities. The remaining 27 centers were comm unity providers serving veterans on contract through four additional V A Medical Centers. Veterans Administration programs were located in la rger facilities, with lower client/staff ratios and fewer hours of ope ration than community contract programs. Patients on the average made 45 visits to the VA-ADHC programs and 58 visits to the contract ADHC p rograms. The VA and contract programs were generally found to have bee n implemented as planned, i.e., they followed VA guidelines for staffi ng, space, and equipment.