Fifty-six percent of counties in the United States do not have enough adult day care centers to meet the need for Alzheimer patients, according to a researcher at the Wake Forest University Medical School.

Although 3,407 adult day centers are now operating across the United States, Nancy J. Cox, an instructor in psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said 5,415 are needed, including 2,424 in rural areas.

Such centers mainly serve the people with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and the frail elderly without dementia.

The national need is growing, according to Cox, because of the projected increase in the number of disabled elderly people and because centers are now also serving younger people who have chronic conditions.

The study found that adult day centers are a viable, cost-effective long-term care option that help keep patients in the community, with family and friends as long as possible.

Most people attending an adult day center live either with an adult child or a spouse. Such centers relieve the need for caregivers to provide constant care during the day Monday through Friday, the hours that most centers are typically open.

Cox reported that 43 percent of individuals enrolled in adult day centers need help with toileting, 37 percent with walking and 24 percent with eating. She said many people are not aware of the level of sophistication of the typical adult day center, "dispelling the myth of being just a babysitting service."

The average cost of adult day centers is $56 per day, which is considerably under the cost of most other options for the frail elderly and people with dementia, according to Cox.

Medicaid and other public funds pay for about 51 percent of adult day services, while families pay 47 percent and long-term care insurance pays less than one percent.

Cox said the availability of adult day services has been expanding rapidly with 26 percent of all adult day centers opening in the past five years. She said some existing adult day centers are not fully utilized, pointing to the need for public awareness campaigns in those communities.

Other sources: Wake Forest University School of Medicine