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| | | (BOB PEPALIS/www.northfulton.com)
John DellIsola brings his mother, Merie DellIsola, to Sarah Care Adult Day Care daily so he can still work and she can remain active. (click for larger version) | |
February 07, 2008
Ned Morgens opened Sarah Care Adult Day Services in 2006 to serve an aging population of Baby Boomers and the "Sandwich" Generation that must care for their parents at the same time as they contemplate their own retirement.
In spring of 2006, just a handful of seniors visited the medical office park site on Johns Creek Parkway in south Forsyth. Emory Hospital Johns Creek was more than a half-year from opening, but the medical park had most of its space leased, showing the demand for health care in North Fulton and Forsyth counties. Now he's working toward 60 seniors per day at the facilities, which combine space for activities with areas for basic health care, such as assistance in taking prescribed medication.
As Morgens approaches his second year of business, he reflected on the issues and challenges seniors and their families face.
Most seniors served by Sarah Care are freshly moved to the North Fulton/south Forsyth area, he said, and they are doing that to be close to their children.
"One of the big issues that the families are facing is 'How do I bring mom and dad here into this community? Can they live on their own? Do we have space in our house? Is that something that is going to be doable in our home," he said.
Families have to come to grips with those kinds of issues.
An adult child serving as the primary caregiver for their senior parent may have to work.
"They've got to figure out what to do with mom or dad," Morgens said.
If they decide not to place their parent into an institutional setting to keep in their home as long as possible, they must recognize they can't do everything they want all day.
It's a tough decision to bring mom and dad into the home and still maintain a balance over work, children and all the other commitments and responsibilities they have, in addition to the relationship with their own parents, he said.
How much it costs to bring a parent home depends a bit on what support the senior needs, Morgens said. If the senior parent remains relatively independent, they may be able to bring them to an adult day care facility such as Sarah Care a few days per week. That will cost approximately $60 per day.
A senior requiring a minimal amount of assistance from an in-home care agency will spend a bit more, up to $20 per hour, he said. A four-hour basic care schedule costs $70 to $80 per day.
"Then it goes up from there. If you get to the point of bringing in somebody on a 24/7 basis, you are looking at spending well over $200 a day for those services,," he said.
- www.northfulton.com
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