According to research from professionals from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the University of Massachusetts Boston, having dementia in areas with senior centers that give access to social services and adult day health was tied to lower Medicare costs and health care use, as well as less hospitalizations.
The study as a whole utilized data from the statewide census of municipally based councils on aging and senior centers in Massachusetts as well as data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The study sample was comprised of 48,474 adult residents, aged 75 and up, who had a dementia diagnosis. The researchers reported that Massachusetts is an equipped location in which to assess the health systems impact of such social because 350/351 Massachusetts municipalities have councils on aging (very similar to senior centers) that often provide programming that focuses on dementia. In thinking about New Jersey, which also has a number of municipalities with senior centers, the researchers say that it is not certain how many centers have adult day health and other services available because of a lack of research on state community-based aging organizations. Read the full article