Adult day health care organizational and program characteristics.

A survey of 31 adult day health care (ADHC) programs assessed the extent to which the programs were implemented as intended by the VA. The study 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 Affairs in VA Medical Center facilities. The remaining 27 centers were community providers serving veterans on contract through four additional VA Medical Centers. Veterans Administration programs were located in larger facilities, with lower client/staff ratios and fewer hours of operation than community contract programs. Patients on the average made 45 visits to the VA-ADHC programs and 58 visits to the contract ADHC programs. The VA and contract programs were generally found to have been implemented as planned, i.e., they followed VA guidelines for staffing, space, and equipment.