Frequently Asked Questions...

When your parent is no longer able to manage their own free time (when they can no longer go for a walk alone or no longer enjoy reading), adult day programs are a great answer. When they need help with activities of daily living (such as reminders to use or find the restroom and/or assistance in the restroom),  it’s time to transition from a regular senior center to an adult day program.  Or when you notice that one parent is becoming very tired caring for the other parent, it’s time for assistance.

Our program is designed for people with early to mid-stage memory loss/dementia. We have participants with walkers and wheelchairs due to a variety of conditions such as Parkinson’s, MS and strokes. 

Absolutely! Many of our participants are in the early stages of dementia and are still able to carry on great conversations and to enjoy a multitude of activities. The prime benefit to joining a program such as ours is the opportunity to make new friends.

Indeed, she is. Incontinence care and assistance in the restroom is not a deal breaker in our program. You provide the undergarments, we provide the assistance.

We cannot accept anyone that is physically aggressive.  We cannot keep a person safe if they are physically able to jump the fence and run away (exit seekers that can be redirected can usually remain in the program). 

We offer multiple activities simultaneously throughout the day. We nurture mind, body and soul at Gentog. We enjoy music, physical (safe and seated) exercise, brain games, table games, puzzles, art projects. We pray together, we enjoy discussions and conversation, and learn things together. Every day we try to provide activities that will be enjoyed by the specific people that are present.

 Nobody is required to participate in any specific activity. We do, however, provide encouragement and direction.  When someone attends a full day, they may need time to wander a bit or even take a nap, and we honor those needs.

We have two intentional interactions every day. In the morning we bring the groups together for a variety of organized activities, including music, art, games and reading. Children from the age of 1 and older participate in this interaction. In the afternoons we come back together at 2:30 to enjoy an afternoon snack together. This is primarily a time to enjoy each others’ company and it’s adorable. We also have unplanned visits throughout the week. Sometimes the Lions Class (our Pre-K group) will come to the senior room to deliver projects they’ve created and to visit for a few minutes. Occasionally a baby will wake up during naptime, and a teacher (or their grandma – Marcie or Cathy!) will bring them over for a quick visit.

We care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in our childcare center. We occasionally have school-aged children that come to volunteer or to perform. And we work with Tigard High School and usually have 1 or 2 teenaged interns working in the morning.

We sure do! All of our snacks and meals are lovingly prepared on-site by our own Miss Tess. We provide breakfast, morning snack, a substantial lunch and an afternoon snack. Meals are included at no additional charge to all participants.

Our Adult Day Program is Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm. You can use our services for as few as 2 hours at a time, you can use every hour that we are open and anything in between. Our program is very flexible, and we will work with your family to provide the care that you need.

 We do not offer that service at this time.

We do not have a nurse on our staff, so medications are managed by families. If someone needs to take a medication during their hours at Gentog, the meds are prepared by the family, we store them in a locked cabinet and present them to the participant at the appropriate time.

We recommend TriMet's Lift service, which  shared-ride service for people who are unable to use regular buses and trains due to a disability or disabling health condition.  Scheduled rides and hand-to-hand service is available to clients with dementia.  

Depending on the stage of dementia, this can be normal. Nobody wants to believe that they have reached the point of needed care and supervision. If someone is in the early stages of the disease and they are aware, they may fight the idea of receiving any kind of care. The fun of being with a group of people that is enjoying life is hard to resist, however! After 2 or 3 visits, most people settle in comfortably.  We will work with you on the best way to approach the idea with your loved one.

The most you will pay for our services is $35/hour for occasional care. Scheduled, prepaid days are $135 (working out to be less than $15/hour when you take advantage of all of the hours.)

Unfortunately, Medicare does not yet cover adult day services. It’s an idea that has been discussed in Congress for years, but it is very slowly rolling out as Medicare coverages are changing. Medicaid does cover our services – up to fulltime for people living with family and up to three days a week for people living in foster care. Long term care insurance will also typically cover adult day fees.

We opened our doors April 22, 2008. We began as an intergenerational program, and have always operated as such. 

State guidelines for Adult Day Programs require a 1:6 ratio. We, however, don’t believe that we can provide adequate care at that ratio, and we aim to maintain a 1:4 ratio whenever possible.

We prefer staff with previous experience working with the senior population, but we believe that if you have the heart for this job, we can teach the specifics.  We require that all employees maintain a First Aid/CPR certificate.  We use the teaching of Teepa Snow and the Alzheimer's Association's essentiALZ training for our staff.  

 We are licensed for 35 children and certified for 40 seniors in our program. We are at capacity in our childcare program, but have room in our senior program. 

 We have native Spanish speakers on our staff, and have establised a program called "Amistades Doradas" with activities guided in Spanish.  

We hope that you will consider us to be a care partner. We have on-going conversations with our families, and are always willing to help as you navigate the caregiving journey.