Virginia Tech Adult Day Services (VT ADS) 

Blacksburg, Va. 

Virginia Tech Adult Day Services (VT ADS) began operations in 1992 with a dual purpose – to provide needed adult day services on a long-term basis and to offer intensive on-site learning opportunities for college students interested in geriatrics and dementia care. 18 older adults participate daily in the adult day program and 80 college students are trained annually.

VT ADS was awarded $8,000 in 2018 to help develop a program for older adults and their caregivers in the New River Valley (NRV) to deal with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which often progresses to dementia. About 3,100 people in the NRV currently experience MCS. The development of such an outreach program, with its early intervention, will allow older adults and their families and caregivers to incorporate lifestyle changes now that will benefit them as MCI progresses.

As a program in its initial stages, there are many obstacles that need to be overcome, including making the public aware of this new program. With minimal advertising, word of mouth and a small ad in a local AARP publication, the first class was nearly at capacity. On the first day that the AARP publication hit the mailboxes of members, a gentleman called and asked if he could participate, saying, “I was just diagnosed with MCI and I need this course.”

To learn more about Virginia Tech Adult Day Services visit: www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/ADS/ads.html.