Health & Medicine

Living Your Best Life With Easterseals

By admin | January 1, 2026 0 Comments

By Natalie Scott

“Dementia changes your whole life,” Mary says.

Mary and her husband, Donald, who have been married for 60 years, loved to travel. Unfortunately, Donald’s dementia diagnosis brought those fun-filled adventures to a screeching halt. It was a hard adjustment for Mary, who was suddenly thrust into the role of full-time caregiver and quickly became overwhelmed. That is when her daughter found the Easterseals Smyrna Adult Day program, and their lives became much brighter again.

“Easterseals has been excellent. I am glad it is available. Caregiving is a lot. Dementia is very disruptive,” Mary says. “The atmosphere at Easterseals is great, and everyone on the staff has a great attitude. They really care for the participants.”

Donald spends five days a week in the adult day program, where he enjoys arts and crafts, chair exercises, and singing. Recently, the program held a fair where participants enjoyed golfing, bowling, and other activities.

“Donald has peace there and is so excited to attend the program. They make him feel important. They keep the participants busy,” Mary says. “When he is there, I run errands, go to my own check-ups, and care for my aunt. I also try to relax.”

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, there are more than 63 million unpaid family caregivers in the U.S. One of the greatest needs of these caregivers is information about services and programs in their community that may be helpful to them as caregivers for children or adults with disabilities, chronic or terminal illness, or the elderly.

Easterseals is an indispensable resource for the region. Last year, the organization served more than 7,200 people through direct services and 43,480 through indirect services such as education and training. For many families, Easterseals provides a lifetime of programs and services.

Like all Easterseals services, adult day care services are comprehensive and individualized to meet each client’s needs, family-focused to address each family member’s concerns, and aimed at enhanced independence. The adult day care program offers a break for family caregivers of a relative who is unable to function independently but does not require 24-hour nursing care. For more information about Easterseals Adult Day Care Services, contact Kim Ellis at 302-324-4444 or [email protected].

Easterseals Smyrna location is at Carter Professional Center, 699 South Carter Road, Suite 3, Smyrna, DE 19977. Their New Castle location is at 61 Corporate Circle, New Castle, DE 19720. Please visit their website and see all of the local services for people of all ages and abilities: eastersealsDeMd.org.