Proclamation 5855 --
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
The
number of older Americans continues to grow, thanks in part to advances in
medical care and technology and better understanding of the ways nutrition,
behavior, and environment affect health. Most senior citizens are active in
their communities; but some cannot be so. For them we seek ways to continue or
initiate every possible measure of independence, dignity, and integration in
family and community life. We do so not only out of recognition of all that
today's older citizens have achieved over the years, but also because of our
long national history and heritage of respect for the elderly and reverence for
the individual dignity and worth inherent in each of us alike.
One
way that Americans are helping older citizens is by establishing adult day care
centers. Some 1,200 such centers now serve older Americans
who are frail, disabled, or requiring regular medical care and who might
otherwise need care in a long-term facility. These centers often exist in
hospitals, nursing homes, and senior centers; they offer a range of programs
from health services to therapy, meals, and social activities. The centers
benefit the elderly -- and give a vital assist to dedicated family caregivers
so they can meet their own needs.
The
number of adult day care centers has grown rapidly over the past two decades,
and State and Area Agencies on Aging, as well as social service and health care
agencies, support the creation of additional centers across our country.
Concerned citizens can and should work with their States and Area Agencies on
Aging to see that their community has one of these truly beneficial adult day
care center programs.
The
Congress, by Public Law 100 - 344, has designated the week beginning on the
third Sunday of September 1988 as ``National Adult Day Care Center Week'' and
authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of
this occasion.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in
the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,