My mom resided at Mark Twain from 2008 through 2014. Shortly after moving there she began going to the Enfield Daycare. My mom did not have dementia or Alzheimer’s, she used the Daycare more for socialization. I loved the fact that she was eating lunch with others instead of alone, and she enjoyed their day trips and special events.
To my family and I the cost was worth the money. As time went on, I saw fewer clients attending the Daycare, as well as fewer events and trips. In 2014 my mom began residing at Parkway Pavilion due to declining health issues. Shortly after moving there she asked me if she could go for a visit to the Daycare. I called and was told I she could stop by to say hello. So we went and I was surprised to see so few clients there.
When I asked the staff, they said the numbers were down. The reason I was told, was because more and more clients were having in home care. For the three years my mom resided at Parkway, I saw residents moving back home after re-hab for the same reason.
Today’s older generation has more options for home health care, and studies prove that aging in place with one-on-one care is a better. I agree, not everyone has this option, and that there are still many who do rely on adult daycare facilities, and long-term facilities, and Enfield is very fortunate to have Felician Adult Daycare as an option.
I can also speak about the Felician Daycare, as I used to work there when they first opened. They provide a wonderful facility to care for those who need the service.
The bottom line is, times are changing, and as hard as it is for some us to grasp, we cannot continue to fund programs that are not providing service to enough residents to make it sustainable. We also cannot continue to maintain buildings that are not being used or being underutilized. I believe the Council is looking at this issue with an open heart, and that they are not doing this to hurt our elderly residents, or single anyone out. But I agree that at this time, it does not make sense to continue to fund this program and maintain the building when an average client enrollment consists of only 12 seniors with the average daily attendance of 7-9 seniors while continuing to staff the program for 21 seniors per day.
Marie Pyznar
Published in the Enfield Patch March 21, 2019
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