Martha Corondoni hopes to reach the age of 115.
If the 85-year-old Corona resident does, she said she will credit a close
relative who made it to 113 -- and days spent at the Inland Empire Adult Day
Health Care Center on McKinley Street in Corona.
Corondoni, who has had heart failure several times and underwent sextuple
bypass heart surgery in 1995, said she gets physical therapy, exercise and a
place to socialize outside of the home she shares with her son and his family
during her three days a week at the center.
|
| Carrie Rosema / The Press-Enterprise |
| Fred Waechter, 84, catches a beach ball during an
exercise class at the Inland Empire Adult Day Health Care Center in Corona. The
center offers seniors a place where they can get some exercise and socialize.
The facility is one of more than 350 adult day health care centers in the state,
according to the California Department of Aging. |
|
|
|
"This is my joy," said the West Virginia native. "When I saw an (newspaper)
ad for this place, I was praying for a place like this."
The center, which opened in 2003, is one of 369 adult day health care centers
in the state, according to the California Department of Aging.
It's one of a handful in the Inland Empire, including Corona's St.
Christopher Adult Day Health Care on Green River Road, which mainly serves
mentally ill adults of all ages, and Care Connexxus Adult Day Services in
Riverside and Sun City, the oldest provider in the area, among others.
Bob McCafferty a spokesman for state Department of Aging said adult day
health centers, 40 percent of which are in Los Angeles County, help 43,000
people each year.
Ninety percent of the clients are on Medi-Cal and ownership of the centers
range from private sector operations to those run by the state and federal
government, he said.
Faced with an influx of the centers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services has put a statewide moratorium on opening any new facilities. The
holding pattern has been in place for a year and continues, he said.
State representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did
not return a phone call seeking comment.
Lilliana Castro, a onetime dentist, and her husband, Luis, purchased the
former firehouse from Corona in 2002 to open the McKinley center.
A staff of 22 provides physically, mentally or socially dependent senior
citizens and adults with occupational and physical therapy, nursing care, and
activities and classes to promote mental and physical health.
About 55 clients between ages 25 to 95 come to the center each day, which
also provides meals and transportation, said Lilliana Castro. The site has a 120
daily capacity, she said.
The cost is about $75 a day for private pay customers, about $12 an hour
average compared with $18 for home care, Castro said. Most patients at the
center get their care, which must be recommended by a doctor, paid for through
Medi-Cal. Grants are also available, she said.
Some have Alzheimer's or dementia, she said. Others have brain injuries or
physical limitations.
On one particular morning, clusters of clients, some wheelchair-bound, break
off into groups to exercise to Latin music thumping from the speakers. After
class and a jaunt around the building, some go to Bible study while others
attend group sessions to test their mental strength.
The plan is to stave off mental and physical deterioration that comes with
aging and keep people out of nursing homes, Castro said.
"They are not just sitting in front of the TV at home," she said. "Here they
are active. We challenge them physically, emotionally and mentally."
Corona resident Marion Daughtry, a widow, said she is not used to living
alone. Although her daughter and family live near her senior apartment complex,
the center provides her with an outlet and the transportation she needs to get
out and be social, she said.
"I don't know what I would do without coming here," said the 80-year-old Iowa
native. "Everything is right here. I just enjoy everything about it."
Yolanda Taylor, whose 94-year-old father-in-law Gordon goes to the center
every day to keep active and social, said the service also gives a peace of mind
to the caregivers.
"It gives the caregiver a break," the Corona resident said. "You know that
he's safe and you know he's enjoying it."
Care Connexxus, which has been around for 25 years and was the first center
to provide caregiver services in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, has
multiple components, said Jeanne Klingenberger, executive director.
The nonprofit has adult day health care, the less medically extensive adult
day care and an Alzheimer's Day Care Resource Center, she said. The agency
relies heavily on grants and provides scholarships for those families who can't
afford the care, she said.
"It's the best option for keeping a family member at home and it has a
program that enriches their life," she said of the centers.
John Uhrig, program director at Care Connexxus and a trained psychiatric
social worker, said the stimulation the clients get through the activities, the
affordable care and the relief that the caregiver gets knowing their loved one
is being well cared for is key.
More caregivers would probably take advantage of the service, but many don't
know it's available, Uhrig said.
"Adult day health care, in my eyes, is the best kept secret," he said. "It's
the most cost effective way to care for people."
Reach Melanie C. Johnson at (951) 893-2113 or mjohnson@pe.com
