Home Away From Home

by

The story below is from our 2023 edition of Retire-VA. View the rest of the issue for free here! 

These adults—mostly older—need a boost during the day, but don’t require around-the-clock care. Adult day care fills the bill.

For Mallie Elkins, 70, it was a simple matter. “I just wanted to get out and have some fun. Initially, I came [to the Feinour Adult Care Center at Friendship] for therapy and they helped me get involved.”

Nettie Mae Linkenhoker, 92, discovered InnovAge Adult Day Care after she had an accident that resulted in a concussion and broken ribs. “They brought me back to life,” she says without hesitation.

Carolyn Preston, 72 and Nettie’s BFF, “needed to see people besides at church. Everything I need is right here, under one roof.”

Tom Gaines, 77, found the Adult Care Center of the Roanoke Valley because he needed to be near family. “It’s been one hospital or another for 24 years,” he says. “I’ve been here a few months. My wife needed the alone time during the day and the cost is easy to do. I had spent a lot of money on physical therapy.”

Mike Wade, a senior executive with Deloitte Touche in Northern Virginia, has trusted the Feinour Center with his 83-year-old mother’s care for eight years, first in independent living and then in assisted living, then day care. “We’ve done everything but memory care,” he says, “and I am absolutely delighted with the results.”

He says his mother “was absolutely brilliant,” but that memory loss began to emerge, and he learned “that I am amazed at what they can do. Without their tremendous support, she would be in a memory care facility. … They found a way to accommodate her needs and her personality type. The individual care was amazing for her.”

Wade says there was an attempt to move his mother near his King George area home, but “we couldn’t afford it. The cost was double what it is here. She is cared for here.”

The Roanoke Valley has three substantial, full-service adult day care centers, taking care of people ranging in age from teens to 100, offering a wide variety of services from bathing and personal hygiene to  medical care and recreation. The prices, in general, are relatively affordable and the Adult Care Center of the Roanoke Valley serves Medicare and Medicaid recipients without any charge to them. InnovAge is both the insurance provider and medical provider, providing and coordinating all medical care for its participants.

Here is a look at the three.

Adult Care Center of the Roanoke Valley

This is the oldest adult day care center in Virginia, says Administrator Mike Grepiotis. The center is celebrating its 40th birthday and Grepiotis has been the head man for the past 13 years. The facility was given its kick start by the Kiwanis Club, headed by former Mayor Noel Taylor, Grepiotis points out.

The facility, which costs $75 per day, paid for by Medicaid or Medicare, is open weekdays 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and recently had a roster of 40 participants, the majority of them older than 60. Adult Care offers a wide variety of services, including a complete medical staff and access to the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, which is across the street. It has a staff of “about a dozen,” says Grepiotis.

Breakfast and lunch are served to the participants and activities are carried out throughout the day. Occasionally, the facility sponsors road trips. Adult day care “facilities allow families to remain together longer,” says Grepiotis. “We are a hidden gem for families here.”

Learn more about Adult Care Center of the Roanoke Valley at accrv.org.

Feinour Center/Adult Day Care at Friendship

A full day (more than four hours) at the Feinour Center, which opened in 2017, costs $80 (half a day is $55) and the facility is capable of serving 60 participants at a time (though recently its attendance was 34, which is normal). It has a 6-1 ratio of staff to participants with full-time and parttime workers.

Director Nicole Miracle says Feinour “is interactive, working from independent living, to assisted living, to home care, to adult day care. You see a physical improvement in the participants by being here. ... It is a nice ‘between’ [facility] for the elderly. They can still get out and be a part of the community.”

Assistant Director Casey Halstead enjoys the direct interaction with participants. “I’ve been [involved in this kind of work] 15 years and I have always loved patient care. I learn so much from the patients and they brighten my day.” Director Miracle shares that appreciation. “I like to start or end my day here,” she says. “I love hearing the success stories.”

Miracle says the staff concentrates on “bringing back simple pleasures” to the participants. “We do things families are not comfortable doing.” They are also eligible for medical and dental care, as well as a beauty shop, among other services.

Learn more about Feinour Center/Adult Day Care at Friendship at friendship.us/living/adult-daycare.

InnovAge

With a capacity of 419 people and a building that was built in 2021, InnovAge (formerly Kassito) is by far the largest Adult Day Care facility in the Roanoke Valley. It has 17 centers in five states, while Virginia’s locations include Roanoke, Richmond, Newport News and Charlottesville. InnovAge cares for hundreds of participants in its large building, with experts from multiple disciplines including a physician and two nurse practitioners on campus.

Director Peg Tierney says staff tend to participants needing various levels of care on campus. There are also 14 buses that take participants on day trips.

Bingo is a favorite activity, but occasionally musical performances entertain and there are a variety of activities open to all participants. “The goal,” says Tierney, “is to keep people independent in their homes, to avoid nursing homes. More and more people want that.”

InnovAge is a full participant in the federal PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) program. As both the insurer and provider for each enrolled senior, InnovAge provides all necessary medical care, while also paying for the cost of that care. PACE is voluntary and participants can disenroll anytime. With PACE, there are no lifetime limits and no deductibles, or copayments (copays), for any service, medication or care approved by your interdisciplinary care team.

What you pay for PACE depends on your financial situation. Most people enrolled in the program have Medicare and Medicaid, or are eligible for both, and pay little or nothing (eligibility requirements are to be at least 55; rated as eligible for nursing facility level of care as determined by the state you live in; are able to live safely at home and in the community supported by PACE; and live in a community served by InnovAge).

The InnovAge Virginia PACE center in Roanoke includes transportation to medical appointments and to the center; which has a full primary care clinic with five clinical exam rooms; and four day rooms connected to a large, secure patio where participants enjoy fun activities, entertainment, catch up with friends and more. There is also a day room designated specifically for memory care; a dental suite; a rehabilitation gym for physical and occupational therapies; personal care areas, including showers and restrooms; areas for talking with social workers; a dining room where meals are served and more.

Related services and benefits are provided as determined by each individual’s care team, and can also include medication management, recreational therapy, in home services, nutrition/dietary needs, counseling, vision, speech and hearing services/therapy, respite care and more.

“We provide support for family and caregivers,” says Nursing Services Director Monique Pratt. InnovAge’s medical staff keeps a close look after participants, giving shots, acting as primary care and urgent care.

Learn more about InnovAge services and more at www.InnovAge.com.

If you’re considering adult day care, the area’s options offer terrific opportunities to continue living life on your terms, while enabling you to get out and meet people and stay mentally and physically active.

“Care enhances life,” says Pratt. “It’s like an extended family. [Participants] see our faces every day and we see things that need to be addressed. It is more well-rounded healthcare.”

And for an increasing number, it is a way to improve the enjoyment of advancing age. 

The story above is from our 2023 edition of Retire-VA. View the rest of the issue for free in our digital guide!