The Home Nursing Agency staff and administration celebrated the official opening of an Adult Day Health Services Program in Blair County on Thursday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony joined by Altoona-Blair County Chamber of Commerce ambassadors, local and state representatives.
The ceremony took place in the facility’s location at 501 Valley View Boulevard in the Easter Seals building. The Home Nursing Agency Adult Day Services Program strives to maintain or improve the quality of life for functionally and cognitively impaired adults 18 and older by delivering an individualized plan of care.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives designated the week of November 3-9 as ‘Adult Day Services Week’ in Pennsylvania. The new facility will be open three days a week and will serve 14 clients a day, and is licensed under the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. Adult Day Services has already taken referrals the past two weeks and have had a number of people who have shown interest in the program
Adult Day Services is a very unique program and it offers supportive services in a dated and timed setting. It’s a center-based program for people who have some type of functional impairment, whether it be a physical disability or a cognitive problem.
Individuals come into the center for the day and are provided with whatever is needed in order to live life to the fullest and have a quality life. The program tries to provide a stimulating environment for clients, such as arts and crafts and outings, because many of the individuals in the community that will participate are isolated socially, and the program helps the individual get back involved with their lives.
What is special about the program is that it helps the caregiver as well as benefiting the client, because it assists in keeping a loved one at home rather than a nursing home.
Adult Day Services tries to maintain the family unit – in society today, more people are geographically displaced and grandchildren don’t grow up with grandparents, but now there are opportunities for the families that live in the same community to remain together.
“It has been my desire and dream since I came to the agency six years ago to open an Adult Day Care in Blair County,” said Lisa Brown, director of Adult Day Services at the Home Nursing Agency. “I was presented the opportunity to move into the Easter Seals building and it didn’t take any thought on my part – I jumped at the chance.”
Brown continued, “This is truly an exciting day for me, not only as the director of the program, but also as a member of the community. It’s exciting for our families, it’s exciting for ourselves, because I know at this program we will provide everyone living in this community the opportunity to remain in their own home.”
She said that being in the Easter Seals building will enable her and the staff to not only continue ongoing therapy screening, but to develop the plan of care in conjunction with the therapist in the building.
CEO of Home Nursing Agency, Robert Packer, was excited about having this opportunity to provide Blair County residents with Adult Day Services and said it really compliments a lot of the agency’s other programs and services, especially their private duty services and home care business.
“This is an exciting day for us, this is our fourth Adult Day Care site but the first time we’ve been able to provide this service in Blair County,” said Packer. “Today’s celebration comes after months of planning and working with staff on another community based service to this area.”
He added, “I want to thank the Adult Day Service Center staff, it’s because of their dedication and support of the people we serve in the centers, it’s because of them and their families that have come to trust the Home Nursing Agency for the care provided to their loved ones.”
Packer also thanked Brown, Jeanne Hanlin who is the CEO of Easter Seals and Nancy Imes, his senior vice president of administrative services who is responsible for Adult Day Services, who have all had an instrumental part of making the new program possible.
Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA) was on hand to display his support of the organization and the opening of the new facility. He spoke of the importance for day care for adults and how more than 20 percent of the people in Blair County are supporting loved ones and helping them with day care, which makes the facility’s presence good timing.
“I’ve seen studies where people come out of the hospital and how much faster they recuperate at home,” said Shuster. “I know that’s possible because home health care providers are out there and coming into homes and making sure people can be in the comfort and peace of their own home.”
Shuster added, “I’ve been trying to work in Washington to make sure we’re supporting home health care. In the 1997 Balance Budget Act they cut home health care by 10 percent and we’ve been fighting every year to make sure that cut doesn’t stay in placement, because I know it’ll save money for our country in the long run when people get to recuperate at home faster with less expense.”
Packer stated, “Congressman Shuster has been so well supportive of us over the years with home health initiatives and a lot of other things, and we’re just fortunate to have somebody like Congressman Shuster to support us.”
Blair County Commissioner John Eichelberger and Carl Macharola of Senator Robert Jubelirer’s office were in attendance to show their support of the Home Nursing Agency’s Adult Day Service Program. Also in attendance were Blair County Chamber ambassadors Patricia Steward and Susan Hemphill.
Adult Day Services helps to enable people to stay at work and still care for their loved ones. The purpose of the program is to provide whatever support an individual would need to have a quality of life. Quality of life is something that can never be measured.
People can access the Adult Day Services by calling the program directory at 946-5411 or toll free at 1-800-445-6262.
