Supportive Day Program For Seniors Gains Momentum

by Tim Wood

            CHATHAM --- Almost every day, a handful of senior citizens board a council on aging-sponsored bus for the 10-mile ride to Orleans, where they spend the day at the Day Center, the neighboring town’s supportive day center.

            For more than two years, local council on aging officials have advocated for a local supportive day center, so those seniors who need the service don’t have to take that daily bus trip, which can be difficult for some.  A Chatham Council On Aging survey found that many more local seniors would attend a supportive day program if one existed locally.

Selectmen will be asked to approve a study of building on addition on the southwest side of the senior center on Stony Hill Road to house a senior supportive day facility. TIM WOOD PHOTO

           That possibility took one step closer to reality last week when the capital projects review committee unanimously voted to recommend to the board of selectmen that a detailed study be done for the placement of a supportive day center at the current senior center site at 193 Stony Hill Rd.

            “We’ve been working on this for years,” said Council On Aging Treasurer Frank Hynes.  “We’re elated we got through this committee.”

            At this point, the project is not included in the town’s capital facilities program, according to Town Manager William Hinchey.  He said he’ll await direction from the board of selectmen before determining what priority to give the proposal and how to work it into the town’s budget.

            Supportive day programs serve two important functions, according to COA Director Ellen Ford.  They allow otherwise home-bound seniors to get out of the house and socialize, and provide caregivers with a much-needed break. 

            “It’s nice to have the resource available as an alternative for someone who is spending all day at home,” she said. “The idea of having an option outside the home is healthy. It allows someone to have a choice.”

            Five years ago, when the community center was being development, Ford requested space for a supportive day center.  The space allocated, however, was on the second floor, which posed too many access issues.

            Two years ago, the COA conducted a “scratch the surface” survey to gauge interest in a supportive day program, Ford said.  Thirty-seven people responded that they or someone in their family would use a supportive day program in Chatham; 16 others responded they did not yet need the service but probably would in the future.

            Such a program would operate on a daily fee basis. Ford said the cost, which would probably run between $40 and $50 per day, would not be covered by Medicare or Medicaid.  However, no senior who needs the service would be denied access; Ford said the Friends of the Council On Aging will provide scholarships for seniors unable to pay the fee.

            “The Friends are really committed to helping to fundraise to guarantee the tuitions the town needs to serve the Chatham people,” she said.

            A draft proposed budget for the program dated February 2009 shows annual operating expenses of $147,640, which includes the salaries of three full-time and one part-time staff members.  Annual income is projected at $156,600, based on full capacity of 12 participants at $50 per day, five days a week.  Full capacity is a best-case scenario, said Hynes.

            “It’s going to be an up-and-down program,” he said at last Thursday’s capital projects review committee meeting, “because of the nature of the population we’re dealing with.”  Even without full use, the center would require minimal financial support from the town, he said.  “Down the road, I don’t see this as being a big operational expense.”

            Likewise, the cost of building an addition to the present senior center to house the facility would have little impact on the tax rate, he said.  A single-story 1,400 square foot addition would cost $360,000, according to a rough estimate by Community Development Director Kevin McDonald.  Especially if the capital cost was bonded over a long period, the impact on taxpayers would be “infinitesimal,” Hynes said.

            “I don’t see that as a burden,” he said.

            There are two different models for supportive care programs, Ford said.  One is a social model, for seniors who are relatively independent and need only minor health services.  The medical model is for seniors who need more intensive health services.  The current plans are for the former, Ford said, but in the future, both models will be needed as the town’s population continues to age.

            Just as the town plans for its water, sewer and infrastructure needs, it needs to plan services for its elderly population, Ford said.  At last week’s meeting, COA board member Carole DeChristopher said that the state has projected that by 2040, the town’s population suffering from Alzheimer’s disease will more than double.

            “And at the same time, we’ll have one-third the potential caregivers,” she said.

            “Nothing is carved in stone,” Ford added in a telephone interview this week.  “But it is our obligation to bring this to the attention of the powers that be, that in the next 10 years they’re going to wish they had one.”

            The arguments convinced members of the capital project review committee, who serve as the first line of review for potential capital projects.

            “This should go forward,” said committee member David Oppenheim, adding that the cost is “relatively nothing compared to other stuff we’re doing in this town.”

            Ideally, Ford would like to see a supportive day center open at the senior center a year from now. Realistically, however, it will probably take longer.

            “We know it’s going to be a while before this sees fruition,” agreed Hynes, “but we’re going one step at a time. We’re grateful for where we’ve gotten so far.”

11/19/09