LANCASTER, OHIO (Sept. 17, 2021) – After being apart last year, The Salvation Army in Fairfield County is celebrating National Adult Day Service Week the week of Sept. 19-25, 2021, with in-person care. The Adult Day Services program through The Samaritan Center – which reopened June 21 – provides older adults and their caregivers the support they need to ensure safe, reliable and fulfilling care during the day.
“When we had to close our doors as the pandemic hit last March, we knew we had to find a way to continue providing support for our participants and their caregivers,” said Kelley Bauman, The Samaritan Center Day Services Director. “Our participants rely on the socialization, predictability and reliability our program provides, as do their caregivers. Like so many others during COVID, we had to think outside-the-box to determine how we could provide critical services under the guidelines we were given.”
When The Samaritan Center was forced to close in March 2020, the ADS team got creative about supporting their participants. Within days of closing, the ADS team had called every participant for well-being check-in calls. They continued regularly calling participants during the duration of the 15-month closure for wellness check-ins. Once able to serve patients in their homes, the team eagerly hit the streets to visit participants at home.
“Even when we were forced to close last year, we were still able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our participants,” Bauman said. “Serving our participants is our passion, our calling, and we’ll find creative ways to help as much as we can, even in difficult circumstances.”
The Samaritan Center reopened June 21, 2021, to welcome back participants of the ADS program. Due to COVID-19 guidelines and staffing shortages, the Center reopened at a reduced capacity, serving the participants who had the strongest desire and need to restart the program right away.
“We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to serve participants again in The Samaritan Center,” Bauman said. “We are eager for the day we can safely welcome back even more participants as guidelines allow.”
The Adult Day Services program provides a safe and enjoyable place for seniors during the day while allowing them to continue living in their residence. The services provided through the program are designed to enhance the quality of life of those who participate by providing meaningful activities, social interaction and participant-appropriate supervision throughout the day.
The program has benefits for the participants’ families, too. By caring for a senior’s basic needs during the day, The Salvation Army is able to help delay placement in an expensive permanent senior care facility by a year or more, on average. Providing care for seniors also improves their caregivers’ ability to maintain gainful employment outside the home while taking away their fear of the loved one’s well-being.
“In a lot of situations, the primary caregiver for a senior must maintain employment outside of the home, which leaves the senior home alone during the day. For seniors with cognitive or developmental needs, this can create risk of injury or harm to themselves and others. For example, someone with dementia may turn on the stove to cook a meal and forget the stove is on, presenting risk of fire for himself and for those who live nearby,” said The Salvation Army in Fairfield County Captain Bryan DeMichael.
The Salvation Army in Fairfield County’s Adult Day Services program provides an affordable alternative to nursing home or assisted living placement for those adults who require assistance and supervision with daily activities. The program’s mission is to provide a safe and protective environment for adults and elderly of Fairfield and surrounding counties who need socialization, supervision and assistance during the day. The goal of the center is to, “Change how you live, not where you live.”
The Salvation Army’s Samaritan Center serves residents of Fairfield, Hocking and Perry Counties. A full activity schedule offers social interaction, exercise, crafts and games. Current program hours are 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday, with flexible hours and transportation available.
Participants often quality for funding through Passport, Veteran’s Affairs and the United Way of Fairfield County. To find out if a senior qualifies for financial assistance, contact The Samaritan Center Day Services Director Kelley Bauman at 740-687-1921, extension 1010, or by email at [email protected].
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 130 years in the United States. The Salvation Army in Fairfield County provides more than $1.2 million in services to those in need in Fairfield County, through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children.
