Seniors say closing will split their family

By William K. Alcorn

YOUNGSTOWN — It would be like splitting up a family if the Adult Day Services program of the Mahoning County District Board of Health is closed at the end of April as planned, clients say.

“I can’t even figure where we’re going to go; we’ve been here for so long,” said Bessie Daniels of Campbell, referring to herself and friends, Kathleen Sanderson of Youngstown and Ethel Wick of Austintown.

“We need someone to help us. It’s heart-breaking. I’m sure everybody feels the same,” said Daniels, looking around the room.

The three, ages 76, 75 and 75, respectively, were playing cards and talking about the bombshell news they received Wednesday, that the program would shut down at the end of the month because of lack of funds.

About 60 low-income and frail seniors attend the program, which has been in existence for 30 years and is the only adult day services program in the state operated under the auspices of a county health department, said Diana Colaianni, director of nursing.

The program, operated in collaboration with the Area Agency on Aging, which provides $30,000 a year for its operation, has been subsidized for many years in the amount of $60,000 a year by the health department. It has three employees, a van driver, an activities director and a part-time nurse, who could lose their jobs, Colaianni said.

Because of the downturn in the economy, which has resulted in less income from licensing and permit fees, and a reduction in grants from the Ohio Department of Health, money is no longer available to subsidize the adult day services program at the expense of the health department’s core programs, said county Health Commissioner Matthew Stefanak.

He said his department receives about 50 percent of its revenue from state and federal grants, many of which have been cut, or cuts are threatened. An additional 19 percent to 20 percent of the revenue comes from county real estate taxes. But, with property values stagnant and housing starts down, that revenue is not growing, he said.

Another large revenue source, licensing and permit fees, generates about 30 percent of the department’s revenue. Those fees, also tied to the housing industry, are down as well, Stefanak added.

The department receives no revenue from the county’s half-percent sales taxes. It does receive the revenue generated by a county tuberculosis levy, which is used to run the TB prevention program.

The district health board, facing the loss of income, had to cut back to ensure it could provide mandated services. The adult day services program is not mandated, Stefanak said.

“It’s heart-breaking. It’s awful. But we don’t have $60,000 to fund the program,” the commissioner said. “If we had a rich benefactor, it would buy us time to form a partnership with some other program and keep that ‘family’ together.”

Despite the grim forecast, Colaianni said she is hopeful the program can be saved.

In the meantime, she is working with the Area Agency on Aging to get clients placed in other programs.

“We think, with some luck, we’ll find placement,” said Donald Medd, executive director of the Area Agency on Aging office here.

“Right now, we’re trying to get our fingers around the problem. We will attempt to work with everybody to make the transition as smooth as possible,” he added.

But the clients would rather continue with a program that they have been in for so long.

Daniels and Sanderson have known each other for 70 years. They grew up and went to school together in Campbell, graduating from Memorial High School in 1949. “We used to jump rope together. Now, we walk with canes together,” Daniels said.

Daniels and Sanderson came to the program 14 years ago. Wick has been coming for 15 years. “Our husbands passed, and we were lonely. We looked and looked and then found this place,” Daniels said.

Clients are bused to the center for about five hours a day, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They play cards, make crafts, some of which are entered in the Canfield Fair, and have daily exercise and a meal — all for $5 a day.

But, the smiles quickly disappear when their thoughts return to the prospects that the facility will close at the end of the month.