The VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center is lucky to have a fantastic group of volunteers that help us serve our members! Volunteers come to us from all walks of life, ages (12 – 80 years old) and cultural backgrounds. They have a wide variety of talents and skills to share with our members, including pet therapy, art, music and computers. Most importantly, they bring companionship and compassion to support our members.     

I recently read a quote from President Woodrow Wilson that moved me and really described our volunteers: “You are not here to…

The VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center is so lucky to partner with Girl Scout Troop 1986 to create fun and meaningful intergenerational programs for our seniors! Congratulations to Victoria, one of our Scouts that wrote and received a grant from Generations United in Washington DC! Funding will go toward an intergenerational nutritionally based program, which will not only help our seniors but will extend way beyond our four walls. The program will include a Grandparents Day event, creation of an intergenerational cookbook and in-home activity kits for 150 seniors in Westchester.

We’re…

At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, we serve seniors that speak four languages, come from over 25 countries and have varying cognitive and education levels. It’s not a “one program serve all” type of environment. The Activity Coordinators are very mindful to create a variety of activities to maximize each member’s experience at the center.

On any given day, multiple activities are offered at one time to give our members choices and to allow them to pursue their individual interests. Today, we had exercise, art, mah jong, dominoes and music…

The VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center is grateful for the Occupational Therapy students from New York University (NYU) recently doing placements at our center. They came full of enthusiasm and ready to apply their knowledge to an adult day setting. They created a variety of projects to engage our seniors in different ways. One activity focused on international dance, which was especially meaningful for our multi-cultural population. They also worked with our seniors on a baking activity. For their art project, they taught seniors to make a fabric fortune cookie…

In April, the Girl Scouts (Heart of the Hudson, Troop 1986), Cub Scouts and Daisies worked with the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center to make activity bags for home-bound seniors in the VNSNY CHOICE MLTC Program (http://2012.vnsnychoice.org/). It was a very engaging and inspiring day at the center. All generations enjoyed the time together and took pride in creating something positive and beneficial for seniors in the community that can’t get out to attend a center.

This year, the Girl Scouts added a survey to the activity bags, so we could…

At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, we offer many services including transportation, personal care, recreation therapy, nutritious food services and laundry facilities.   In addition to all that, we’re also constantly observing our members’ physical and cognitive functioning, so we can inform caregivers when we see changes.    We spend so much time with our members, that we notice even the smallest changes as they’re happening.      

We also take note when seniors have issues with assistive devices.   Sometimes a member that used to ambulate comfortably with a cane, begins to have…

It constantly amazes me how a little cognitive stimulation goes a long way to improve functioning in older adults. Many seniors are home and isolated, and the only stimulation they get is watching television. At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, we see endless examples of people who come to our center withdrawn, depressed and confused. After just a few short months, with a consistent routine, socialization and participation in activities, we see people’s mood and level of functioning greatly improve.

In our dementia program, with some cognitive stimulation, the changes…

On May 30^th, the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center joined over 1,000 locations throughout the United States to celebrate the 19^th annual Senior Health & Fitness Day. This is the nation’s largest annual health promotion event for older adults and includes 100,000 seniors throughout the country.  The goal is “to help keep older Americans healthy and fit.” We’ve been participating for the past 4 years, and each year we include different physical activities and health education.

We’re very fortunate to have access to health and wellness experts through VNSNY CHOICE. This year, our health…

When seniors are referred to the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, sometimes they’re hesitant to leave the comfort of their homes. They’re used to being in a familiar environment where they feel safe and comfortable, and sometimes they’re just not interested in going out. Although nurses, social workers and loved ones may understand the benefits of socializing and participating in activities, some seniors may find it easier to stay home and maintain their routines. In order to engage seniors and help them see how they can benefit from keeping active,…

Not only does the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center keep seniors socializing and stimulated while at the center, but we continue to look for ways to support caregivers at home. By doing activities at home with seniors, especially those with dementia, caregivers may find they help to reduce agitation, improve alertness and mood, and decrease depression.

Ms. R. is a great example of how an adult day center, a Medicaid Managed Care Program and caregivers at home can work together to keep seniors living at home safely. Ms. R., 82 years…