YORKTOWN — Carol Strough’s son, Scott, can’t walk, and he can’t speak, so she depends on a local adult day care center to give him the care he needs each day.
On March 15, Strough and her son, who live in Anderson, will lose that comfort.
Yorktown’s Active Day adult medical day care center is closing in the wake of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ cuts to Medicaid funding.
Vicki Maynard, director of the center, said cuts to Medicaid funding impact waivers typically provided to day care centers that give patients an alternative to nursing home care.
When Maynard learned in the first week of January that she was losing her job, waivers were blamed, she said.
“At that time, the reason I was given was that the state has given a moratorium on the aged and disabled waiver.”
The waivers allow Medicaid recipients to receive the specialized day care without paying steep fees.
“It is a waiver for individuals who are wanting to stay in their homes as long as possible. Caregivers care in the home, rather than placing them in a nursing home facility,” Maynard said.
Due to Daniels’ decree that no new waivers will be issued, Maynard said, Active Day has decided to close its Yorktown location.
Active Day’s corporate offices could not be reached for comment.
Maynard said the closure of the facility means that all 28 of its patients will have to get a home health aide or enter a nursing home.
The center serves elderly and handicapped individuals who cannot be left alone while their caregivers are at work.
The facility administers medication, places feeding tubes and catheters and offers a physical therapist and nurse for its patients.
Strough said her son would not end up in a nursing home if the facility closed, but she doesn’t want to settle for an adult day care center that might not be able to meet her son’s medical needs.
She may end up busing her son to Castleton every day in order to stay within the Active Day system.
“We’re in the fight of our lives, all of us, trying to keep it open,” Strough said.
Day care program coordinator Tracy Fannin is upset that she’ll lose her job in a matter of weeks, especially since she just started the job.
“I worked for Ball Memorial (Hospital) for 13 years and I switched careers, so it was a whole career change for me and it was stressful,” Fannin said.
Now, Fannin hopes another company will buy the Yorktown location, keeping the center open.
Maynard has a similar goal in mind. “I would love to see either the communities come together to find a way, possibly another business come forward and look into a way to keep this going.”
Contact Brandi Watters, 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
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