New Adult Day Center Expands Home-Based Services & Helps Seniors Age in Place

What once may have been considered an against-the-odds proposition for seniors is now quite possible thanks to National Church Residences and a generous charitable donation from a Traditions of Chillicothe resident.

NCR, the nation’s largest affordable housing developer and manager, is expanding its home- and community-based services by building InCare Senior Services on the Traditions of Chillicothe assisted living campus. The new adult day center is designed specifically to help Ross County (Ohio) seniors – as well as seniors from surrounding counties – continue to live independently and age in place.

“The key is access to the right kind of support,” said NCR President and CEO Tom Slemmer. “Studies have shown that many seniors are able to successfully age in place right in their own homes if they can access supportive services such as light housekeeping, meal service or medication reminders,” he said.
“InCare Senior Services will enable seniors to do just that – all at a fraction of what it would cost them to reside in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility,” Slemmer said.

The new 4,000 sq. ft. adult day center is slated to open July 1, 2010, and will offer area seniors a host of dedicated programs and services. The comprehensive adult day program will accommodate as many as 30 clients per day and will also house an outpatient rehabilitation center and an InCare Home Health Services office.

Programs will include nursing, meals, physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and more. The center will tailor its programs and services to each individual client’s needs, whether they come one day a week or five. A site manager, supported by a licensed clinical team, will run the adult day health program.

“Mary Ann Hydell made all of this possible,” said NCR Vice President of InCare Terry Allton. “InCare Senior Services is a direct result of her generous $2 million bequest to National Church Residences. The Clarence & Helen Hydell Charitable Trust (named for Ms. Hydell’s parents) was inspired by her appreciation for the housing and supportive services that NCR provides.”

Approximately $1 million of the $2 million donation will be used to complete the InCare Senior Services center and program. The remaining funds will be used for NCR’s other charitable missions, as Ms. Hydell requested. This includes the Hydell Signature Terrace Memory Care Center at Traditions of Chillicothe, an expansion of the assisted living center dedicated to serving Ross County seniors with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Ms. Hydell’s donation was the largest single donation in NCR’s history,” said NCR Vice President of Foundations Van Ambrose. “As a life-long resident of Chillicothe and a long-time resident of Traditions of Chillicothe, Ms. Hydell was known for her generous nature and loving heart. Now her generosity and tender-hearted spirit will live on because of her donation. She will undoubtedly continue to touch countless lives through InCare Senior Services.”

Ms. Hydell became one of the first residents of Traditions of Chillicothe in 1998 and lived there until her death in March 2009. She established the Clarence & Helen Hydell Charitable Trust to assist older adults who outlive their assets and who are alone. Ms. Hydell formed the trust on what would have been her father’s 101st birthday, saying, “I was retired and therefore able to care for my ailing parents on a daily basis. Today it seems that many people don’t have that opportunity.”