ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke adult care center moved to a bigger building to work with the growing senior community in Southwest Virginia.
With inflation and nurse staffing shortages knocking on the door, the center may be the answer to these woes.
InnovAge Virginia PACE opened a new center in Roanoke on 1606 Lynchburg Turnpike to help seniors.
The adult day care center works with more than 200 people who live independently or in a nursing facility.
Carrington Place, a nursing home in Daleville, has worked with InnovAge for years, but the center’s resources are more beneficial now than ever.
“All nursing areas are facing staffing shortages,” Director of Nursing Holly Forrn said. “There is not enough nursing to go around. We have to get creative.”
That’s where InnovAge steps in – The center sends a physician to the nursing home every week.
The residents can also go to the InnovAge center for their gym, health check-ups, and therapy sessions.
Michael Anderson is one of the people taking advantage of these services. He said the nursing home staff is great but there are too many patients to handle.
“Like for instance this morning, there was only one nurse and one CNA,” Anderson said. “And they were having to help till 3 o’clock this afternoon.”
The daycare center also offers buses which helps cut down on travel expenses for clients and nursing homes.
Anderson’s family lives in Danville and can’t drive him to appointments in the Roanoke Valley, so InnovAge is a great help. By going directly to the center, Anderson can get the treatment he needs to keep his mobility in shape.
“They working with me,” Anderson said. “I got arthritis real bad. They’ve been working with me to try to get me stronger.”
Now, the new center can help up to 430 seniors become stronger.