Cuts to the California state budget and the elimination of Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) as a Medi-Cal benefit forced us to make the difficult decision to close one of our three centers. As of February 17, 2012, our Oakland center no longer provides services to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementia. Needless to say, this was a devastating blow to those who relied on the Oakland center to provide a safe and caring environment, medical care, healthy meals, stimulating activities, and the chance to socialize with others.
The good news is that all of our Oakland clients were welcomed into either our Berkeley or Hayward centers, where they will continue to receive the same level of exceptional care. Our Berkeley site has just been licensed to accept 15 new participants in addition to the 45 who already attend, and most of the Oakland staff has shifted to the other two centers. Everyone worked tirelessly to make this transition, which went as smoothly as possible considering the uncertainties we still face as we struggle to adapt to new, constantly changing state regulations.
As always, we remain committed to our goal of staying at the forefront of care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementia. We hope that closing our Oakland center and streamlining our organization will make our model of service more sustainable in the current economic climate.
If you have any questions about the elimination of ADHC by the State of California, or the new CBAS program, please contact us at either our Berkeley site (510) 644-8292 or our Hayward site (510) 888-1411.