Mom is now a participant in the Suncoast PACE program, but for almost five years, we were very fortunate to be a part of the Neighborly Care Network. She attended their Adult Day Program from January 2011 through November 2015, and loved going every day.

Mom’s time at Dietert Center had broken the ice on her willingness to attend a day group, but after we moved to Oldsmar in late 2008, we had to start over. Oldsmar has a nice senior center, but it is more of a meeting place and clubhouse, with a calendar of activities for active retired folks. I tried taking Mom up there, but she’s always been pretty shy, and her dementia had by then robbed her of her ability to negotiate new situations and any real interest in doing so. She just sat in a chair by the door, waiting for me to get finished with whatever errand I was doing, with no curiosity about what was going on with the people around the room and no inclination to join in.

I had called Neighborly Care and talked to them about their program, but it took me awhile to find a regular job. Until I was working full-time, we didn’t have as much of a need for Mom to attend, but as soon as I had a job that kept me away from home all day, it quickly became apparent that she needed some outside source of social interaction and enrichment. And Neighborly Care was right there. A nurse and a social worker came to our home to do assessments to make sure she was right for their program. I took Mom over to visit and have lunch (she likes lunch) and meet the staff. They arranged from the van to pick her up one day a week, and then it became available for Mom to attend two and then three days each week.

We are grateful for the PACE program and all the services it offers, but I’m not sure Mom would even be here if we hadn’t had Neighborly Care all those years before.

Thank you, Neighborly Care Network!