Kathy Kienast was among the family members shocked last week by Aurora Health Care's surprise decision to close the only adult day care center in Hartford in February.
“I just don’t understand why they would want to close it when there is nothing around,” said Kienast, who still works and whose husband has dementia.
The short notice gives the community little time to find another organization to run the center and leaves families panicked on what they will do after February.
The center, known as Adult Day Services, 1022 Club, provides care to 15 people. They include adults with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and physical disabilities.
“It’s a need in the community, and we consider it a vital need,” said Tom Haley, president of the Medical Center Foundation of Hartford. “If you ever had a loved one affected by this, you’d understand.”
The foundation built the center in 2005, and Aurora offered to run it. Aurora staffs the center and handles the billing for people who are covered by Medicaid.
The Medical Center Foundation hopes to find another organization to run the center, said Executive Director Deb Holtan.
“The ripple effect when this happens to a family is tremendous,” Holtan said.
The nearest adult day care center is in Jackson, about 10 miles away.
“While we’re proud of the care and support that we’ve been able to provide to the community through our Adult Day Center, we’re continually reviewing our mix of services to better align with long-term patient needs, while also being mindful of our limited resources,” Tami Kou, a spokeswoman for Aurora, said in a statement.
“We’re working closely with our 15 clients and their families to provide them resources for alternative options, to help make their transition as smooth as possible,” the statement said.
Aurora, which had a net profit of $469.1 million last year, did not comment on or explain the short notice given to the community and families.
More advance notice would have been “common courtesy,” said Jeff Von Haden, whose fiancée had a traumatic brain injury from an infection that left her paralyzed on her left side.
“Until you are a caregiver,” he said, "you don’t realize the demands on your time."
His fiancée pays about $12,000 a year for the center’s services.
The foundation obviously would have liked more time to find a solution, said Haley, its president.
Whether another organization can be found and obtain the needed licenses within two months is unknown, he said. The foundation also cannot assure the families that it will come up with a solution.
That's what worries Kienast.
"To do something like this, I think, is just atrocious,” Kienast said. “I really do. There’s really no notice.”
Her husband, who does not need institutional care but can’t be left alone because he may wander off, is comfortable at the center and well-liked by the staff, she said.
“They do activities, they keep him busy,” she said “He loves it.”
That now could end in roughly two months.
“It’s just heartbreaking” Kienast said.