A special place for seniors A special place for seniors (January 07, 2005)

Construction to begin for Avenidas care center

By Jon Wiener

Every Monday at 10 a.m., 20 participants at the Avenidas Senior Day Health Center gather for the Hope group, a chance for them to interact with each other and talk about the good things in their lives.

Elaine reads some poetry she wrote to mark the New Year. Bobby says her granddaughter is getting picked up at the airport after a trip to India.

"Who else has something they're feeling good about today?" asks facilitator Krista Meade.

Birdie raises her hand. Her 57-year-old son-in-law has just returned from his job as a civil contractor in Iraq, she says, drawing several smiles. She then shares her new motto, from a calendar her daughter gave her for Christmas: "Too blessed to be stressed."

She gets a loud round of applause. Before heading to their exercise sessions, the participants wrap up the discussion with a rousing rendition of "Zippity Doo Dah."

The Hope group is one of several programs at the center -- others include current event discussions, music and expressive painting. The program is targeted at "frail" seniors with specific needs or disabilities. Participants suffer from conditions such as Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's and partial paralysis.

During the course of the day, nurses check participants' blood pressure, administer medications and conduct speech and occupational therapy sessions. Special meals in accordance with specific dietary needs are cooked on-site.

After being located for 25 years in the Palo Alto Baptist Church, the center will move to Mountain View this summer. Avenidas is breaking ground on a new and larger building at 266 Escuela Ave., next to the city's senior center, Saturday at 11 a.m.

The new building is expected to cost $4 million, plus an additional $1 million to endow its operating expenses, according to Avenidas vice president of development Kris Stanfield. Approximately $4.35 million in donations has been received from the community since fund-raising began last January. That amount includes a $2 million gift from the Rose and Eugene Kleiner Foundation, the namesake of the new building.

The Kresge Foundation has pledged a $250,000 grant that kicks in when the rest of the funding has been secured.

"This building is going to be built specifically for the kinds of needs that they have," said Stanfield. She cited the large gathering spaces combined with small group rooms, an enclosed "secret garden" for seniors to enjoy and the building's design, which will draw people toward its center.

"You can't get lost in the building," she said.

In addition to an updated design, the building will also provide 50 percent more capacity, upping the number of people served each day from 45 to about 70. Under an agreement with the city, 40 percent of the participants will be Mountain View residents. The Senior Day Health Center currently serves 77 total participants who attend an average of two to three days each week.

Mountain View City Council member Matt Pear will speak at the ground breaking, as well as County Supervisor Liz Kniss, an original board member of the center.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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