Why the Elderday Center for seniors in Batavia had to close
Shortages of clients and money have forced the Elderday Center in Batavia to close after nearly 29 years of helping senior citizens and others with memory impairment.
"When you see that you are bleeding money every month," it wasn't prudent to stay open, said Carol Murin, a member of the board of directors. "You can't wait until you are down to zero dollars."
The board made the decision to close in mid-May and told clients May 30 that it was the last day of operations.
"This is really very gut-wrenching," an emotional Murin said Wednesday.
Murin said enrollment had dropped from a high of about two dozen to just 10 to 12 people. And not every client attended every day, or all day.
The center rented space in the Bethany Ministry Center at 328 W. Wilson St. Bethany Lutheran Church owns the building, which used to be an elementary school.
News of the closure stunned clients, including Sam Hill of Geneva.
Hill attended the center for a half day twice a week, since January 2018. He said he's angry he and his wife, Caroline, weren't told earlier, because he would have tried to save the place.
Hill, a former Geneva alderman, said he really liked the games that were designed to challenge clients' brains, and the opportunity to have lunch with others.
"We enjoyed each other," he said, noting some clients came from as far as Elgin. He also liked that it gave his wife a break from caring for him.
"I really looked forward to those five hours. I could do something for myself," Caroline Hill said.
Caroline Hill said she is looking into other places, such as Memory Farm LLC in Kaneville. But the Batavia location was very convenient.
History
Elderday had room for 45 clients but never reached that, Murin said.
It started when someone left $20,000 to the Congregational United Church of Christ of St. Charles, to be used to establish a senior citizen program. It opened in November 1990.
The center moved to Geneva after a few years. In 2003, Bethany Lutheran Church of Batavia invited the center to move to its ministry center. The move enabled the center to care for more people.
It specialized in helping people, mostly senior citizens, with memory impairment due to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, strokes and other conditions. Clients did arts and crafts, exercised, participated in pet and music therapy, reminisced and took occasional field trips.
All were designed to slow cognitive decline, maintain strength and flexibility, and combat depression. The goal was to help them be able to live at home as long as possible, Murin said.
"It was so much fun for them," she said, talking about activities such as Kentucky Derby-themed parties, or seated exercise classes on the lawn in good weather. Preschoolers from a nearby nursery school also would visit.
It also had a monthly support group meeting for caregivers and offered blood pressure and weight checks to clients.
Finances
The center charged clients $17 per hour to attend.
Elderday's 2017 tax return, filed in April 2018, is the latest available online at charitynavigator.org. It showed the organization spent $32,253 more than it took in that year.
Income was 15% lower than the previous year, but expenses were 10% higher, at more than $385,000. It ended the year with assets of $248,270.
Besides fees, it conducted several fundraisers each year and sought grants.
Murin said that in the past few years, potential clients were coming in a more advanced state of decline, which meant they could use the center only a shorter time, or perhaps not at all.
Murin said some of the grants will have to be returned, and there are outstanding bills to be paid. Two other agencies looked into taking over the center, she said, but ultimately declined after reviewing the finances.
"There is nothing like what Elderday did," Murin said. "Elderday clients were engaged every minute that they were there.
"I could just cry right now."