CIRCLES of
CARING
ADULT DAY HEALTH
Our Story
Circles of Caring Adult Day Health is a unique day-use program that provides a safe, caring, and nurturing atmosphere for adults and elders.
We provide a wide range of services specialized to assist out participants with their medical, social, and family needs, while improving or maintaining their physical, social, and cognitive functioning.
Our staff provide a loving and welcoming environment that participants enjoy returning to again and again.
2001: The Beginning
In 2001, a group of donors and community leaders came together to initiate a day services program.
The group, a collection of community leaders from across The Palouse (The region encompassing Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington) secured a federal outreach health grant totaling $600,000 over a three-year period. The community of Moscow, a small college town in Idaho, raised another $200,000 to help get the program up and running in its original location. The federal grant was awarded with the expectation that legislation would eventually provide Medicare funding to support it. More than a decade after Circles of Caring Adult Day Services launched, Medicare still does not cover ADH participation. Neither do most private insurance health plans.
Who Uses Our Services?
By 2012, Circles of Caring was providing day services for 40 to 50 total clients annually, with an average daily census of 25 clients. Our participants were about evenly divided between Moscow and in Pullman, the small college community just across the state line in Eastern Washington.
About half of our clients depend on Medicaid to pay for program participation. The families of roughly 25 percent pay for the full cost of their attendance. And the remaining 25 percent pay for a portion of attendance costs supplemented by "scholarships" made possible by program supporters and donors.
Approximately 70 percent of our clients have been diagnosed with some type of dementia. Other individuals have suffered a stroke, or suffer from long-term chronic illnesses like Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. Some have suffered a traumatic head injury. A small number of our clients have been diagnosed with mental illnesses. Though most of our clients are senior citizens, not all of them are. The youngest participant in program history is 22 and the eldest just turned 98 years old.
Adult Day Services participants come from all walks of life. For many years these individuals served the Palouse region as teachers, musicians, lawyers, physicians, janitors, scientists, homemakers, business owners, veterans, plumbers, and police officers to name a few.
A Move to a New Location
By 2014, most Circles of Caring Adult Day Services clients were coming to the program from homes located in and around Pullman.
After studying the issue, our Board of Trustees made the decision to move our Adult Day Services Center from Moscow to the community of Pullman.
The board and program leaders selected the current location on Southeast Bishop Boulevard to provide the most convenient access to the greatest number of program clients and their families without compromising care.
The agency completed the move in fall 2014.
Now, clients living in and around the community of Moscow are being brought to the Adult Day Health Center on the Circles of Caring van -- just as clients from Pullman were previously transported to the Adult Day Services Center before the move.
A Day in the Life of a Client
A typical day at the Circles of Caring Adult Day Health center follows the routine originally established by the Gritman Adult Day Health program. Underlying all the activity at the Adult Day Health program is the dignity and respect our staff and volunteers show to each participant.
Participants’ days begin when they are met outside the center at their car or at the transportation van. Each participant is welcomed and escorted into the facility. Once inside, participants don their photo ID name badges and choose a social, exercise, or work activity if they are able.
A variety of activities individualized to each participant are available on a daily basis, based on the specific abilities of each participant. They include a mix of cognitive and physical activities designed to help participants improve, maintain, or slow progression of disease processes. The goal of every activity is to provide success for each person.
Mealtime and snack times are very social. Some of our participants help with setting and clearing tables after lunch. Afternoon snacks are served at 2 p.m., and birthdays and holidays are routinely celebrated.
Along with social opportunities and program activities, our program also offers a daily exercise program for clients. The exercise programs are tailored to meet the needs of each individual. Balance and strength training are always a key component. Laughter is also modeled and encouraged!
Giving Back
Through their dedication and willingness to give their best to the community in their younger years, the people who are now the clients of Circles of Caring Adult Day Services helped make the Palouse region a vibrant, life-giving, and wholesome place to live and work.
As staff, volunteers and supporters of Circles of Caring Adult Day Health, we are pooling our talent to help our clients in order to give back to those individuals who have already given so much to our communities, and now need our help.
Find out how you can help our clients
on our Volunteer or Giving web pages
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