It’s been almost a full year since the last time Maria Marano was able to take her husband to Abramson Medical Adult Day Services. Due to the COVID-19 shutdown many places were forced to close and remain so, including adult day centers like Abramson Senior Care’s Medical Adult Day Center, located at 12003 Bustleton Ave.
For people like Marano, it posed a challenging adjustment. Marano’s husband Carmine was diagnosed with early onset dementia in summer 2019, and Maria worries he may wander off on his own if he isn’t being watched. After being recommended to call Abramson Senior Care she was able to place him there the very next day, where he received care until shutdown.
When that happened, the staff at Abramson Senior Care knew they had to find new ways to help out their 75 Northeast Philadelphia-based clients and their 5,000-total customer base, program administrator Lana Pozdnyakov said.
“We started to call every single person, every single client and family just to gather information and figure out what people need,” she said.
They found that most of their clients needed food and medication in the first few months of the pandemic. They partnered with KleinLife to expand the community center’s meal delivery program, adding their participants to the more than 1,000 people the program already served. Meals were delivered by staff members who pivoted their roles and also a group of loyal volunteers.
Nurses and practitioners also reached out to clients to make sure they had all the medication they needed and coordinated with their primary care physicians to make sure it was being delivered.
Once the initial shock of the pandemic wore off after a few months, the staff started making sure their clients were stimulated and active. They started providing telehealth conferences and therapeutic recreation via phone or video calls to keep clients in touch with their social workers.
“One thing I can say with Abramson Senior Care is we are really good at strategizing and responding during emergencies. That’s a big part of what we do,” Pozdnyakov said.
The Maranos’ daughter was able to take care of bringing food and medicine, but Maria said they received weekly check-up calls to see if the family could use anything.
“They treat us like family,” she said.
Established in 1866, some of Abramson Senior Care’s main goals are to avoid hospitalizations and provide home placement for their clients and allow them to age in place at home. Starting in 2008, they began offering services such as transitional care, home care and medical adult day care.
To lean more, call 215-371-3400. ••
