By DAVE FAIRCHILD

Boyle County Rotary

Danville-Boyle County’s Senior Citizens’ Center

Ben Guerrant, executive director of the Senior Citizens’ Center, was Rotary’s February 24th luncheon speaker.  Guerrant’s purpose in addressing the Rotary members was, in part, to ensure that all Danville Rotarians are aware of the contribution Rotary’s 2017-18 $10,000 capital grant will provide to the entire local community.  Because of Rotary’s grant, the large Community Room at the center will be refurbished and made available to all organizations within the county, even private citizens will be able to use the room for a nominal fee.  Other non-profits will be welcomed if the room is available.  Guerrant’s (and Rotary’s) objective is for the facility to become a useful resource to the community.

The Danville-Boyle County Senior Citizens’ Center is a 501 3C non-profit organization.  Its mission is to provide a range of services, activities, and opportunities that promote growth, health, friendship and independence to Boyle County senior citizens and adults with special needs.  Their current budget is $400,000 and they have a staff of 10 and 3 transportation vehicles.  Last year the center logged 5,566 one way trips for its 25 members (up 19% in the past year).  It can be thought of as a buffer between independent living and assisted living.  The center is open MWF for seniors and Monday through Friday for Adult Day Care.  Adult Day Care membership currently totals 22, and member’s costs are billed to Medicaid.  The program provides care for adults suffering from such disorders as: Cerebral Palsy, stroke and dementia.  The average daily attendance is 16.

By creating a safe environment for their members to gather and enjoy nutritional, social, and basic medical support, the center allows members and their families to maintain their earlier lifestyles longer.  It also allows their everyday caregivers the opportunity to sustain their employment, while ensuring their dependent family members receive needed support.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday members are served a in-house prepared and served meal. Until recently those meals were catered at a cost of $3.43 each.  In a cost cutting effort, the center’s management team undertook bring that task in-house.  The resulting savings brought the out-of-pocket expense down to $1.13 per mail.  The center served 12,531 meals in 2016, resulting in a savings of almost $29,000.  Ben Guerrant recently reached a partnership agreement with Barry Harmon to use a large tract of land owned by the center to provide space for a garden.  Under the agreement, recovering addicts will plow, plant, tend, and harvest vegetable in the garden.  The harvest will be given to the center, which will further reduce their meals cost.

Senior Center members are availed programs such as games, art instruction, yoga, bridge, line dancing, square dancing and Lexington Legends baseball games are available.  Recently a beauty shop that serves women and men has been setup on site.  In addition to onsite daily programs for seniors, the center provides transportation to and from the center, physician appointments, the pharmacy, grocery store, banks, post office and other travel dependent activities.  Members are also able to enjoy outside entertainment, such as the recent trips to the Lear Theater, Riverboat Casino and the Louisville Slugger Museum.