NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT
a 15-minute visit. It is a concierge type of clinic that serves
people of all means. We are reaching out to communities to
provide assessments on mobility, nutrition and care management
78
issues so they don’t end up in a nursing home. We
address the needs of the very healthy and the very frail.
“We partner with Martin Health System so we can take
more complex cases and help people with multiple chronic
conditions. We have a lot of seniors in Martin County who go
hungry. Eighteen percent of seniors here need our services.
Our priority services are the meals,” says Kauffman.
The adult day-care program is popular, and there is always
something special for the seniors. Students from nearby Community
Baptist Church School have begun a book project.
They are interviewing seniors at the Kane Center, telling their
life stories on paper.
“It was a hard-fought battle to make this happen,” says
Kauffman. “People have to come here to realize what they
have. The Council on Aging is the custodian, but it belongs
to the people who want to come here. It’s not just for seniors,
but also their families and caregivers.”
Kelly Hunt is a retired nurse who is the caregiver for her
77-year-old mother, Nancy. “I don’t know what I would do
without the Kane Center,” she says. “That is her safe place;
her fun place.” For the past four months, the council’s bus
has picked up Nancy for the ride to the center, a day with her
friends and lunch before the return trip home.
After a recent hospital stay, Nancy came home with six prescriptions.
Dr. Laura Beringer at the center’s clinic took her off
the medications. “She went from a dependent, catatonic state
to up and running. She bounced right back,” says Hunt. Her
mother enjoys exercise programs, crafts and making jewelry.
Art students volunteer
their works at the Kane
Center’s Art Gallery.
The Kane Center gives Kelly a break from keeping her
mother safe. She can work, pay bills, clean, buy groceries and
run errands. “They engage them at the Kane Center. It is tremendous
what they do. I can’t say enough good about them,”
says Hunt.
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