'Centro de Amigos' Senior Day Care Center Is Preparing Spanish-Speaking Caregivers and the Community for the Next Wave of COVID-19 through Education

HAVERSTRAW, N.Y., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Centro de Amigos (https://centrodeamigos.com/) believes that the best defense to COVID-19 is by training community based caregivers. New York declared that social adult day care (SADC) is an essential service and it proved to be a critical source of support to the large community of Spanish-speaking Rockland County seniors during the state of emergency declared by Governor Cuomo.

Of the center's importance to the community, director Doris Karpeh -Diaz said:

"Based on the 2010 census, Rockland County is 18.4% Hispanic and the village of Haverstraw has a population that is over 67% Latino/Hispanic, and sits right in the middle of a COVID-19 'hot spot.' Our seniors have been sheltering in place since mid-March, and we have been a source of comfort and connection to them the entire time. What we learned during this period is that there was a critical need for reliable information.  If I received one more email touting garlic and lemon as a cure, I would go insane; as a trusted community resource for seniors and their families, we have an obligation to share information from the CDC.    Many of the family members of our seniors are essential workers and, due to language barriers, didn't fully appreciate the severity of the situation right away.  Home health services was often unavailable because neither the senior nor the caregiver wanted to be exposed to the virus. Fortunately, Medicaid and the New York State Department of Health approved the use of telehealth to provide social adult day services."

Several managed long-term insurance companies (MLTC) recently cut authorizations for SADC services requested by the senior and approved prior to the pandemic across the State, effectively leaving seniors with no access to this medically necessary and desired benefit. Speaking of the MLTC decision, Karpeh-Diaz said:

"Despite several MLTC's unilaterally depriving members of benefits that they are medically qualified for, our extraordinary staff utilized telehealth and provided a wide-range of other services to our members to ensure that they remained safe throughout the height of the pandemic; contact tracing, calling case managers, setting up appointments, filling out census information, having a noon time "ALMUERZO con Amigos" to keep seniors connected to each other, and in-person safety checks (at one point, our staff had to call an ambulance for two seniors who needed help). Because of this, I believe that is why we did lose anyone of our participants. In preparation for the next wave of COVID-19, we teamed up with a local hospital and had two free group Zoom classes in Spanish for caregivers who had limited access to broadband. The attendees were so thirsty for information, we have been asked to provide more classes in Spanish. It's great to suggest web based activities, but not everyone has unlimited access to broadband, if at all. So, our next big project is to bring free broadband to the 20% of Rockland County residents that have been left behind. We hope that the MLTCs will see the value of the telehealth services that we and other SADCs provide in an effort to keep seniors connected and in the community, aging in place, avoiding premature placement in nursing homes and other institutions. After all, there is no place like home."

For the latest news and events taking place at Centro de Amigos, or to learn more about their ongoing mission, visit them online. Or follow Centro de Amigos, Haverstraw on social media: Facebook, YouTube.

About Centro de Amigos

Centro de Amigos is the only social adult day care (SADC) service that serves the specific cultural and linguistic needs of Spanish-speaking seniors in Rockland County, New York ? a community that is predominantly Hispanic and Latino. The center serves as a hub, and provides authentic Latino cuisine, wide-ranging social activities, and staff to help seniors perform activities of daily living (ADL), regular health and wellness checks, and many other important functions.

Learn more at: www.CentroDeAmigos.com.

Media Contact:
Doris Karpeh-Diaz, Director
Phone:  (201) 736-6428
Email: [email protected] 

SOURCE Centro de Amigos