At a building dedication ceremony Friday attended by local dignitaries and two members of Congress, Casavant said that when he was looking for elder services for his late mother, many of the facilities he toured were old and depressing.
Laurence Gross, executive director of SMAA, said the agency refrains from using generic medical terms like “patients” and “clients” when referring to the people who use the facility. Instead, it refers to them as “members” who are part of a club.
The Cohen center, 30 Barra Road, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and provides a variety of therapeutic programs for people with dementia. Opened in January, it was built with support from the Sam L. Cohen Foundation, which was founded by the late Sam Cohen, a successful Biddeford businessman.
Program Manager Marilyn Durgin said the center has a capacity for 50 members. The new center has much more space than the old one in Saco, with dedicated space for different activities.
“The members love it,” said Durgin.
Some participants pay for adult day services through private pay, while others pay through MaineCare, long-term care insurance and veterans assistance.
At the Truslow Center, activities were separated by dividers in a large room. At the Cohen center, there is an art room where people can leave their work and come back to it later, while at the Truslow Center, art activities had to be picked up before lunch time so members could use the space to eat.
There is also a den in the new facility, with a quiet relaxation space overlooking a patio and garden, and a multi-purpose room with bars on the walls to hold onto during stretching exercises.
That’s not all: the Cohen center also has a hair salon, where, for a fee, members can get their hair cut, and Durgin said there are plans for a manicure station.
“This is an amazing facility,” said U.S. Senator Angus King while visiting the Cohen Center on Friday.
Family members play an important part of caring for elders and assuring they have quality of life, he said. Without places like the Cohen center, which gives families some relief from caregiving and opportunities for seniors to socialize, less people would be able to stay in their homes as they age.
“Maine is a small town with very long streets. Part of that is knowing and caring for each other,” said King.
U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree said while it was wonderful to visit the Truslow Center in Saco to see the great care that was given, she was impressed with the innovations and thought that was put into the new facility, from the layout to the color of the paint.
“There’s not a detail that’s been ignored,” she said.
Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said the center can serve as a model for other communities across the state and country.
“Walking into this center gives me such hope,” she said.
—Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].
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