Effort underway to bring adult day center back to Transylvania County after closure

TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — After the closure of Transylvania County's only adult day center earlier this year, folks in the community are stepping up to bring the service back to Brevard, as families are resorting to driving to another county for the resource.

On Jan. 31, Mountain Care in Transylvania County announced its closure. According to the facility's executive director, Elizabeth Williams, funding issues were to blame for the shutdown.

Williams told News 13 on Feb. 6 that the program was initially known as KOALA until it was absorbed into Mission Health. When HCA Healthcare bought Mission Health, Williams said they dropped adult day services, leaving Mountain Care financially responsible for the adult day programs.

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"We inherited all those programs with negative operating margins, so none of them were making money," she said. "The challenges and revenue loss from the pandemic just really intensified the financial situation that Mountain Care was already in. We had to start paying rent for the Transylvania program, the Henderson program, the Buncombe program -- up to $444,000 annually... So, a big change in our budget."

The closure surprised many in the community, including Chris and Janet Jones. Chris Jones had only attended the program for a few months before it shuttered, but his wife said it had been making a difference as they dealt with his dementia diagnosis.

"We did try it, and it's been just fantastic for Chris. It's helped him, the socialization, and you made friends, and there are other vets there, so they have their war stories to tell," Janet Jones said. "He was making friends, and he'd come out with a smile on his face and, 'You wouldn't believe what we did today!' or something like that. And then it was sort of snatched away from us, and it really upset me. I cried."

It was sort of snatched away from us, and it really upset me. I cried.

The Joneses said the closure was unfair, and they knew they weren't the only ones impacted.

According to the facility's executive director, 17 clients were attending the Transylvania facility when it was closed. She said two-thirds of the staff there were laid off.

Now, the couple said their closest option is Mountain Care's location in Henderson County. They used to drive 10 to 15 minutes for adult day services -- now they travel 20 miles each way, three times a week. The trip can take 30 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic, Janet Jones said. While they said the facility had offered a bus service from Brevard to the Henderson County facility following the Transylvania facility's closure, the route timing doesn't work for them.

Janet Jones said her husband thoroughly enjoys the services provided by Mountain Care at the Henderson County location.

"I wish they would just move that one over here," Chris Jones said.

A group was formed shortly after the Transylvania facility's closure called Friends of Adult Day Care, which is brainstorming ways to bring the service back to Brevard. Janet Jones said a woman named Kathe Harris has been instrumental in the effort.

"I was approached by a group called Friends of Adult Day Care. They want my input. Long story made short, they asked me to get involved. After some preliminary research, I decided I wanted to take a stab at it," said Tore Borhaug, owner of Tore's Home.

Borhaug has experience in caring for an aging population.

"We provide assisted living to the elderly, and we also have several locked memory care units. We also have a home care division where we go into people's own homes and provide care," Borhaug said. "Since we've been caring for the elderly for over 26 years, and the nature of our operation, we run very small facilities, and we see some synergies between our existing operation and an adult daycare."

He said he understands the importance of having a facility like this again in Transylvania County. He had been contemplating starting an adult day center of his own for years, but decided not to because he didn't want to compete with the popular Mountain Care facility when it was open in Brevard. With that center now closed, he said he sees an opportunity to step in and fill the need.

"The whole purpose of an adult day care is to give the caregivers a break. Caring for the elderly at home can be very taxing on the whole family, so an adult day care will give that relief Monday through Friday throughout the day that will enable people to stay longer at home," Borhaug said.

He's already got a building picked out for the facility on South Country Club Road. He said he hopes to start small and expand based on the need.

He said they've written most of their policies and are going through the licensing process, but cannot yet provide a timeline for opening. Aside from the red tape of opening a facility, he said staffing issues are also a factor.

"Once we feel better about staff attrition and retention, it is when we will start really pushing forward with this particular building and submit the application to the state," Borhaug said. "The staffing situation that most employers face today has to be resolved before we open an adult day care again."

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Borhaug said he asked his employees at Tore's Home what the biggest obstacles were to them being able to come to work.

"The top three were lack of affordable housing, after-hour childcare, and transportation to and from work," Borhaug said.

He said those are the challenges he's working to address before this day center can open.

"We are currently under construction to add to our employee housing. We have secured land to add even more than what we're currently building," he said. "We currently have several living units for our employees that we charge them a rent that they can afford. We have also just entered into a collaboration with a person to start an after-hour childcare. We got the state license approved last week. We also have been providing transportation for employees for years."

"In order to make this a sustainable operation, the key element is being able to attract and keep staff," he said.

Meanwhile, Janet and Chris Jones hope the needs of Transylvania County's aging population will be met again soon.

"Hopefully, it'll come into being soon, and it will be what Brevard needs," Janet Jones said.