Take 5 Offers Field Trips as Part of Respite Care Services
Dora Hiser (back row, from left), Fran Gilmore, Ralph Oman, coordinator Ronda Schlehuber, Mary Lewis, Lenhart St. Andrew; (front) coordinator Angela Litzner, and Julia Bish enjoyed a field trip to Mackinac Island August 9 through the Take 5 program of Community Action Agency. (Photograph courtesy of Ronda Schlehuber) Crafts, music, field trips, and games are a regular part of the Take 5 program administered by Community Action Agency in St. Ignace, said coordinator Ronda Schlehuber. The program offers several hours of respite for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's or memory loss.
"It helps people stay at home and out of a hospital setting longer," by providing relief for the family caregivers, Mrs. Schlehuber said. The program is offered Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the Community Action Agency's Fenlon Center on Reagon Street. Take 5 is coordinated by Mrs. Schlehuber and Angela Litzner and has eight participants regularly enrolled.
"We're living longer now and there is a real need for this service in our community," Mrs. Schlehuber said.
Bus transportation is provided for participants and lunch is served in conjunction with the regular senior citizen luncheons held on those days at the Fenlon Center.
The program is funded one year at a time through grants from Michigan Department of Community Health, Hiawatha Behavioral Health, Mackinac Straits Hospital and Long Term Care, Community Action Agency, and Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress (UPCAP). Occasional fundraisers, such as bake sales, are held for the program. Families are charged participation fees on a sliding scale, based on taxable income.
Participants enjoyed a field trip to Mackinac Island August 9, with transportation donated by Arnold Transit Company. Mackinac Island Carriage Tours treated the group to carriage rides, and they enjoyed lunch and shopping while on the Island.
Families who would like to learn more about services provided through Take 5 or who would like to make a preliminary visit to the program may call Mrs. Schlehuber at 643-6746.
