New Adult Day Center Opens in Glencoe

New Adult Day Center Opens in Glencoe
As the owners of Guardian In Home Health
& Security in Glencoe, Allan and Sonya Borg
have a passion for helping seniors live their
best life, even as they require daily assistance.
The Borgs know it’s not enough to only care
for someone’s physical health, people need
mental, spiritual and emotional support to
maintain a zest for each new day.
With that goal in mind, Allan
and Sonya are excited to announce
the opening of Touch of Gray Adult
Day Center, a new enterprise
aimed at providing community,
security and dignity to people
living at home and in need of daily
assistance.
“We want people to enjoy
their life,” Allan said about Touch
of Gray, which opens October
17 and is accepting clients. “Our
goal is to keep people living as
independently as they possibly
can, because when you lose all
independence, it’s a hopeless
feeling.”
Working in home health care
for the past 13 years, Allan and
Sonya felt something was missing
from the Mcleod County area.
While home health care services
such as Guardian provide excellent
one-on-one attention, they’re
missing some of the activities
and social interaction with peers
that bring joy in life. That’s where
an adult day center is a great fit,
but until now there were no local
options.
With the opening of Touch of
Gray Adult Day Center in Glencoe,
those wanting to take care of
loved ones at home, have a new
resource.
“Many families want to be
involved in their loved one’s lives
and caring for them, and this
gives another option to make that
possible,” Sonya said. “A lot of
people who care for their spouse
or their parent or grandparent, they
either need to be able to work,
or they need a day to do things
around the house and attend
appointments of their own. So that
respite care is needed.”
Touch of Gray is for seniors
age 55 or older. Participants may
require daily assistance for various
reasons such as they have some
level of dementia or cognitive
concerns, or they need help with
mobility and wouldn’t normally
be able to attend social functions
without assistance.
At Touch of Gray, qualified
nursing assistants will provide
compassionate care at a rate of
one staff member per four or fewer
participants, which exceeds state
requirements. By doing so, clients
will receive the excellent care
expected, but at about half the cost
of home health care.
“We want that immediate
assistance. We don’t want
someone who needs help using the
bathroom to have to wait, or any
of those other demeaning types
of things that can happen if you
don’t have enough people to help,”
Sonya said. “And we do want to
give choices, and in order to give
choices you need to have staff to
do multiple activities.”
That’s right, when it comes
to activities at Touch of Gray,
participants will have an array of
options to tailor their schedule
to their own interests. That may
include crafts, games, sports,
gardening and exercise, as well
as field trips such as museums,
libraries, fishing expeditions or
theater shows. Allan and Sonya
want people to feel independent
and in control of their decisions.
The same is true for meals. While
at Touch of Gray, participants
The large activity kitchen ensures all visitors will feel right at home
can enjoy morning and afternoon
snacks, as well as lunch ordered
through Bump’s Family Restaurant.
“It’s very individualized,”
Sonya said. “You’re an adult who’s
making decisions about what you
want to do with your day, not a kid
going to school being given a rigid
schedule.”
Comfort is also important, and
at Touch of Gray visitors can expect
to feel like they’re on vacation,
putting their feet up in a plush
leather recliner while reading next
to the fireplace or watching a movie
on the 90” TV, going for a walk
around town or participating in one
of the many activities. From the
friendly staff to the up-North, cabin
decor, clients will feel like they’re at
home when visiting Touch of Gray.
Touch of Gray is also there
to serve family caregivers. That
means they can assist with
scheduling transportation for
clients to and from the adult day
center through services such as
Trailblazer Transit and create
scheduling that gives the best
times for breaks.
“Burnout is a real thing for
caregivers if you’re caring for a
loved one 24/7,” Sonya said. “If
you want to keep on doing that
and be able to do that until the end
of someone’s life, you’re going to
need breaks.”
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
A comfy recliner for each participant
A game of sheepshead, anyone?
Josephine Wheeler of Silver
Lake knows all about the difficulties
of being a home caregiver. She
cares for her husband, Ernest, and
up until two years ago she was
taking him to an adult day center
in Chanhassen. When it shut down
due to COVID, she became his
sole caregiver.
“He needs someone to talk to
besides me,” Josephine said.
“I’ve had no break, no nothing,”
she said. “I’ve been on 24/7 the last
2-and-a-half years.”
Josephine works weekly in
Chanhassen and has had to bring
Ernest with her to work. She is
looking forward to having Touch
of Gray as a place where Ernest
can interact with others while she
works or takes care of other daily
business.
If you are interested in learning
more about Touch of Gray,
scheduling a private tour or nurse
assessment, you can email Sonya
at sonya@touchofgraydaycenter.com
or call 320-864-2979.
You can also take a tour of
Touch of Gray during its Grand
Opening celebration and Family
Fun Fall Festival 3-6 p.m.
Thursday, October 27, at 2031
10th Street East, Glencoe. This
free event includes a bounce barn
& slide, face painting, pumpkin and
scarecrow contests, games, food,
music, llamas and much more.
Allan and Sonya hope you
will join them at Touch of Gray to
celebrate the start of a new era in
local care for our loved ones.