Queens Seniors Face Uncertainty as Neponset Adult Day Healthcare Center Closes

Closure of Neponset Adult Day Healthcare Center

• 💔 The Neponset Adult Day Healthcare Center in Rockaway, Queens, is closing its doors permanently, leaving many seniors and their families in a state of limbo.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For families like Robert Killian's, the center was more than a facility; it was a family, providing joy and community for individuals with special needs, such as his sister Peggy.

Community Efforts and Official Response

• ✊ Despite community efforts, including town halls and letters to officials, aimed at deferring the closure, these actions ultimately hit a brick wall.
• 📉 New York Health and Hospitals cited low demand and financial reasons for the decision, a justification that many, like advocate Gene Fitch, find unacceptable, suggesting more outreach could have been done.

Impact on Seniors and Families

• 😔 The closure is taking a significant toll on program members, leading to depression and reluctance to leave their homes, according to Fitch.
• 🚗 For families like Andrew Falzone's, whose father utilized the center, the transfer of patients to facilities in Brooklyn presents a significant challenge, especially for those with dementia or incontinence, due to the much longer travel times.
• 🗣️ Council member Joanne Areola has condemned the closure as a failure of the state and unacceptable.
• 🤝 Families are now looking to lean on each other for support as they navigate the path forward in Queens.