Santa Maria Wisdom Center

by reenee, Santa Maria

The California budget has finally passed, albeit at the expense of some of the state's most vulnerable citizens. There is no excuse for what happened. If the GOPs and Dems in Sacramento are so willing to stall the passage for their personal convictions, pet projects or principles, then they ought to be willing to have their own payments withheld instead of allowing the payments to be withheld from the facilities that are in place to help these poor, elderly and disabled.
Love him or hate him, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to the central coast on August 13th to put a face on the people that were in danger of losing a facility that they have come to depend upon. When the governor arrived, he toured the Wisdom Center, and spoke to the participants before holding a press conference to address his concern about the seniors, a most vulnerable group, that would be negatively impacted, had the budget remained stalled for much longer.
All of us at the Santa Maria Wisdom Center were very happy to see the governor take the time to do this. At this point it really does not matter if this was merely a political move. Who cares? It really does not matter if we agree or disagree with his politics. Who cares? The bottom line is that he gave our center the visibility it needed and allowed us to explain how very important these facilities are to this population.
The budget was already almost two months late on the day that the governor went to the Wisdom Center. We all know that partisanship is always a barrier to a smooth running government, so we were hopeful that the visit by the governor would motivate the politicians to pass the budget without further delay. Too many centers and other care facilities that serve our senior population, and that rely on government funding were at risk. This population is not the one that should ever take a back seat to partisan politics.

The Wisdom Center is an Adult Day Health Care facility, and in most instances, the only place our clients have where they can go for their physical and or occupational therapy, nursing services, social work services, or to join in on the many different activities that are offered daily. As the Activity Director, I know the circumstances of our clients. They are most often from board and care residences that offer very limited services. The center is very often the only place they go to when they are not in these board and care residences. Some go every day, others only once a week, with the average being three times a week. Some of our clients live at home with their families who care for them. These daughters, sons, grandchildren, nieces and nephews very often have jobs. Every one of our clients cannot be left home alone, due to safety issues. Having a facility like ours allows them to stay in their homes if there is not a board and care facility available. Without us, they might be institutionalized when their families are out of options. The fact that the average daily attendance is fifty-five people, with a growing waiting list, is proof enough that it is vital to many people.

When the news came that the budget had passed ensuring that our center would remain open, it was met with relief by all of our participants, some of whom had already spent some sleepless nights worrying over whether or not they'd have a place to go.