Davis Enterprise January 2021 A scene of much heartbreak and tragedy early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stollwood Convalescent Hospital in Woodland will be given new life serving the county’s older residents later this year. Back in April, the pandemic hit the facility located on the grounds of St. John’s Retirement Village hard, taking 17 lives. A decision was made later in the summer to permanently close the convalescent hospital. But from that loss came opportunity. The Yolo Adult Day Health Center (also located in Woodland) has long been looking for a new home to accommodate the ever growing demand for its services, serve the many families languishing on a wait list and become financially sustainable. The center provides a range of services for individuals and families throughout the county facing challenges related to dementia, chronic medical diagnoses, mental illness and brain injury. On Tuesday, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan for Dignity Health to acquire and renovate Stollwood in order to create a new home for the Adult Day Health Center. The $4.6 million project will be funded by a variety of sources, the largest of which are two $1.25 million contributions: one from West Davis Active Adult Community developer David Taormino and the other from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Taormino and the county agreed to the contribution not long after the West Davis Active Adult Community was approved by Davis voters in 2018. At the time, there was some discussion that a new, larger adult day health center could be located on the site of what is now known as Bretton Woods, Taormino’s senior community that will be built on Covell Boulevard just west of Sutter Davis Hospital. But that changed over the summer when discussion turned to the Stollwood site. “We found our solution,” said Dawn Myers Purkey, the longtime manager of ADHC. But it was one, she noted, “that came to us in a very sad way, with the death of 17 people to COVID, which made St. John’s campus… not comfortable with continuing in the skilled-nursing arena.” When St. John’s approached her over the summer about the Stollwood site becoming the new home for the ADHC, Purkey said she immediately knew it was the right fit. “I knew that the synergies between what they do on their campus and what we’re looking for in space, that we found our solution,” she said. “So here it is not even seven months later and we’ve got our funding lined up, we’re very close to getting the lease agreement… I couldn’t be more excited.” The new facility is expected to be 14,700 square feet, which will allow for sufficient average daily attendance to make the program financially sustainable. Dignity will manage the project and retain sufficient staff and equipment to operate the center for a minimum of 20 years. “The expectation is that Dignity would make efforts to enroll all individuals on the waitlist and that an average daily attendance would be 120 individuals with a service target of 140 individuals and overall enrollment target of 175 individuals,” county staff reported. In addition to the contributions from Taormino and the tribe, other sources include $1 million in intergovernmental transfer funds previously set aside by the county for ADHC; $500,000 in accumulated outlay funds; and $600,000 in capital contributions from Dignity Foundation. One caveat: Taormino’s contribution will arrive when development milestones are achieved and the county’s general fund will advance that $1.25 million and assume risk if the expected contribution doesn’t materialize. County supervisors were enthusiastically in support of the plan. “This is an incredibly complicated project to pull together,” noted Supervisor Oscar Villegas of West Sacramento. “It’s a beautiful thing that it has.” — Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at aternus@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

On Feb. 21, Friends of Adult Day Health Care hosted a reenactment of opening day at Yolo Adult Day Health Center to celebrate the center’s 35th anniversary. Guests included physicians, Dignity Health and Yolo County administrators, elected officials and longtime program supporters who toasted to the center’s commitment to health, independence and dignity.

Steven Douglas Taylor, 67, also known as “Doc,” is a local boy. Wounded in Vietnam during his service with the U.S. Navy, he came home to Woodland where he was born, just eight blocks from the Yolo Adult Day Health Center he now attends.

DAVIS– In celebration of Women’s History Month, Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) honored Kathleen “Cass” Sylvia today as the 3rd Senate District’s Woman of the Year.

On a rainy Thursday morning, two dozen seniors are gathered in the third-floor activity room at Carlton Plaza of Davis. Sitting at two long tables, they work through a variety of puzzles that challenge their spatial reasoning, attention to detail and language skills.

The grounds of the old Yolo General Hospital in Woodland likely will look very different in a couple of years as the county moves forward with plans to convert the property at the corner of Beamer and Cottonwood streets into multi-family housing for mentally ill, homeless and low-income residents.

If it weren’t for the Yolo Adult Day Health Center, Pearla Stump would be in a long-term care facility, a stroke a few years ago having limited her ability to move around and care for herself. Instead, she’s living with her son, Sam, and his wife in Woodland, and watching her 1 1/2-year-old granddaughter grow up.

Woodland Healthcare's Yolo Adult Day Health Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary, with a free community open house on Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at its location at 20 N. Cottonwood St.

Yolo Adult Day Health Center serves our community's highest risk population. Their model provides a comprehensive array of clinical and support services for frail and disabled adults, most of whom are very low income and face a near constant struggle to stay out of the hospital. By working with both participants and caregivers, they achieve remarkable success optimizing the health, safety and well-being of individuals with complex health problems who are still able to live at home. The beauty of the model is blending critical services with invaluable social connections and FRIENDS!