CEO energizes Mesa adult-care approach
Forty years separate Brooke Essayli and her grandfather, but their worlds collided after the 77-year-old, who has Alzheimer’s disease, disappeared for more than a day in January.
“That was the second time he’d gone missing overnight,” said Essayli, 37. “I had to take him into my home.”
But the Mesa resident couldn’t be there with him around the clock. Essayli works full time in Phoenix, and her job and commute keep her occupied from at least 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. five days a week.
So, two days after her grandfather moved in with her, Essayli made what she called a desperate, “blubbering” phone call to what was then Sirrine Adult Day Care, a nearly 40-year-old Mesa institution. Sirrine since has changed its name to Oakwood Creative Care, following the arrival of President/CEO Sherri Friend.
Friend brought an entirely new philosophy and management style to the non-profit, according to Oakwood staffers, board members and family caregivers, including Essayli.
“The facility has slowly been making a180,” Essayli said. “It’s not that it was really bad to start with, but in January, when you first walked in, it looked more like an institution. Now, it’s much more open and homey.
“Before I took (my grandfather) in, he was unstable, he didn’t have a routine, he didn’t have the interaction that he needed and the stimulation,” she said. “Now, he gets that.”
Friend was selected unanimously from among about 25 candidates to replace retired Sirrine President Peter Sysyn because “she brought a fresh idea of how to present ourselves,” according to Oakwood Board of Directors Chairman George Bliss.
“She had some ideas that really nobody else had put forward about different candidates for (referrals),” such as the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Bliss said.
“She really reached out to a lot of the organizations in the city, which the previous regime really hadn’t done much of. She’s done a remarkable job of making those connections and arranging for us to get pretty substantial grants to do some major modifications to one of our two (Mesa) facilities,” he added.
Perhaps the biggest change has been in the programming at Oakwood, according to Tara Johnson, site manager at Oakwood’s Town Center branch. She started as an intern there when it was still Sirrine.
“When I think back to two years ago, I remember an adult day care that was exactly that. People did bingo twice a day, sing-alongs, coloring, and it wasn’t by any means anything dignifying,” she said.
Now, “we’re really trying to transform it from a traditional program to more of a place where people want to come,” according to Friend. “We’re working with an exercise therapist. We do music therapy, pet therapy, horticultural therapy, laughter yoga, tai chi. We launched a program, cognitive education for advanced brain health. There’s woodworking, volunteering.”
Oakwood sees about 25 people a day at each location and has about 15 nurses, recreational therapists, music therapists, social-service workers and others on staff.
Oakwood is licensed to serve patients 18 years and older, and its clientele does include some younger people with brain injuries. The average age is 78, Friend said.
In addition to the activity on its grounds, the center has begun taking members on outings.