Ecumen’s new adult day services program, which opened its doors in the First Lutheran Church of St. Peter last August, hosted Rep. Jeff Brand (DFL-St. Peter) Friday, April 5 for a two-hour conversation on his work in the Legislature.
The adult day program is designed to provide opportunities for seniors and adults who live with a caregiver or are in adult foster care to get out of the house and come together for shared recreational activities. Between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, participants enjoy going out for meals together, attending events like the Raptor Center’s recent visit to the Community Center and engaging in physical exercise.
“Programming-wise, it’s important to keep them as independent as possible or at a stable level of independence, so we do an exercise program daily,” said Ecumen Director Marti Titus. “A lot of our games are things that keep them moving, like darts, golf, bowling.”
On April 5, Ecumen set aside some of their usual activities to host their first guest speaker since their August opening. Ecumen leaders invited Brand to come to talk with adults in the program while attending an Advocacy Day at the Capitol and two weeks later the representative stopped in.
Brand touched on some of his priorities in the legislative session and said a major focus of his this year was in railway safety. The 2024 Transportation Policy Bill which recently passed the House included legislation by Brand intended to make it easier for crews to report train derailments and other rail-related emergencies.
Under current state statute, crews are required to notify the fire chief of the jurisdiction the incident takes place in before dialing emergency services. The proposed change in law would eliminate that requirement, so that crews can call 911 immediately.
Now when the bill passes and becomes a law, you just dial 911,” said Brand. “Because it’s about making sure it’s easy for people to do the right thing and so we’re not spending minutes and hours looking for the right person to call.”
Brand, who sits on the legislature’s EMS Task Force, also spoke on the issues plaguing EMTs across Minnesota including low Medicare reimbursement rates which fail to cover the costs of service and plummeting participation in EMS among young adults. The representative suggested that the state could bolster EMT recruitment by raising pensions to be more similar to firefighters’ pensions.
The conversation touched on a number of other issues including VA services in rural Minnesota, the workforce shortage in long-term care, affordable housing, infrastructure and Brand’s prior efforts to ban the non-essential use of PFAS chemicals. The lawmaker also talked with members about his experiences working at the State Capitol.
The event was one of the growing number of activities Ecumen staff have prepared for clients over the past several months. Since opening in St. Peter, Ecumen’s clientele has grown to a total of 17 people. There are spots still available as the adult day program is licensed to serve a maximum of 24 people.
The program got its start in St. Peter as an expansion of the Ecumen Pathstone’s adult day services in Mankato. Titus, who administers the programs in both St. Peter and Mankato, said there was a clear need for an expansion. Ecumen Pathstone was already taking clients from outside the area including St. Peter, Cleveland and Le Center when it had reached full capacity.
“I had a waitlist started and it just kept growing and growing,” said Titus. “It became evident that there’s a need and we can’t serve all these individuals in a program where we’re at capacity.”
As a result, Titus opened a second adult day program closer to her clients in the St. Peter and Le Sueur County region, which also opened up spots at Ecument Pathstone for people on the waitlist coming from communities like St. James, Madelia and Mankato. However, Titus believes there are still many needs in Southern Minnesota that Ecumen’s expansion isn’t capturing.
“Our two programs, the St. Peter location and Mankato are the only adult day programs in the 10 county area, so I think maybe there is still a need because that’s not many day services and I still have a waitlist in Mankato,” said Titus. “If I had $1 million I would definitely open up two more.”
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