Epic journey: Virginia Wieneke has been with ACC Rides since it started in 2003.
“Our drivers gave more than 544,000 rides in the past 20 years,” she says.
This year is the 20th Anniversary of ACC Rides and what a road trip it has been! We transported thousands of people to the essential places they needed to go – doctor appointments, dialysis, cancer treatments, and grocery shopping. We brought many of them out of isolation and connected them back to their community.
We always try to do extra. In one case, our driver got concerned when the person he was picking up did not answer the door. He looked through the window and saw the participant on the floor and called 911. ACC Rides and its drivers and volunteers have won numerous awards for their exemplary work.
Before the pandemic, we were making 4,000 one-way trips per month. Today we are increasing the number of trips to get back to our pre-pandemic volume. Virginia Wieneke, Program Manager, has been with ACC Rides from the start. In February, her co-workers honored her for 20 years of service. Congratulations and thank you, Virginia!
ACC’s Big Day of Giving (BDOG) is on May 4. It’s a fitting time to donate to ACC in honor of ACC Rides. We’ll be celebrating their achievements at our lead-up events: ACC’s Big Day of Community on April 22 and our BDOG Telethon on May 3 and 4. See page 12 for more information on these events and on how you can donate.
As I walk the halls of ACC, I am struck by how many people there are in their 80s and 90s attending our classes, clubs, and other activities. I hear laughter and sometimes snippets of gossip, which means they’re having fun. On ping pong days, I am careful not to step on the ping pong balls as they roll into the hallways. It’s cute to watch players come out with their net to scoop them up. On Friday afternoon, I hear people shouting Bingo! Many are there with their caregivers.
Teruko Ono, who plays mahjong at ACC, just celebrated her 100th birthday with 35 of her ACC friends in our Community Room. On April 23, Councilmember Rick Jennings will be at the Care Center to present a Key to the City to Hien Thi Nguyen. She turns 100. So much going on!
ACC has been and will always be a place where our “super seniors” can be active and socially engaged. And they know that, whenever they need other services from ACC, we are here for them.
ACC Wellness Park (AWP), announced earlier this year, has been met with excitement. The people I’ve talked to feel it aligns with their vision of how they want to age. AWP will make use of the space behind our admin building to provide better integration and scalability of our services, including lifelong learning and wellness, social services, care coordination, and transportation. We have put together three workgroups – Philanthropy and Funding, Program Design, and Park Design – to develop the concept.
AWP seeks to create a new, diversified income source for ACC. We are closing the books on 2022 with a significant financial loss of $4 million. This is due to a lower-than-expected occupancy at our living facilities. In the last issue of ACC News, I described this in more detail. We are watching our expenses closely and exploring ways to contract with health plans to provide transportation, social services, care coordination, and lifelong learning and wellness programs to their members.
There is some good news. I have been keeping the community informed about occupancy at Maple Tree Village, and I am happy to share that occupancy is increasing ahead of schedule. More residents at Maple Tree Village are adding to the many fun activities and outings taking place.
At the Care Center, one wing, Azalea Lane, has been down for over 17 months due to renovation. Additional good news is the Care Center is in contact with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on the review of the Care Center’s application to re-occupy the renovated wing. CDPH has asked for additional information which is being provided. Once CDPH has all it needs, the next step is for CDPH to go to the Care Center for an inspection and give the green light to occupy Azalea Lane.
I am also happy to share the promotion of Brittany Yamada to Executive Director at ACC Greenhaven Terrace. Brittany is now overseeing GT’s Senior Living and Assisted Living. Yesenia Jones who was overseeing both Greenhaven Terrace and Maple Tree Village is now overseeing one site now, Maple Tree Village, with the goal of reaching 80% occupancy.
As I have mentioned before, you can help close our financial gap by referring friends and family to our residential communities.
I want to thank Debbie Eto for organizing Day of Remembrance at ACC. On February 19. More than 120 people attended in-person and online to hear Charles Kobayashi, Esther Hokama, Gloria Imagire, and Keiji Takagi talk about their experiences in the Japanese internment camps. Special guest Arlene Damron, the cousin of Glenn Watanabe, presented film footage of daily life in the Topaz War Relocation Center. It was filmed secretly by her father, Dave Tatsuno, during his three-year internment there. It was recognized by the U.S. Library of Congress and the National Film Registry. The Showstoppers gave a beautiful performance by singing two songs.
ACC hosted the Chinese Lunar New Year event on January 22, held behind the ACC main campus on the soccer field. Over 1,550 people attended the outdoor event, enjoying the entertainment, craft booths, and food trucks. We thank our community partner The Creative Space for organizing the event.
Then on February 24, Tim Corcoran and Kathryn Doi underwrote and hosted the ACC community to attend the performance of “The Chinese Lady,” a play at Capital Stage. A diverse audience of ACC supporters enjoyed the performance and was treated afterward to a Q and A session with the two actors, one who is from Sacramento. A big thank you to Tim and Kathryn!
The hustle and bustle is back at ACC, and it’s been really invigorating for everyone – the participants, instructors, and staff. I see people smiling, laughing, and chatting all the time. On behalf of ACC, thank you for your continued support. Drop by ACC and say hello!
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