Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 2nd Adult-Care Center Opens in Santa Clarita

The second adult day-care center in Santa Clarita was formally opened Friday in a ceremony attended by about 75 nearby residents.

The Santa Clarita Adult Day Health Care Center, at 26460 Friendly Valley Parkway, joins another center operated by Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

“You never know. I might end up in this place,” said Ted Schroeder, 87, of Santa Clarita, who stopped by to examine the new facilities.

The center works with patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of memory loss. Providing daytime activities and health care for up to 50 patients, it has been in operation since Feb. 9, its formal opening delayed by the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake.

Officials at Friday’s ceremony, including Santa Clarita Mayor George Pederson and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, praised center employees for establishing a much-needed facility.

“I think that for the area of the Santa Clarita Valley, where 18% of the people who live here are--I don’t want to say old--less than young, I think it’s important to have these types of facilities,” Pederson said.

The new center places more emphasis on activities than on medical service, although a full-time registered nurse is on duty, center employees said.

Kathy Brown, an activity coordinator, said patients participate in music, gardening and other activities that help many cope with short-term memory loss.

“We find that, although their memories are really poor--they can’t remember what they did 10 minutes ago--they can sing a full song,” she said.

It costs $50 a day to use the facility, but donations make it possible to accept patients on an ability-to-pay basis, said Lisa Foust, president of the hospital’s foundation.