By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
It was a day at the Cincinnati Zoo for everyone at the Bill and Betsy Scheben Care Center (31 Spiral Drive, Florence).
Checking out the animals: Alex Medina-Mejias, Dezirae Spiece, Deborah Hodge, Cameron Frodge, Sara Kleier, Kris Brown, Jessica Tracy, Candice Emro. (Photos by Andy Furman/NKyTribune)
Part of The Point/Arc since 2016, the center took all 40 individuals in attendance along with 18 staff members and volunteers for a day at The Cincinnati Zoo recently.
The day-long outing required effort, time, and planning – as well as eight buses, medical supplies and a nursing staff.
“The outing lasted three-and-half-hours,” noted Executive Director, Lisa West.
Was it worth the effort? And what would make the Center put so much time, effort and planning for an outing like this?
“Because the individuals asked us to do it,” West said.
The medical model day-program, now located in Florence, debuted in 1980 as part of Northern Kentucky Easter Seals in Covington.
Holly Owens, Sarah Mead, Cindy Cook, Leslie Adamas, Tracy Reenan
Fast forward to today and the Center – whose mission is to empower individuals who are differently abled and the elderly to self-advocate, pursue personal growth and independence and have choices in everyday life – serves 62 individuals in their day program and provides daily transportation for 46 individuals for their day programs and jobs in the community.
“Months ago,” said West, “We rented a theater at Cinemark and took everyone in attendance to the movies. We had never planned an all-Center outing and many individuals were asking if everyone could do something all-together – so we did.”
Julianna Trimbur, RN, Program Manager, tossed out the idea of a zoo outing to a few individuals, and it quickly became a hot topic for the next all-Center outing.
“We kept everyone together and the enjoyment and smiles are why we do what we do every day,” said West. “We strive to make daily life as inclusive as possible and the sky is the limit for what our next all-Center outinbg will be.”
The good news, joked West: “We didn’t lose one individual.”
Deborah Hodge, Traci Kopp, Sara Kleier, Trevor Dean, Mike Waite, Cameron Frodge, Jessica Tracy, Cati Schlesinger, Sierra Dreyer
