Ana Montes resident of Assisted Living at Jennings Hall
Many people don’t think about Assisted Living Programs (ALP) until they need it for a loved one or themselves. As the need is probably pressing then, the information and decision can be overwhelming. Here’s a peek into ALP for all to get a better idea of what it is and how it works.
The New York State Department of Health’s website defines ALP as: services to persons who are medically eligible for nursing home placement but in a less medically intensive, lower cost setting. The ALP provides personal care, room, board, housekeeping, supervision, home health aides, personal emergency response services, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical supplies and equipment, adult day health care, home health services, and the case management services of a registered professional nurse. Both Medicaid recipients and private-payers must be medically eligible for, and would otherwise require, placement in a nursing home due to the lack of a home or suitable home environment. However, eligible ALP residents must not require continual nursing care, be chronically bedfast, or be impaired to the degree that they endanger the safety of other ALP residents.
St. Nicks Alliance has been operating an ALP at Jennings Hall (260 Powers Street) since 2012.
“We aim to create a community where residents feel safe, valued, and empowered to maintain their independence for as long as possible. We are dedicated to providing personalized care and services that honor each person’s needs. We are fortunate to have an outstanding team working together to achieve these objectives. This team includes staff from nursing services, personal care, housekeeping, and food services, along with St. Nicks Alliance housing and resident services staff members,” said Myrna Yen, deputy director of ALP at Jennings Hall.
Ana Montes, 67-years old, has lived in the ALP at Jennings Hall starting four years ago. Her health issues began when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 21 and hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital in NYC. Her doctors didn’t think she had long to live, but the clergy of multiple denominations saw her spirit and anointed her as a missionary before she went into surgery. She said because of this she knew if they had faith that she would be able to do God’s work, she was going to live. She became a missionary.
Since then she has taught bible classes in several churches. Currently she teaches at three churches, one on Boerum, one on Manhattan Avenue (Church of God Divine Outreach), and in Manhattan on 121st Street, plus she also teaches online. She teaches twice a week. But she also spends time creating her lessons. Sometimes a church gives her a theme – so she does research.
“I have to find something that will impact that’s short but that’ll stay. Cause I like to make an impact and open the mind, and have them thinking, ‘Oh I didn’t see it that way,’” says Ana.
She also worked as a registered nurse for ten to twenty years in Puerto Rico. Ana’s family is from Puerto Rico, but she was born and raised in Manhattan. As an adult she moved back to Puerto Rico and raised a family there. She has three daughters, one in NYC and two in Puerto Rico.
When her health became an issue, Ana’s sister convinced her to return to the United States. Ana was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and had to have eighteen months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which she says is worse than cancer.
When Ana moved back to NYC after her breast cancer treatment her sister set up a room in a Williamsburg church for her to live. The sister also lived at the church, and this way she could help take care of Ana. However, Ana, though grateful to have a place, had some challenges. There was no kitchen in her space, she’d have to go upstairs to use the church’s kitchen. As for the bathroom, she either had to go down a dark stairway or through the church only when the church was not in use. She lived there over four years. As Ana’s health issues progressed her daughter became her caregiver, but after a time Ana decided it was too much of a burden for her daughter, and began looking for ALP.
“I wanted to be more independent, feel myself more independent. And let them feel secure. That they don’t have to worry. Not my sister, not my daughter, not my father — at that time he was alive now he’s gone, that they didn’t have to worry about me, they always worried about me. I heard about the Assisted Living Program and thought that was something that would alleviate the burden for them, and also alleviate for me.”
When asked about how she began applying for ALP she said, “It was a miracle. I was with a friend and we were going all over the place and this was one of the last places. We decided to fill out the form and anoint it with oil and pray. And we just said this one [Jennings Hall] was the one.”
Ana said she heard back within a week that she had been accepted at Jennings Hall.
“Do you know what the excitement was when I came to this apartment? Just that the bathroom was next to the bedroom. When Myrna brought me here and I saw [the bathroom was right outside my door] I heard angels. I heard a choir of angels.” There would be no more going downstairs in the dark to get to the bathroom.”
She says has a good view too. “It’s nice and quiet here, It’s peace here, who wouldn’t want to live here. This is living. They do the barbecues out here. Who wouldn’t want to live in a place like this?”
Last year, Ana was diagnosed with five brain tumors at Lennox Hill Hospital. As she feels she’s had too many surgeries, and she’s concerned she’ll lose more than she’ll gain with surgery she has refused any surgical treatment for these tumors.
What is her favorite thing about living in ALP at Jennings Hall? “The people, the PCA’s are wonderful they are beautiful people, the guards are beautiful, even the people in reception, they’re beautiful. They are like family and are very attentive.”
What is your day like? “Well they are very attentive when it comes to my medication, which is good because I’m very forgetful. And they are very insistent. Which is very good because sometimes I get tired — sometimes you can get tired of taking too many medications. And I’m a pretty stubborn person, to get through to me they are very good and very nice.”
They also manage her medical appointments. They schedule them, remind her of when they are, and they schedule the Medicaid assistant services so the taxi is set up a day before. They also come in and bring her meals and check on her overnight. Her apartment is cleaned once a week and there is weekly laundry service. Currently, Ana prefers to do her own laundry, as she is very meticulous. They don’t let her lift things. And they call her to come down for the activities.
The activities are her favorite. “I like when we play Bingo. We play Bingo every Saturday. I like when we have the activities and when we share with the other buildings. And when we have the Zumba, and when we have the puzzles, and when we have the book club too, I love that. I love when we go out, when we went to Radio City [to see the Rockettes], and when we went to Swinging Sixties [Older Adult Center]. We shared lunch with them and they had a dance. It was really nice. I like meeting new people and seeing different things. I like the interaction. Here I know my grouchies, my grouchy friends and I like to get them out of their grouchiness. I love when they smile. When they start locking themselves up that worries me. Because I used to be a nurse. I worked with Alzheimer patients.”
Ana was elected vice president of the residents of ALP at Jennings Hall shortly after she arrived.
Jennings Hall is licensed by the New York State Department of Health. All residents of the ALP must be low income seniors, New York State Medicaid recipients, and require non-medical assistance for their daily activities. Jennings Hall is located at 260 Powers Street. For more information: https://stnicksalliance.org/elder-care-get-help/#ALPgh
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