MORE ABOUT CCSP
Community Care Services Program (CCSP) is a Medicaid waiver program providing community-based social, health and support services as an alternative to a nursing facility.
Eligibility is based on physical limitations and recommendation by a physician. Participants must be Medicaid eligible or potentially Medicaid eligible after admission to CCSP.
Available services include: Adult Day Health with therapeutic and medical services; personal care homes; in-home emergency response; home-delivered meals; home-delivered services such as skilled nursing and therapy; out-of-home respite care for caregivers; personal support services, including personal care, help with meals, light housekeeping and shopping.
Source: Georgia Department of Community Health (dch.georgia.gov)
KING DAVID COMMUNITY CENTER
5054 Singleton Road, Norcross
Provides services to Jewish Russian seniors. Also operates separate adult day programs comprised of culturally diverse groups.
Senior services provided:
- Adult Day Health with therapy and medical services, social activities and meals.
- Home-delivered meals.
- In-home services for those with advanced dementia or other chronic illnesses who can no longer participate in the day program.
- Transportation to senior center and doctor visits.
Klaudia Kreslavskaya, 94, could spend her time at any number of senior day programs in the metro area and find plenty of friendships and activities to keep her busy.
But who would speak with her in Yiddish? Who would serve her kosher meals? With whom could she discuss shared experiences from her mother country of Russia — the music, the literature, the art, and the suffering of growing up Jewish under a Communist regime?
She can get all of that and more at the King David Community Center in Norcross, and that’s where you’ll find her on most every weekday. The 50 or so Russian-speaking seniors who gather in this former day care facility have bonded like family over the past decade. Like Kreslavskaya, many have been attending the adult day program since owners Anatoliy Iskhakov and his wife, Khano Aranbayeva, opened the senior center 12 years ago.
“This is home for them. They can come and socialize and speak their own language,” explained Aranbayeva, who serves as executive director.
Iskhakov and Aranbayeva also suffered persecution and harassment as Jews living in the former Soviet Union. Two decades ago, they escaped their homeland with their two young children and settled in Gwinnett County. In Uzbekistan, Iskhakov was an engineer; his wife was an accomplished pianist. Here, they had to start all over with the help of numerous Atlanta area Jewish organizations, schools and services.
Establishing the King David Community Center was a way to give back. The senior center operates as a Community Care Services Program through the state Department of Community Health. Seniors who qualify for Medicaid benefits pay nothing to come, and it keeps them out of a nursing home.
In addition to the senior program, the King David facility serves as a Jewish cultural center, and there’s also a children’s day care/preschool and a Georgia Pre-K on campus.
For the adult programs, buses pull out at 8 a.m. every morning to pick up the seniors, who live in various parts of the metro area. None live in Gwinnett County. Breakfast is served by 9, and because the group is predominantly Jewish, meals are kept kosher.
Participants are busy through 2 p.m. when the buses will take them home. There are art lessons, music, dancing and singing. They love the Russian poetry and literature. There’s Russian TV programming and a library of hundreds of donated Russian books. The day may bring shopping trips or a visit to a museum. A favorite activity is swimming at a nearby YMCA.
“They live a very active life. That’s why they live so long,” said activity manager Alla Yankelevich.
The oldest active participant passed away last year at age 103, said Mariyana Georgiev, a registered nurse who serves as medical director. One of her responsibilities is to monitor the health of each senior and make any needed doctor appointments.
The senior center staff serves as surrogate parents at times. If a client doesn’t show up, they’re on the phone that day to find out why. They’ll go for a home visit if necessary, Aranbayeva said. Depression is a real issue facing seniors, especially those who are not in their country of origin.
“Sometimes they’ll come in very depressed, but after one or two weeks, they’re totally different,” Aranbayeva said.
The free, on-site hair salon can be a real mood-changer, and the staff is not shy about using it to their advantage. Sometimes a new hairdo is all that’s needed to turn a bad day into a good one.
Having a younger generation on campus also helps. Many of the seniors have great-grandchildren in the day care or pre-K programs. The seniors and children are supportive audiences for each other’s drama and musical productions.
Many of the seniors are highly educated with professional backgrounds as doctors, lawyers or professors. Their Russian language is often mixed with Yiddish. Here, they are proud to be Jewish. Traditional Jewish holidays are celebrated as cultural events.
“For the first time in their life, they are not afraid to say they’re Jewish,” Yankelevich said. “Before, they couldn’t speak about it or sing their songs. Some of them even changed their names. Now, they feel free.”
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