Posts in category: blog

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!

By Jean Shiomoto, ACC Board Chair

Happy New Year! ACC’s 50th anniversary is in the history books. Today, we have so much to build on and so much to look forward to. It couldn’t be more exciting. We’re entering a future shaped by new technologies, social trends, and new ways of aging unlike what our parents experienced. How will ACC evolve in the next 50 years to meet the needs of the growing older-adult population? We’ll start 2023 by looking at some simple answers.

The pandemic made it clear that maintaining our health and social connections is important for our well-being. Losing one or both of these is akin to losing our freedom. During the great shutdown, the entire population felt the brunt of being isolated. The loss of 1.1 million lives in the U.S. to COVID-19 underscored the importance of prevention. In a rare moment, mainstream society experienced the insecurities that our most vulnerable seniors endure all the time.

Starting with the ACC Ohana Walk last September, ACC began innovating ways to improve health and social connections for people of all ages. The event brought together younger and older generations to celebrate health in an Ohana (family) environment. Several walkers were in their 90s! ACC sees the future of aging as a multi-generational activity, where people develop supportive relationships with others through every stage of life.

With this in mind, we are exploring a new initiative called ACC Wellness Park. We are looking to develop the grassy field behind our main campus building into a multi-use indoor/outdoor venue for health and wellness programs. The idea was first presented at our Big Day of Giving Telethon last May. New revenues would be generated from health plans and other organizations that would contract with ACC to provide beneficial services to their members. We are currently in discussions with one healthcare company to provide contracted transportation and other supportive services offered at ACC Wellness Park.

ACC’s 50th Anniversary Gala was held in October in Elk Grove. More than 200 people from every decade of ACC’s history attended the event. Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis regaled us with stories about their families’ most memorable moments with ACC. Koichi Mizushima and his daughter, Ellie, sang two beautiful duets. Gloria Imagire, Ted Fong, and yours truly recounted stories from ACC’s past to a delighted audience. A big thank you to our emcees, Lonnie Wong and Dani Lee, and to Jean Chong for chairing the Gala Committee. See page 16 for the Gala highlights.

2023 is the 20th anniversary of ACC Rides. Founded during the tenure of then-CEO Donna Yee, ACC Rides now serves 13 zip codes and has earned numerous awards. Virginia Wieneke, the Program Manager, has been with ACC Rides from its inception. Virginia and her team have developed a compassionate service culture that has become the hallmark of ACC. Virginia shares her thoughts in this recent article.

ACC closed 2022 with a significant financial loss. This was due to staffing shortages in all our senior living communities brought on by the competitive labor market. Two neighborhoods or wings at ACC Maple Tree Village (MTV) cannot be opened because of the staffing shortage. ACC’s financial loss was exacerbated by the closure of Azalea Lane at the Care Center for renovations. In the past, our other communities have brought in the bulk of the revenues that went into our savings, cost-of-living increases, and new ACC projects. This has not been the case during the pandemic. The good news is that the state has just approved the re-opening of the 27-bed Azalea Lane at the Care Center for short-stay residents.

Our financial recovery will continue well into 2023. Occupancy at ACC MTV Assisted Living stands at around 67%, not high enough to be in the black and cover the debt service on the bond secured to build MTV. As we build up the staffing, we need your help in referring people to ACC so we can close the gap. MTV is a wonderful, brand-new facility with a family-like culture and lots of enrichment activities. Residents can also visit ACC’s main campus for classes, workshops, and social activities. For more information about ACC Maple Tree Village, visit accsv.org/mtv.

ACC’s Board of Directors has undergone a few changes. Jeffery Hiratsuka, Debi Llata, and Chiang Wang are stepping down from the Board. Joyce Iseri will be a returning Board member. I would like to thank Jeffery, Debi, and Chiang for their service to ACC.

Finally, I’m announcing to the community that Darrick Lam, ACC’s President and CEO, has resigned from ACC Senior Services. He has been on leave since September due to a loss in his family. The ACC Board of Directors has begun the search for a new President and CEO to lead ACC. We’re immensely grateful for all the contributions that Darrick made during his five years with ACC. You can read Darrick’s Farewell message here. I want to thank our staff, volunteers, donors, program participants, community partners, and Board members for their support over the past four months. Best wishes to everyone in 2023!

U.S. News & World Report has once again named the ACC Care Center one of the Best Nursing Homes for 2022-2023 in the categories of Long-Term Care and Short-Term Rehabilitation.

“ACC Care Center is among the elite 16% of SNFs that earned a High Performing rating, the highest possible achievement,” according to their announcement. 

U.S. News rated 15,178 skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. Only 2.2% of them were rated High Performing in both the Long-Term and Short-Term categories. ACC Care Center was one of them!

The Best Nursing Homes ratings are based on an in-depth analysis of publicly available data, including information that is not factored into the Star Rating system of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The U.S. News ratings recognize that patients undergoing relatively short-term rehabilitation have very different needs from those who require longer-term care. For example, the rating for Short-Term Care Rehabilitation factors in the care delivered to patients after a hospitalization for surgery, heart attack, stroke, injury, or similar condition. “No one wants their loved one to go back to the hospital either during or after their rehabilitation,” says Melanie Nazareno, the Care Center’s Quality Care Manager.

Although numbers drive the rating systems from US News and CMS, the ACC Care Center staff does not obsess with trying to ace the test. “The award is just a reflection of what our staff has been doing for years – providing the best care in an environment that feels like home,” says Tamara Kario, the Care Center Administrator. She points out that the residents, not just staff, feel a shared responsibility to make sure everyone in the “household” is doing well. Residents show concern for other residents and often ask about staff when they haven’t seen them for a while. “It’s a very special dynamic. The pandemic has brought residents and staff even closer,” she says.

Tamara credits Dr. Scott Stringer, ACC’s Medical Director, for empowering staff to bring up issues that seem small but have a big impact on quality and can even save lives. One recent example involved a resident who was in short-stay rehabilitation following knee surgery. In the middle of the night, she called the certified nurse assistant (CNA) and said she felt like she was having indigestion. Her baseline measurements were normal, but the CNA felt there was something more going on based on subtle changes in the resident’s appearance. The CNA brought this to the attention of the nurse on duty. After a short discussion, they sent the resident to the emergency room. It turned out that the resident was having a heart attack. She received life-saving treatment, got well, and later went back to the Care Center and finished her physical therapy stay. “It was beautiful to see this resident doing so well,” says Tamara.

The industry-wide staffing shortage continues to impact the operations and finances of ACC Care Center. Nurses everywhere have quit their profession or left for higher-paid jobs at hospitals. Tamara says, “There are so many oppressing forces, including inflation and family matters brought on by the pandemic that nurses have to deal with.” She is glad that many of ACC’s former nurses have kept in touch and some have even come back. “They tell me that grass is not always greener on the other side.” 

Melanie Nazareno points out that, despite these woes, ACC Care Center maintains its Five Star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “Vaccination rates, infection control, incidents of falls, rehospitalizations, pressure sores, and urinary tract infections are just a few of the measures we report to CMS every month,” she says.

One hundred percent of ACC Care Center residents completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series, compared to the national average of 86% at other skilled nursing facilities. The vaccination rate among staff versus the national average is similarly high. 

The use of psychotropic medications at SNFs is another reported measure worth mentioning. “ACC’s use of these drugs is way below state and national averages,” says Melanie. “Honestly, it’s because we have a great activities director and good life enrichment activities. Our staff is trained to try non-drug interventions to manage behavioral issues. If someone is yelling or causing a disturbance, let’s find out why. In many cases, patients are experiencing physical pain, a personal loss, or they simply have to go to the bathroom. We can do something about this that doesn’t involve going to the medical director first.” 

ACC is honored to receive the Best Nursing Home rating from U.S. News & World Report. “Our soft skills have gotten us here,” says Tamara. “To achieve such high-quality scores, you really have to know what’s going on with your residents, and this is only possible when you listen to them.”

(Shown in photo: ACC Rides Transportation Advisory Committee, circa 2016, left to right: Alex Eng, Gordon Low, Lynn Kurahara, Nancy Iseri, Virginia Wieneke, Dannis Voong, Jessie Lee, Joaquin Ngarangad, Linda Revilla, Robert Ito, and Mary Harding)

ACC Rides Transportation Service is reaching a huge milestone. We will be celebrating our 20th Anniversary in February! Guess what this means? I will be celebrating my 20th year working for ACC Rides, a program that is dear to my heart.

ACC Rides started in 2003 with one staff member, myself, and a handful of volunteer drivers and escorts ( “escorts” was later changed to “driver assistants”) and has grown to 16 staff and over 120 drivers and driver assistants. Some of the very first ACC Rides’ volunteers were Ernie Tanaka (the first), Chewy Ito, Akito Masaki, Robert Honda, Ben Yokomizu, Sam Inouye, and Robert Ito, to name a few.

ACC Rides expanded from one 8-passenger bus in 2003 to currently operating a whopping 22 vehicles! We initially served four zip codes in 2003 and now provide services in 13 zip codes and part of the Delta region.

 In 2019, Rides graduated from using Excel spreadsheets for everything and transitioned to a scheduling software program called MediRoutes. This allowed us to bring up client information with a few clicks as well as put ride information in the system and dispatch in real-time. It also allows any scheduling changes such as cancellations to be sent directly to a driver’s tablet and dispatchers to view the location of our vehicles, and it gives us the ability to provide a higher level of service to Rides’ clients.

ACC Rides has been very fortunate to have a solid and dedicated team. They truly embody “Universal Employees” who wear different hats depending on the situation and need. The COVID-19 pandemic exemplified the staff’s adaptability and illustrated what we can accomplish in any situation we faced. Rides staff became adept as online grocery shoppers in order to provide food and other items for clients who were afraid to go out or may not have had any family nearby to rely on. Rides drivers also stepped up to deliver meals throughout Sacramento County. Many of the areas were outside the ACC Rides service area and were new to the drivers. ACC Rides staff made over 11,000 wellness calls to clients to assure they had everything they needed and to see if ACC could help in other ways. Some of the seniors we spoke with were happy to hear another person’s voice because they had not had any interaction with anyone for several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, ACC Rides provided 4,000 one-way trips, but when the pandemic hit, we were providing less than 250 one-way trips per month. We were given the option to cease operation like other programs and services ACC had, but we could not stop serving our clients who had to go to life-saving treatments such as dialysis and chemotherapy. We became very creative in providing the service to keep both staff and our clients safe.

Agency on Aging Area 4 (AAA4) and Paratransit, Inc., have been our partner agencies during the last two decades. ACC Rides is very thankful as they were the reason ACC Rides exists. Caltrans is one of the driving forces in enlarging the Rides fleet of vehicles and allowing us to hire additional staff, as well as retain the staff we currently have. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments guides and assists Rides with any funding availability and provides suggestions when submitting proposals. The Ann Land and Bertha Henschel Memorial Funds have been supporting ACC Rides for over ten years by subsidizing the contribution for clients attending the Meals on Wheels program and seniors going shopping. ITNAmerica is helping cover the cost of our clients’ related eye care appointments. These organizations and agencies helped ACC Rides stay afloat for the last 20 years.

The work ACC Rides has been doing for two decades has not gone unnoticed. Several volunteer drivers were recognized by Sacramento County Health and Human Services for their dedication to helping the community. We’ve received awards for Diversity in Leadership for Women in Transportation, Excellence in Safety Award from NonProfits United, and the Exceptional Performance Award from Agency on Aging Area 4. 

The new year is here. For some, it is difficult to celebrate because of the loss of a loved one, their health is not as good as it was, or their family members are far away. Let’s be kind to one another, smile (without the face mask on), and give to those who need it the most. Happy New Year from the ACC Rides Team!