How One Woman Got Her Community Vaccinated: Rachana Shah on Founding an Adult Daycare
“For months, my friends and I worked very hard to build this place up from scratch, we reached out into different communities to bring awareness of the benefits of the program In 2018, we got started with with 5 participants, and today I enjoy spending time with my 50+ participants” Today’s woman dreamer, Rachana Shah, is the founder of Evergreen Adult Day Health Centers, leading the way in caring for the elderly South Asian community in greater Boston. During the pandemic, Rachana and her team helped get over 700 elderly patients vaccinated. A loving mother of two, she shares the power of building a safe and inclusive community and how can help the elderly population in our own lives. Enjoy her story!
1) Tell us your story. What inspires you to help your community?
Over the past 20 years I have held several IT roles in multiple large corporations, however the output of my work was never satisfying to me, I always felt like I was missing an element in me which wanted to do some work that would have a direct positive impact to the people in our community and that is when I decided to take the risk of making a drastic career change and I connected with my friends to open the Evergreen Adult Day Health Center in Woburn, Ma.
For months me and my friends worked very hard to build this place up from scratch, we reached out into different communities to bring awareness of the benefits of the program getting people to trust us on the benefits was the biggest challenge, however with the support of my family and many people in our community we were able to get started in 2018 with 5 participants, today I enjoy spending time with my 50+ participants and caring for them.
2) You have opened "Evergreen Adult Day Health Centers (ADHC)", the first Indian Adult Day Centers in Woburn. What was the motivation behind this?
I was motivated to start this program when first I realized how meaningful it would be for my parents and in-laws to spend the day or part of the day in a safe and secure environment where they could connect with like-minded folks, be involved in enjoyable and educational activities, and receive meaningful social interaction which can not only improve both mental and physical health but also help to prevent or delay cognitive decline.
Our elders who often live with their children and grandkids are alone during the day and they cherish every little opportunity they can get to interact with the outside world.
3) What are some of the routines that appeal to the adults that come to Evergreen? Is there a daily routine?
Yes, Evergreen ADHC has a daily routine that gets set by our activity director, however once we bring all participants to the center, they start their day with aarti which is then followed by breakfast and then a session of chair exercise and meditation.
Connecting with other like-minded people, going out on field trips, doing fun activities together such as playing cards and games, watching and discussing current news and cricket and doing their morning exercise is what appeals the most to my participants.
4) You have also graciously opened up your ADHC over the weekend to run COVID vaccine clinics. How many people has your center vaccinated and how has that experience been?
During late winter and early spring when vaccines were not widely available, most of the seniors and their caretaker were having difficulty making appointments to get vaccinated. When I first heard about this issue from my participants at Evergreen Adult Day Health Center about the challenges I reached out to local pharmacies and worked very closely with them to set up appointments for them. As more people, including family, found out about my program they started reaching out to me to see if I could help them with the process.
In the past two and a half months, with the help of Pelmeds pharmacy and volunteers from the community we have set up 10 plus weekend clinics at the Evergreen Adult Day Health Center in Woburn and over 700 people have been able to take advantage of these clinics. I hope I can continue with this process so everyone in our community can take advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated immediately which will allow them and their families to stay safe.
5) As a dreamcatchers platform, please share with us what your next big dream is?
Our elders are living through times of incredible changes that are cultural, social, and technological. They have left their friends and family to be here with us and they may be struggling to find peace within themselves. They have made many sacrifices for us and now it is our turn to make sure they are able to maintain their dignity and get the richest experience of their lives. My dream is to be able to develop a real relationship and trust between me and my participants and be able to provide them with a rich experience and a high standard of respect at the Evergreen Adult Day Health Center so we are able to improve their lives.
Thank you Rachana for sharing your story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: My family and I immigrated from Ahmedabad, India to Queens, New York in 1986 and soon after we moved to Lowell, MA where I attended Lowell middle school and graduated out of Lowell High. I decided to further my education at University of Lowell and graduated with Bachelors of Science degree in Management Information System. My husband Gautam and I are blessed with two children, our daughter Sana, who will be Junior at UMASS Amherst, and our son Siddharth, who will be Senior at Nashua High School South, and our wonderful dog Whiskey. I am the president and co-founder of the Evergreen Adult Day Health Center in Woburn, MA and the secretary for around the past five years at the Gurjar Association, a community based non-profit organization.
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