CRENSHAW : Alzheimer’s Facility to Open in March

People Coordinated Services, a senior services center, has received a $110,000 donation from the Frederick N. Mellinger Alzheimer’s Fund to open one of its buildings as an adult day-care center for Alzheimer’s patients, the first such facility to serve the Central City.

Officials from the Mellinger Fund presented People Coordinated Services with a check last week to refurbish the 1,100-square-foot space at 4708 Crenshaw Blvd. The center is also funded by the Alzheimer’s Assn. of Los Angeles.

When it opens March 1, the center will serve 23 patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders. The day-care program will operate on a sliding-fee scale, but no one will be excluded based on ability to pay, said Betty Schlesinger, program director for People Coordinated.

The center will also conduct family and patient support groups, offer community outreach and education forums and self-improvement programs for patients.

Schlesinger characterized the new space as a respite center for the primary care-givers of Alzheimer’s patients, who must supervise their charges round the clock.

“It’s going to be social day care, a place where care-givers can get a break and patients can help themselves,” said Schlesinger. “South and Central Los Angeles has needed something like this for a long time.”

Information: (213) 735-1231.