A Brief History of Adult Care Services

Although adult day care was founded in the 1940s, in the 1970s there were only 300 day care centers across the nation. Susan Rheem, Founding Director of Adult Care Services (ACS, a non-profit organization), became passionate about starting adult day care in Prescott. She moved from visioning to action very quickly, leaving a secure position with a national company for the complete unknown. Youth and vigor are not to be underestimated!

In 1982 Susan joined forces with the Foundation for Senior Living, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and a group of advisors to start the Prescott Senior Day Care Center. With Susan as director, a part-time nurse, Susan’s trusty dog Rusty, and a broken down van, services began.

In 1984, w ith the help of private foundations and community support, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor officiated the groundbreaking to build a permanent home for The Center Adult Care Services. In 1990, Justice O’Connor returned to officiate at the ground breaking for the Phase II expansion of The Center.

Two major events happened in the growth of ACS that helped it become a leader in adult care services. First, in 1984, Susan began working with the Veterans Administration on the national and state levels to develop an initiative allowing veterans to receive adult day services. Through the efforts of Susan and ACS, The Center Adult Day Services was one of the first to be chosen nationally to provide day services to veterans. The rigorous requirements set out by the VA helped ACS move to provide more comprehensive health services.

Then in 1994, ACS received a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Partners in Caregiving grant. Susan participated in a five-year training program developed by Dr. Burton Reifler of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. This program educated adult day care centers on how to care for dementia sufferers and move from a social to a healthcare model of services. This allowed ACS to expand and enhance the quality of their programs, enabling them to serve a more diverse population and become a stronger, more viable organization.

As Alzheimer’s disease emerged as a defined affliction, ACS did their best to meet the needs of these individuals and their exhausted families. More people moved to the Prescott area, nursing homes were not prepared to accommodate people with Alzheimer’s disease. Families began looking outside of Prescott for Alzheimer’s disease care. Susan and ACS wanted to meet those special needs of people with Alzheimer’s, and the vision of The Margaret T. Morris Center (MTMC) was born.

Planning began, and once again, the generosity of ACS donors helped support this dream. The Flinn Foundation and the State of Arizona issued an initiative to create the “Arizona Model,” selecting 16 companies to participate in a physical building design and program created just for people with Alzheimer’s disease. ACS was the only rural organization invited to participate, which gave Susan more motivation to move ahead with the building of MTMC. To this day, ACS follows the Arizona Model guidelines.

In 1999, in conjunction with the opening of MTMC, ACS was certified by the Arizona Department of Health Services to provide assisted living caregiver and manager training programs. Since that time, ACS has maintained a full-time Director of Education and Training who provides training programs for ACS staff and the general public. ACS also coordinates free community education sessions featuring specialists in health and aging.

In 2008, ACS was licensed by the Post Secondary Board of Education to offer a full certificate program for Resident Assistants.