Bennington Project Independence Inc

See schedule ohealth services: kitchens in designing our adult day center, the dr. Richard a. Sleeman center, the provision of fresh, high quality meals for our members was paramount. Many of our elderly or disabled members are no longer able to prepare their own meals and have nutritional issues that can affect their health. The food we serve for lunch at bpi may be the only well-balanced meal some of our members have each day. The dr. Richard a. Sleeman center has a full-featured, modern commercial kitchen. We received design recommendations from several accomplished local chefs and restauranteurs. The result is an efficient and modern kitchen capable of feeding not only our members but of serving several hundreds of people should our facility ever need to be used as an emergency shelter for our community. Bpi is also a congregate meals site for the southwestern vermont council on aging. This enables the public to be able make a reservation to enjoy lunch and the beautiful ambiance of the dr. Richard a. Sleeman center. Bpi has a talented nutrition coordinator who understands the unique dietary needs of older persons and younger adults with disabilities. Each day, our nutrition staff provide whatever dietary accommodation our members' health needs requires (from sugar-free, to gluten free, to pureed, etc.). Bpi is committed to making well balanced, nutritious, home-cooked meals and healthy snacks. We supplement our menus with fresh vegetables from our own member's garden. Our nutrition staff work closely with our activity program to ensure that our meals dovetail with the activity themes of the day. They complement each other beautifully and provide a flavorful addition. Besides the full commercial kitchen, bpi included a full residential-style kitchen that is completely handicapped accessible. The counters and sink can accommodate members in wheelchairs. An induction cooktop was included to ensure the utmost in member and staff safety in cooking. The country kitchen was designed to promote independence and safety. Our members enjoy relearning or polishing up their cooking skills. Our homey country kitchen is a delightful place for our members to relish the joys of home cooking and a place to share family memories and recipes. Having our own kitchen has been an incredibly positive addition to the services and comprehensive care that we are able to provide for our members. Exercise: the fitness and wellness programs at bennington project independence are a part of a larger initiative to ensure that bennington project independence is also a resource for the entire community. Besides the stretch for health, walking clubs and individualized nustep fitness programs offered daily at bpi, we have several classes available to the public. This year, we have added a kirtan kriya class for stress reduction and enhancing respiratory function. This class has also received excellent feedback. Caregiver support: bpi continues to provide a monthly caregiver gathering entitled "families together". This gathering differs from the traditional support group model with the premise of "when was the last time you laughed with a friend?" this group is open to the public and brings caregivers from all walks of life and levels of caregiving experiences together. The sharing, laughter and connections have been incredibly helpful to many caregivers and families.

See schedule otransportation: a major factor in the success of bpi's adult day program is the ability to provide our own personalized door-through-door transportation for our members and families utilizing our own handicapped accessible vehicles. Our small fleet of three lift-equipped vehicles allows our expert transportation staff to be flexibly responsive to ever-changing member, family caregiver and in-home service provider needs and schedules. Our highly trained drivers are sensitive to the needs of older and/or disabled persons. They are trained in passenger assistance, cpr and first aid. They provide a vital, personal connection between family caregivers and bpi. Our vehicles provide service for members and families in the greater bennington and southshire area. We have a van replacement fund established to accept donations to assist us with replacing our oldest vehicle. We work with the local public transit provider, the green mountain express (gmc), to facilitate transportation for members and families in the northshire area. This collaboration provides a hybrid of public and private service to ensure that everyone has acces to safe and reliable transportation to and from our adult day program. With replacing our oldest vehicle. We work with the local public transit provider, the green mountain express (gmc), to facilitate transportation for participants and families in the northshire area. This collaboration provides a hybrid of public and private service to ensure that everyone has acces to safe and reliable transportation to and from our adult day program.