Abstract: The increasing health challenges associated with aging and ever-transforming health demographics in the United States add immense pressure on the healthcare system and call for effective management of care for an aging society. Continuous health policy changes, rising health risks and diseases, hospital visits and medical emergency costs, workforce capacity shortages, and a lack of mental health and well-being programs can be detrimental to the system, indicating an upward trajectory in health expenditures. As the aging process progresses, it comes with weaknesses and a decline in health. In addition to the transition, one may undergo severe mental depression and anxiety caused by loneliness and changes in routines. Early intervention can help identify underlying mental health issues, and wellness programs can improve the quality of life. Adult day care centers have played a pivotal role in addressing some of these challenges by offering recreational activities and expanding their operations nationwide. Although adult day care centers focus on increasing social engagement and mental health well-being, a gap still exists in the provision of care between English-speaking and non-English-speaking populations. There is a lack of a mechanism to serve a diverse audience. Thus, certain minorities may be excluded from utilizing the benefits of adult day care centers. Asian day care centers for adults are in high demand. This case study analyzes Capital Care, a prominent adult care center, as it pursues a system that is both equitable and responsive to the needs of the elderly population in Asian communities, with a focus on serving clients from the subcontinent. The majority of the enrollment is from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, servicing members who have built their lives as immigrants and have language barriers limiting their social engagement. Capital Care Center strives to lead in the competitive market. However, the company continues to face pain points that it addresses through effective solutioning. This paper examines their operational challenges, growth measures, outcomes in alleviating clients' stress levels, and their impact on the community. Background In the year 1998, Shazia Khan, the founder of Capital Care Adult Daycare Center, moved to the United States. This was the time when she was settling into a new country that would now be her home. Leaving her habitat behind in Hyderabad, India, and in the quest to build her nest from scratch, she immersed herself in raising her family. Over the years, both she and her husband, Shakir Khan, were overwhelmed by raising their two boys and devotedly cared for her elderly father-in-law, affectionately known as Abba. In her spare time, she freelanced as a translator, working on various projects, including translating an entire Hindi-to-English dictionary for tourists, interpreting for hospitals, and recruiting. As time passed and the kids grew older, she decided to work and entered the IT industry. Although pursuing a solid career in information technology and working in various domains and industries, Shazia has always had a passion for running her own business. This is something she can wholeheartedly manage and contribute to, adding value to the community's welfare. Gradually, she reached the point in her self-exploration journey. However, this was just the beginning of something new. Little less than a decade ago, she observed, Abba was showing signs of Dementia. He was aging and needed extra care. Abba, being a loner and an introvert, found adapting to this new phase quite challenging. Being confined at home and having a limited social life made him feel secluded from the rest of the world. It is one thing to care, but caring with compassion requires deep empathy and understanding of how one feels. This requires strength, patience, and a high level of emotional intelligence. Shazia realized that this could not be the end, and a solution must exist. Determined to help Abba, she explored places that offered elderly care services for a few hours a day, including social and mental health activities to promote ongoing development. The biggest challenge she faced was finding an institute that offered language services. They were specifically seeking adult daycare centers staffed with Hindi-speaking staff. As the Dementia progressed, her search for a suitable place also intensified. There is an old saying: 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' Moreover, gradually, the idea came to fruition on a fine day in 2018. Why can’t they start a service to help folks going through a similar experience? The idea quickly transitioned from initiation to development, and finally to execution. She began looking at the Illinois Department of Aging website and exploring options for becoming a provider. Dubious on the approval from state due to no prior experience, she still reached out via email sharing her interest in running an adult day care, and to her surprise, within half an hour, she received an email response from the state program director, Crystal, who not only approved her but guided her in the process and graciously offered the support that is needed to start a new institution. The first step in the process was to review the policies. These were heavy documents, but they were an essential step in embracing the new journey. There were hundreds of email exchanges between Shazia and Crystal. Initially, the feedback received from other day care center owners was this was an extensive complex process, and involved a lot of government intervention, there were heavy fines and fees associated with running a large-scale daycare center for adults, but driven by faith and determination, she sent the application and after much deliberation, received approval in December 2019, to launch her center. They signed the lease to run the center. Moreover, they were ready to go!
Ahmed Rafi Dr. Anam (Sat,) studied this question.