Checonya’s story
After many months of construction and anticipation, Iona’s Washington Home Center opened its doors in fall 2020. This state-of-the-art facility – which serves individuals with dementia and physical and intellectual disabilities – is the only adult day health center located in Southeast DC.
Checonya Bittleb, 63, is one of the center’s first participants. He lives in Ward 8 with his sister, Janie Horn, 68, his primary caregiver. A former karate trainer, Checonya has dementia and struggles with mobility.
During the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, Janie had grown increasingly concerned about her brother. Most days, he stayed at home with a hired caregiver watching the same TV shows over and over while Janie was at work. “I was so upset”, she says. “He was spending the time deteriorating.”
But things immediately changed for the better once Janie discovered Iona’s Washington Home Center. When Checonya first arrived, “he was bent over and unsteady on his feet,” she says. Iona staff worked with him to stand tall and move with ease unassisted. Their mantra, Janie says, is “You can do this!”
Janie, who drops her brother off before going to her full-time job as an administrative assistant, appreciates that the new center is only 10 minutes from their Congress Heights apartment. “When you are in certain DC neighborhoods, you don’t have access to the same resources as other people,” says Janie. “Hats off to Iona for bringing the same opportunities that exist elsewhere to residents east of the River.”
Today, Checonya enjoys going to the center three days a week, where staff engage him in exercise, art projects, and singing along to his favorite Motown songs. “This is so much for my brother than sitting at home,” says Janie. “He’s stimulated all day, and it’s good for him to have other people in his life- professional staff who work on his memory recall. If he wasn’t there, he would waste away.”
Janie also gets support from Iona on the days Checonya doesn’t go to the center. “The staff calls to ask how he’s doing and provide him with activities to do at home,” she says. “That helps me a lot. I’m really happy with his progress.”
As Checonya’s big sister and caregiver, “I don’t think about myself a lot,” Janie says. But the staff ask about Janie as well to remind her to take care of herself. Her response: She and her brother are doing great, thanks to Iona and its passionate staff.