Adult day care center proposed for Annandale church

Calvery Church of the Nazarene.

The Friends Health Care Team Inc. is seeking county approval to open an adult day care center in space leased at Calvary Church of the Nazarene in Annandale.

The day care program would operate during weekdays and Saturdays, when the church is not being used. The building is on a wooded property at 8220 Little River Turnpike near Camelot.

The proposal calls for the program to serve up to 99 senior adults, said Michelle Littlefield of Friends in a presentation to the Mason District Land Use Committee July 24. If the program is successful, she said, Friends might request an increase in capacity. The MDLUC endorsed the proposal at a limit of no more than 99 clients.

The Friends Health Care Team provides home-based health aides. The day care center at the church would offer people with dementia or physical ailments a chance to socialize and get out of their homes – while providing a respite to their caregivers.

About half the clients would be brought to Calvary by mini-bus between 7 and 9 a.m. and would be picked up for the trip home between 2 and 3 p.m. – before rush hour, Littlefield said. The other clients would be dropped off by a family member.

There would be no changes to the church building – the proposal is all about a new use for an existing structure. There would be one staff member for every six participants.

Activities at the day care center are expected to include arts and crafts, singing, counseling, movies, Bible study, exercise, and bingo. The church’s industrial kitchen would be used to prepare lunch and snacks.

Families would pay for the day care out-of-pocket or could use Medicare or private insurance.

Littlefield hopes the day care center could open in October. The Fairfax County Planning Commission has scheduled a hearing on Sept. 13. The Board of Supervisors hearing would be Sept. 25.