Irondequoit Woman Finds Community, Care Through ElderONE

When people at ElderONE are asked to describe Tania Durr, one of the most common phrases is a ray of sunshine.

Tania, who is 62, currently lives in an apartment by herself at Skyview Apartments in Irondequoit. She has friends who she meets and talks on the phone with regularly. When asked about her level of independence and being able to live the life she lives, she credits the ElderONE program.

“I get to socialize and meet people and do a lot of things I wouldn’t get to do on my own,” Tania said.

How ElderONE opened up Tania’s life

While Tania currently lives in her own apartment, she needs some assistance because she had both legs amputated due to different medical conditions. Because her mobility was limited and she needed assistance with every day activities, she lived with her mother for several years and moved between a couple different nursing homes to have someone readily available to help.

But in September 2023, Tania enrolled in ElderONE at North Park and was able to move out of a nursing home in Rochester into her current apartment. Without ElderONE, she says she would not be able to live independently.

“They help me a lot. They helped me get my motorized wheelchair, pick me up from my apartment and bring me to ElderONE,” Tania said.

As a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), ElderONE offers the entire continuum of medical care and support services to seniors with chronic care needs, including medical care, medication management, transportation, and more.

“ElderONE is a team of professionals caring and loving our seniors like family,” said Staci Oca, manager at the PACE Day Center. “We want to allow our participants to have quality of life and happiness living in the community, with all needs met.”

Tania visits the ElderONE program at North Park twice a week. There, she gets to expand her social life and activities, but also receives medical care.

“I get my medications through them, and I do different activities,” Tania said. “I go to physical therapy and a lot of other services.”

As Tania continues to find the independence she wants, she says she wants to start traveling again. She hasn’t gone anywhere in a few years and says she wants to go to Jamaica.