Diane Yane has turned her love for working with seniors into a career with Elder Pep Day Club & Spa. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Diane Yane always had a close relationship with her grandfather, so when he died in her early 20s, the loss hit her hard.
“My other grandparents had passed away when I was very little, so when my grandfather passed away, I felt robbed of having grandparents in my life,” Yane says. “As you get older, you realize the value and importance of family more so than when you’re younger. It didn’t matter what I was doing with my grandfather — we could be going to the grocery store — I just loved being with him.”
Shortly after the loss, Yane left her bartending job to work with seniors. “I was hired as an activities director at a senior living facility, and I took [to it] like a fish to water,” she recalls. “I started developing relationships with the residents there. I loved my job. I loved those seniors. It was like having 200 new grandparents, who were all like my family. I knew this was where I was meant to be.”
Yane has been interacting with seniors in some capacity ever since, from working with veterans at Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center to providing in-home care for private clients. Now, two decades later, she’s opened a social club for adults 55 and older.
Elder Pep Day Club & Spa, next door to Buford Road Pharmacy in Bon Air, is a welcoming space with colorful decor and cozy sitting areas. Members can come in for a variety of activities and spa treatments or just to hang out. A range of packages is available, from an hourly drop-in rate to a monthly membership.
“I wanted to create a space for the independent, mobile senior interested in meeting other people, staying active and taking classes,” Yane says.
Elder Pep Day Club & Spa in Bon Air is a welcoming space with colorful decor and cozy sitting areas. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Activities include chair yoga, Spanish classes, sophisticated arts and crafts projects, indoor bowling, card and board games, creative writing, craft beer making, trivia, indoor croquet, and more. Every week, the day club hosts events such as sports viewing parties, live music and themed nights such as Wine Down Wednesdays. There’s also a coffee and tea bar, a micro gift shop, and local art displays. Later this year, Yane plans to open the second half of the space as a private spa.
In her years of professional experience with older adults, Yane has seen the extraordinary benefits of social interaction and human touch. According to a study by the American College of Health Care Administrators, touch is the most important of our senses, yet it is the most neglected. Skin is the body’s largest organ and sends positive and negative signals to the brain. Touch deprivation, also known as touch starvation, leads to a range of emotional and physical problems.
“I know how important it is for seniors to feel cared for — getting their hair and nails done and receiving massage therapy,” Yane says, “but what’s really close to my heart is a private room with a walk-in tub. At assisted living facilities, many seniors only have access to a shower, where they sit on a bench and their caregiver sprays them with water. There’s not a lot of dignity or joy in that. I want to give seniors back the luxury of submerging their bodies in a warm bath, soaking their skin and relaxing.”
Opening a small business has been a lifelong dream for Yane. Her daughter left home to attend college, and then the pandemic hit, so she’s had a lot of time to think about her purpose. “I had this midlife crisis about what I was doing and what my next chapter should be,” she says. “I wanted my own business for financial security that would allow me to work with seniors.”
One serendipitous day, Yane was taking a friend’s mother to lunch at Joe’s Inn in South Side and noticed a space in the Bon Air shopping center was available for rent. “I knew it was meant to be — it was divine intervention,” she says.
Yane signed a lease and then went to work perfecting her business plan.
“Richmond has plenty of adult day cares but nothing like a social club and dedicated spa for seniors,” she says. “I’m excited to be a one-stop shop to meet their needs cognitively, socially and physically.”
Besides serving seniors, Yane enjoys being a resource and a comfort to adult children caring for aging parents. She advises those looking at assisted living, memory care or nursing homes not to be swayed by the bells and whistles. “The most important thing is the staff,” Yane says. “If the care providers have been there for years, it’s a good sign. You need a genuinely caring staff.”
That’s exactly what Yane aims to offer at Elder Pep Day Club & Spa — a staff and a space that are warm and inviting.
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