LIFE Butler County isn’t your average senior center.

The organization, under the umbrella of Lutheran SeniorLife, provides around-the-clock medical care for seniors at their homes, gives similar medical care at its facility, and promotes socialization among its participants.

LIFE is an acronym for Living Independence For the Elderly.

“LIFE Butler County is designed to help older people who are still living in their own homes to stay in their homes as their need for care and services increase, and they might normally have to go to a nursing home either because of lack of family support to allow them to stay at home or even finances,” said Mary Lou Harju, the organization’s community relations coordinator.

LIFE Butler County, which began in 2008, is for anyone age 55 and older. Harju estimated that 45 to 50 people per day come to the program’s building on West Diamond Street in Butler and that more than 170 people use the program’s services daily.

The organization is funded through Medicare and Medicaid, so participants don’t have to pay insurance deductibles or any co-payments. The only cost is the Medicare Part B premium, which comes out of participants’ Social Security checks.

“As long as they financially qualify for the program, any of the services we provide, they don’t have to pay for,” Harju said.

LIFE Butler County consists of three main components: medical service, adult day services and home care.

There is a primary care physician available to the participants, so they can go to LIFE Butler County for checkups and any medical issues they’re having. The organization also pays for appointments with specialists.

The program provides durable medical equipment, including canes and walkers, and supplies for the diabetic and incontinent.

“Those are two big ones because people who are incontinent or are diabetic, those supplies cost them a lot of money,” Harju said.

Adult day services include a continental breakfast and a hot lunch.

“Some people don’t eat well enough,” Harju said. “For men, a lot of them never did cook, so to prepare an actual meal, at least they’re getting a hot meal at lunch time.”

Socialization is also a key part of LIFE Butler County. Local musicians, art teachers and pastors provide entertainment and Bible studies. Exercise time, games and day trips are included.

“We have an exercise program every day that we try to get as many people as possible to participate in,” Harju said. “We teach them that what we’re doing for them with the exercise program is flexibility and range of motion.

“It’s not cardio where they’re going to build muscle and feel better, but they are building some muscle with what we do. Mostly they’re just keeping limber so they can do these (every day) things.”

Buses owned by LIFE Butler County are used to shuttle participants to and from the building. Each participant is assigned a nurse case manager for medical problems at home.

While LIFE Butler County is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, around-the-clock home care is provided as needed.

“A lot of our participants are in wheelchairs, can’t transfer real well themselves, so we want to make sure that they’re clean, they’re dry, they’re getting undressed safely and getting in bed safely,” Harju said. “We do all of that as well. We also provide housekeeping; we’ll do their grocery shopping, we’ll do their laundry.”

Harju said LIFE Butler County considers each case unique.

“We wrap services around that individual, and each individual is different,” she said.

Margaret Sheptak, 89, of Lyndora is one of those individuals. Her visits with specialists are paid for by LIFE Butler County, and she has bi-weekly medical appointments with the program’s primary care physician.

What Sheptak most enjoys, though, are the games and exercises.

“I live alone, and at my age that’s kind of hard, so (LIFE Butler County) really benefits me a great deal,” Sheptak said.

LIFE Butler County soon will be even bigger. The building is in the midst of renovation. Its new day center will be between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet and will be able to hold up to 100 people.

The current day center holds about 50 people.

The project will cost $1 million. The finished building will be about 17,000 square feet.

Harju said renovation is expected to be complete in January or February 2017.