WEST SPRINGFIELD – West Springfield is home to a large Southeast Asian community of more than 2,000 people and those residents now have an additional resource available to them as they age.

Namaste Adult Daycare, 69 Capital Drive, officially opened its doors on Sept. 13 with a ribbon-cutting, witnessed by members of the community they will serve.

Namaste offers “care and companionship for older adults who need assistance and supervision during the day. [It will] offer relief to family members and caregivers, allowing them to go to work, handle personal matters, or just relax while knowing their relative is well cared for and safe,” Daxa Patel, program director at Namaste said a press release.

Inside the facility are a nurses’ station, activity rooms, a quiet room, and a large sitting and dining area. The decor is awash in soothing earth tones with culturally significant art throughout the building.

Mayor Will Reichelt said that Namaste would give people a way to age-in-place and have an opportunity to socialize with people of their own age.

In addition to providing new jobs for the city, state Rep. Michael Finn said, “they’re filling a need. This is not just an adult daycare center; they’re alleviating a language barrier.” He added, “It’s so important that people can communicate with their health provider, this will fill a niche.”

While accepting participants from all backgrounds, Namaste will focus on typically underserved ethnic groups, specifically, the Nepali, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese communities.

Hem Rathod, a community activist who has been involved with Namaste for the past 18 months, said the goal was to get rid of social isolationism, provide assimilation for the community, and improve their health and well-being.

“Language and cultural sensitivity is the most effective way to help [clients] achieve those goals,” Rathod said.

“One of our goals is to become the best daycare, not only in Western Mass but in the United States,” Rathod said. He said their true vision is to serve the community and listed five core offerings of service.

The first is transportation, which includes taking people to community events.

Food is the second service that the center offers. Namaste will be providing breakfast, a snack, and lunch from a culturally-appropriate, vegetarian menu that also meets dietary requirements.

Social work is their third focus. Rathod said this included assimilation and classes in language and civics.

 Namaste will offer 50 different activities to engage those in the community as part of its services.

Lastly, are medical services.

“We have a big focus on, not only symptoms, but a focus on mindfulness,” which, Rathod said, would be helpful in treating former refugees and those affected by trauma. Rathod told Reminder Publishing that many in the community are former refugees from Bhutan.

Namaste’s medical services include counseling, education, exercise, yoga, health screening, physical therapy, and medication management.

Participants will be referred to Namaste by other health care professionals. Namaste is licensed by the state of Massachusetts and services are reimbursed by Medicaid, Navicare, Tufts, and a pay-as-you-go model.