Hillary Clinton once said it takes a village to raise a child. It also can take a village to take care of someone on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Residents of the Martha T. Berry Medical Care Facility in Mount Clemens and loved ones were treated to a holiday dinner Wednesday at the facility, thanks to operators and the Martha T. Berry Foundation, the facility’s charitable arm. Six dinners in all were to be held Wednesday and Thursday to accommodate all 207 residents.

The foundation typically has raised about $35,000 to $40,000 a year but generated a little bit more, $41,000, this year to provide not only the party but a myriad of “essentials of living for them, all the necessities that they need that are outside the scope of Medicaid,” said Karen Bathanti, chair of the foundation Board of Directors and former human resources director for Macomb County.

“The foundation was put in place to fill that gap” not covered under Medicaid she said of its formation 11 years ago.

Items can include pajamas, slippers, blanket warmers, shower chairs, wheelchairs, glasses and hearing aids or dentures, which can be allowed under Medicaid, but it often takes a long time for approval, officials said.

It also helps fund activities inside the facility as well as taking residents to various events.

To improve transportation of residents to events, the foundation is helping the facility purchase a new, larger bus for $160,000 to replace its worn down older bus. The new vehicle will triple the number of wheelchair passengers from two to six along with six other passengers when it arrives next year, officials said. The increase in wheelchair capacity is critical because a majority of the residents are wheelchair users, said Kevin Evans, executive director of Martha T. Berry.

Another vehicle, a van, takes individual residents to appointments.

“They need to go places,” Bathanti said. “What we want to make sure of is that we offer our elders and our residents an opportunity to live and have purpose. We want to make sure we provide them with activities to prevent loneliness.”

Evans said various activities are provided at the facility on a daily basis, including classes and entertainment.

“It’s a stationary cruise ship for seniors,” he said.

The nursing-home facility has struggled financially over the years including the necessity in 2019 for a one-time, one-mill countywide assessment. Finances and operations have improved the past few years since the COVID-19 pandemic as the facility received an uptick in per-month, per-resident Medicaid funding and a $6.2 million IRS employee-retention tax credit in 2022, and its rent to the county expired in 2023.

Martha T. Berry’s building is owned by the county, and the facility operates via a joint operating agreement between the county its oversight entity, the county Health and Human Services Board. Opened in 1950, and since rebuilt and renovated, it is a home of last resort for most of its low-income seniors.

The facility has become a “provider of choice” by Henry Ford Health System, and has operated at a higher-than-average population over 90%, 207 of 217 beds. Its nearly fully staffed with 322 employees, 40% of them part-time, Evans said.

At the first holiday dinner Wednesday, held in the event room, residents were treated to a visit by County Executive Mark Hackel, Undersheriff Elizabeth Darga and Community Mental Health Director Traci Smith, who served meals and interacted with the residents and their loved ones.

Resident Helen Itchue, 82, was joined by her sister, Cathay Zablocki of Clinton Township, a frequent visitor.

Itchue is very active, her sister said, and is so proficient with her walker her nickname is “Speedy,” because of how fast she traverses MTB’s hallways.

“She joins everything,” Zablocki said. “She doesn’t stay in her room. She’s active.”

Itchue came to MTB three years ago because, “It wasn’t safe for her to live alone. She’s safe here, and she likes it.”

Zablocki’s son and daughter also visit, and Zablocki said she takes her out to an event about once a month to dine, go to Zablocki’s house or attend a family gathering.

Itchue, who liked playing baseball in her youth, enjoys watching sports, especially the Tigers, she remarked. She also is able to attend church Mass at MTB, Zablocki said.

Charles Baarck, 83, was joined by his wife of 62 years, Judy, 82, of Macomb Township, who said she visits him three to four times a week, “always on Sunday.”

“It’s close to home,” she said. “He enjoys it here. He gets good care. That doesn’t mean I gripe sometimes but he gets very good care.”

He attends “all of the activities,” Judy Baarck said, and is known as the “Cookie Monster” because he swipes cookies and other treats anytime he can.

“The girls (employees) are very good about bringing him (to activities),” she said.

The couple have roots at MTB and the area.

Judy Baarck worked as nurse’s aide at MTB from 1958 to 1960 when she was a teen and the facility was “much smaller” in a structure that was replaced. Her mother and aunt also worked there, she said.

The couple met at Trinity Lutheran Church at Harper Avenue near Crocker Boulevard and married in 1962. They lived in Sterling Heights and operated a business for three years. They then moved to Mount Clemens, and Charles Baarck worked for many years at the old Consumer Lumbers business at Groesbeck Highway and Hall Road, she said.

Mr. Baarck’s father, Don, worked at what is now The Macomb Daily and was then known as The Daily Monitor Leader, he said. Judy Baarck’s father worked for Macomb County, she said.

Estella Robbins, 91, was joined by her daughter, Roberta Gibson of Warren, and Darga visited the pair.

“I love it,” Robbins said of the facility as she ate. She said she likes doing crafts and puzzles and spending time with her friends at the facility.

Robbins and her sister, Carolyn Echols of Clinton Township, visit their mom multiple times a week, and their brother, Mark Robbins of Clinton Township also stops by.

MTB employee Karen Campbell, who has worked there for 30 years in various positions, said she could go work elsewhere for more money, but, “Why would I work when I love it where I’m at.”

Of employee Ginger Yahner, who is executive assistant to the director of nursing and compliance officer, Evans said, “She doesn’t have a direct-care job, but she has a direct-care heart.”

Yahner and Campbell were each named the “unsung hero” last year and this year respectively, operators said.