TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Bakersfield resident Jerry Christen said he doesn't need much to be happy.

On a brief tour of his home in a large senior living complex just off California Avenue Monday, the 58-year-old pointed out items such as a coffee maker and a microwave. He opened up the freezer, showing off the stacks of frozen hot dogs, his favorite food. A vacuum cleaner leaned against the wall of his own closet and his bathroom, which he doesn't have to share, was spotless.

"I'm slowly amassing the things of normal living," he said with a smile.

The one-bedroom apartment might've seemed spartan, but Christen said moving there from a Southern California convalescent home in October has given him a new lease on life.

After a stroke sent Christen into convalescent care in 2007, he was "all prepared to just lay in bed," he said.

But with the help of a program offered through the Independent Living Center of Kern County that's aimed at helping disabled adults move out of nursing homes, Christen said, "I got my independence back."

The Kern ILC is the county's lead agency for the statewide California Community Transitions program, said ILC spokeswoman Christine Lollar, which means the center coordinates with a wide variety of local service providers to assist people like Christen transition to a more independent lifestyle.

"That's the beauty of it," Lollar said. "This is a community effort."

The California Community Transitions Project was funded by a special federal grant in January 2007, the California Department of Health Care Services website said.

Since its inception, Lollar said, the program has helped about 600 people statewide transfer from convalescent homes into independent living.

But CCT is just getting started locally, she said, and Christen is one of about six people currently receiving program services.

Lollar said ideally, one permanent ILC staff member will work exclusively with up to about 18 transitioning clients as a "regular, ongoing caseload."

"We want to get the word out," she said. "(Tell people) they're not destined to live and die in nursing homes."

To that end, the Kern Community Foundation awarded the center a $6,000 grant in the fall through its KernHealth Now! initiative, according to the foundation's website.

Lollar emphasized that candidates for the program are chosen only if health professionals determine it is safe for them. Program clients must also be Medi-Cal eligible, as the funds follow clients wherever they receive care.

Really, Lollar said, giving disabled people the choice to live independently is an innovative concept -- one that may require "gentle patient care and partners to work together."

The result, she said, is personalized care based on clients' personal preferences.

Christen, for example, works with an in-home care provider, who he said helps him with some tasks he struggles with, like washing sheets and going shopping.

Christen's friend Rodney Phibbs, 59, on the other hand, prefers to do it all himself.

Phibbs, who lived in a nursing home for eight years because of heart and circulation trouble, acknowledged his apartment might seem a little more "lived in" than Christen's.

And he doesn't have an in-home care provider.

One thing he enjoys about his new, independent life, Phibbs said, is that he can "go anywhere" and live on his own schedule.

He said he likes shooting the breeze with other residents of the apartment complex where both he and Christen live, but if he's not into the conversation, he can go sit alone in his room.

That privacy, Phibbs said without hesitation, is what he likes best.

"See, over there, (in the nursing home) there was four of us sharing one bedroom," he said. "Here, I can go to bed if I want to."

Christen said beyond having his own space, he's learned from living independently.

"I've learned to set my priorities," he said. "It means I'm in charge -- not a nurse."