Cambria County senior centers shifting hours

Decline in funding, participation leads to reduced days, closure of Portage location

EBENSBURG -- Several senior centers in Cambria County are expected to reduce days of operation, while the Portage Borough center is tentatively set to close Aug. 3, as part of a broader effort to consolidate services into fewer locations, officials said in a release.

With limited funding in the state budget and participation at senior centers declining significantly over the years, Cambria County President Commissioner Scott Hunt said it's a move that will allow for expanded programming, enhanced resources and stronger long-term sustainability for the communities the senior centers serve.

When the changes take effect in a couple weeks, the Cresson-based Mainline Area Senior Center will be open Monday and Friday; East Hills' senior center will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; Forest Hills' center will be open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; and Patton's center will be open Wednesday and Friday.

All of those centers used to be open five days a week, Hunt said.

The Johnstown, Ebensburg, Nanty Glo and Northern Cambria sites will maintain their current hours of operation, with all but the Nanty Glo center open five days a week. The Nanty Glo center has been operating three days a week since it reopened a decade ago, Hunt said.

"We're just trying to realign to be as efficient as we can be," Hunt said, noting CamTran will take older adults who can't drive from their house to any senior center and back at no cost to them.

In a statement, Cambria County Area Agency on Aging Deputy Administrator Jessica Voytko said participation at senior centers declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and attendance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

"After carefully reviewing participation and operating costs, the county determined that reducing daily operations was necessary to preserve long-term services," Voytko said.

According to Hunt, the Portage Senior Activity Center served 14 "unduplicated" people in the 2025 calendar year -- not the state's fiscal cycle that runs July 1 through June 30 annually.

"When I say unduplicated, that doesn't mean that they come every day. It just literally means, at one point in the year, (14 unique people) stopped in," Hunt said.

State funding was reduced by $435,000 in 2024 and has remained flat since the decrease, Hunt said, noting the commissioners met with three of the county's four legislators to try and get money for senior services put back into last year's budget.

"We were hoping in last year's budget cycle that they would be able to put that money back in," Hunt said. "In turn, we had to limit some of the services that we provide."

The decision to close the Portage center and reduce operations at other locations was "not taken lightly," Hunt said.

Hunt said the county's cost per participant at the Portage Senior Activity Center is $4,870 -- nearly five times the countywide average of about $971.

"That level of spending is not sustainable and would hinder our ability to provide quality services to seniors across the entire county," Hunt said.

According to Hunt, in 2025, Cambria County paid $909,600.81 to The Nutrition Group to manage the county's senior centers, which each have their own unique cost to the county.

For example, the county owns the building where the Forest Hills Senior Activities Center is located, which makes it one of the cheapest centers to maintain, Hunt said, noting the county rents properties for other centers.

In addition, the county pays for the utilities and the salaries of the people working there, he said, noting Johnstown's center has the highest cost for salaries, but its average is a lot lower than the others because it's used by more people.

According to Hunt, there were 434 unduplicated people who used the Johns­town senior center in 2025; 155 people used the center in Northern Cambria; 96 at the Ebensburg center; 72 at the East Hills center in Belmont; 64 at Patton; 51 at Nanty Glo; 42 at Cresson; 38 at Forest Hills in South Fork; and 14 at Portage.

Hunt said there's "a very big disparity" between spending about $90,000 on the Northern Cambria center that had 155 people visit it and spending about $68,000 on the Portage center, with 14 people.

In the statement released Wednesday, county officials acknowledged senior centers serve as important hubs for wellness, friendship, recreation and daily connection.

Commissioner Keith Rager said he believes the updated approach will help strengthen those experiences while maintaining dependable meal service across the region.

"Cambria County remains committed to serving our senior citizens," Rager said in the statement.

"This decision reflects our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to ensure that resources are used that benefit the greatest number of seniors," he added. "Making tough decisions today, we are strengthening and preserving senior services for the future."

Hunt said the county's seniors can still get meals at one of the other centers, by driving there or using CamTran. They can get home-delivered meals, too, he said.

For more information about how to sign up for the county's senior services, Hunt said residents should contact the Cambria County Area Agency on Aging at 814-539-5595.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.