News

There’s a new option available for Clinton County ESP clients who need help with a common need – laundry. Council on Aging (COA) recently began partnering with Anytime Laundry, based in Wilmington, to provide laundry delivery service for eligible clients.

“As we age, our health and our home can conspire to make a routine task like laundry more difficult,” said Ken Wilson, chief operating and programs officer at COA. “A disability or chronic health issue, location of laundry appliances within the home, or the inability to drive to a local laundromat can make it difficult to manage laundry independently.”

COA first began offering laundry delivery service in its FastTrack Home and ESP programs in 2022 in counties impacted by the national home health aide shortage. The service has received high satisfaction ratings from clients and is also saving money in programs funded by local tax dollars. 

“We’ve been fortunate in Clinton County that the home health aide shortage has not had a significant impact on our ability to meet clients’ needs,” Wilson said. “But the laundry service has been popular in other parts of our service area, and it helps us serve more people at a lower cost. Our biggest barrier to offering the service in Clinton County was finding a local provider.”

In 2024, enrollment in the laundry delivery service across COA’s region grew 51% while costing more than $100 less per client than the same service provided by a home health aide. Feedback from clients was also positive, with more than 97% of participants reporting total satisfaction with the service, citing convenience, improved independence and positive impacts on their daily life.

“I had a stroke and was able to go home [from the hospital], but I was unable to do laundry due to loss of function,” one participant shared. “This service allowed me to be home.”

Council on Aging began searching for a laundry partner in Clinton County in 2024 and found a willing partner in Robin Britain, owner of Anytime Laundry and Carwash.

Britain and her husband, Larry, had owned Anytime Laundry for seven years, but it was only within the last year that they started advertising laundry delivery service. Besides ESP clients, the service is available to people within a 20-miles radius of Anytime’s two Wilmington locations. According to Britain, that pretty much covers the entire county.

Via a contract with COA, Britain and her team will pick-up, wash, dry, fold and return ESP clients’ weekly laundry. Dirty laundry is collected on a designated day in a receptacle provided by Anytime Laundry – usually from the client’s porch or stoop – and returned cleaned and folded within 48 hours.

Britain said people can be apprehensive about using a laundry delivery service – they worry about how their clothes will be separated and washed and what detergent will be used. But, Britain said her team works with clients to meet their needs – including washing towels and linens, hanging or line-drying items, and using requested detergents or products.

And, working with older adults is nothing new for Anytime Laundry. The team already provides delivery service at area nursing homes, where residents appreciate the flexible pick up and delivery dates.

A lifelong resident of Clinton County, Britain and her family now live on the farm she grew up on in New Vienna. Her dad lives with the family part-time.

“I’m excited to get started [offering this service],” Britain said. “It’s a way for us to give back to the community.”

Clinton County ESP clients who are interested in laundry delivery service can speak to their care manager to determine if the service is right for them. To learn more about Clinton County ESP, click here or call (937) 584-7200. Click here for more information about Anytime Laundry.