Social Day Program For Seniors Set to Open

POUGHKEEPSIE – A trusted name in senior care for over a century, Vassar-Warner Home is turning the page following a months-long fight to keep its doors open. This spring, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit at 52 S. Hamilton St. in the City of Poughkeepsie will open as Vassar-Warner Home for the Day (Vassar-Warner), Dutchess County’s newest private-pay social model adult day care.

The program – which will operate Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – will offer personalized care to each senior based on their interests, needs, dietary restrictions and health considerations.

With daily and hourly rates, Vassar-Warner will be a haven for Hudson Valley seniors and their loved ones, providing a safe and supportive environment for elders all day, while a caregiver is at work, or a few hours, so their spouse or child can have a short respite to go grocery shopping, run other errands or care for themselves. Though the program is intended to feel like home, not a hospital or other medical model, there will be a home health aide and personal care assistant on-site to aid those who need additional support.

In addition to a nutritious hot lunch and morning and afternoon snacks, attendees will enjoy various activities, including bingo, trivia, exercise and mobility classes such as chair yoga, painting, knitting and other crafts, educational lectures on a range of topics, book clubs, cooking classes, performances from local community groups and more. The facility will also host support groups for those navigating caregiving or bereavement and health-focused informational sessions on topics like diabetes and dementia.

“Vassar-Warner Home is meant to serve seniors,” said Ericka Von Salews, executive director of Vassar-Warner. “Our adult day care program will enable our team to continue to care for people’s loved ones, now in an extended capacity.”

While Vassar-Warner intends to welcome senior residents back in the future, the pillar of the Poughkeepsie community recognized and then filled a need for supportive care programs in Dutchess County.

“We wouldn’t be here without the support of the Vassar-Warner Home family and greater Hudson Valley community,” said Richard Schuster, board president and leader of Save Vassar-Warner. “This new chapter gives us the opportunity to continue serving Dutchess County’s most vulnerable population: seniors.”