St. Ann Center Enrolling for Adult, Child Day Care

St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care, re-opened earlier this summer after three months of closure during Safer At Home, is again enrolling adults and children for day care at both its northside and southside Milwaukee campuses.

The award-winning center provides safe, compassionate and engaging care for people of all ages. Adult clients include frail elders, people with dementia and adults of all ages with cognitive or physical disabilities; the childcare program includes full daycare for children as young as 6 weeks old, plus before- and after-school care for children up to 12 years old.

During the preventive closure this spring, the center instituted a number of safeguard measures to help protect clients' health, from daily entry screenings to more rigorous hand-washing to redesigning activities with an eye to social distancing in activities and friendships.

A number of local childcare and adult day service programs remain closed, making it more difficult for families to find the care they need so they can return to a job full time or just have a day's respite each week. St. Ann Center's adult day program, in operation for more than 20 years, is designed to help keep adults healthier, engaged and able to live at home longer, avoiding the need for institutionalized care.

Clients at the nonprofit center, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, enjoy nutritious meals tailored to their specific dietary needs, prepared under the direction of a professional chef; participate in daily exercise program; take part in a host of engaging activities; and make good friends among their fellow clients and staffers. Although St. Ann Center is a national pioneer in intergenerational care, renowned worldwide for promoting interaction between adult care units and children's classrooms, at the moment, the center has suspended in-person activities in favor of safer digital interactions.

St. Ann Center also offers optional wraparound services that make the day program extra convenient for families, such as the attended whirlpool bathing in a tub that's accessible for people in wheelchairs. Other services included physical and occupational therapy (south campus), a special needs dental clinic for adults and children (north campus); overnight respite care that's open weekend and holidays; and even nail and hair care. These services are available to community members as well, not just clients in the day service program.

Financial aid is availale for those who qualify. For more information, visit St. Ann Center's website. Or call either campus with specific questions or to arrange a tour: Stein Campus, 2801 E. Morgan Ave., (414) 977-5000 or Bucyrus Campus, 2450 W. North Ave., (414) 210-2450.