Vassar-Warner Home in Poughkeepsie has sat empty since December, when the last of its more than 30 residents moved out. The nonprofit assisted living facility closed due to financial issues last year, despite a last-minute effort by staff and family members to raise money and keep it open.
Walking through the historic building Tuesday, it looks largely untouched, as if everyone momentarily stepped out instead of packing their bags. Board President Richard Schuster says he hopes to see the main parlor busy again soon: Vassar-Warner plans to reopen June 2 as an adult day care center.
"Our ultimate goal is to have full-time residents back here eventually, but we needed to figure out a way to get some revenue into the building just to pay the basic expenses — the heat and electricity and so forth," he explains. "And after some research, we saw that there was a need for adult day care. So yeah, we’re excited. We're going to have lots of activities and Ericka [Von Salews] is the perfect person to run this.”
Executive Director Ericka Von Salews, who was instrumental in efforts to save the home last fall, will continue as head of the day program. Depending on how it performs, Vassar-Warner hopes to welcome back full-time residents and reopen as an independent living facility by the end of the year.
In the meantime, the new “Vassar-Warner Home for the Day” will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at daily and hourly rates. Von Salews says it’s a social model: it won’t be able to accept Medicaid or provide medical care, because the home turned in its license as an assisted living facility when it closed, but there will still be a home health aide on site to help those with additional needs.
Seniors will be fed a hot lunch and snacks and have the freedom to enjoy the home however they like, whether that’s making friends in the parlor or sitting by the water fountain in the garden. Von Salews says an activities coordinator will bring back popular Vassar-Warner events, from chair yoga and cooking classes to bingo.
“It’s a day to keep busy. It’s a day to assist the caregivers," she notes. "Caregivers have appointments or need a spa day or need to go grocery shopping. What makes it very difficult is if someone is home and needs 24-hour care with them. [This] gives them that break.”
Schuster is familiar with the stress of caring for a loved one. His mother, Dorothy, lived at Vassar-Warner for almost 19 years, and was the last resident to move out in December. He led efforts to save the home for months, and while they were unsuccessful, he has continued working for Vassar-Warner by taking over as president and planning its reopening.
Schuster says the nonprofit’s financial struggles were caused by a mismanagement of funds and a lack of fundraising from the previous board. He says Vassar-Warner is lucky in that it owns its building and isn’t in significant debt — it simply ran out of cash.
Going forward, he plans to start small and focus on rebuilding funds.
“We’ll adjust as we need to," he adds. "In the future, we hope to provide transportation for those who need it. We’re not going to start out with that though, we’re starting it simple and see how we go.”
Von Salews says 10 former employees have expressed a desire to come back, and as the day program picks up applicants, she plans to rehire them. As for Vassar-Warner’s former residents, Von Salews says some require advanced assistance the home can’t currently provide, but many of them are optimistic.
"There’s no assisted living or adult homes in the area that have private rooms. So, they all got stuck with a roommate, and that doesn’t happen too well as you get older," she laughs. "So, they remember having their own room. And if we are able to bring people back, and they do qualify for an independent type of living, and they want their old room, they can have their old room.”
To celebrate its reopening, Vassar-Warner is giving out free day passes to the first 25 applicants. A formal ribbon cutting is planned for June 11.
