Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez received a warm welcome Monday as she toured the Stein Campus at St. Ann Center.
It was her first visit to St. Ann Center, and her first to any intergenerational day care center, but the former healthcare executive, state legislator and registered nurse interacted easily with everyone, often referencing her children. She jokingly asked the childcare children if the chicken on their lunch trays was an elephant ear, wished a Shepherd House client a happy birthday, petted a visiting dog and complimented the screen-printing work on the bright pink St. Ann Center sweatshirt the adult clients presented her with.
On a more serious note, she told Sr. Edna that she well understands how much families need quality adult day care, to give caregivers a bit of respite, and child care. “You want to know that your kids, your loved ones are in a place that’s safe,” she said. She expressed interest, too, in seeing the north campus, particularly the soon-to-reopen medical clinic, the special needs dental clinic, and the raised garden beds.
State Rep. Christine Sinicki of the 20th Assembly District accompanied Rodriguez on the tour, sometimes adding her own observations about “my favorite place in the whole world.”
