St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care has been very busy since mid-March when our temporary closure began to protect our children and adult clients from the novel coronavirus. Over the past two months, we’ve worked every day to prepare for the time when we’ll welcome everyone back again. We’re letting the virus decide our reopening date. If the number of COVID-19 cases subsides consistently, we will tentatively reopen sometime in June.
We’ve consulted several medical experts to make certain we’re doing everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our children and adults.
Preparing for Return to Day Care
Both St. Ann Center campuses will open in stages. Children enrolled in our day care programs will come back the first week we are open. Adult clients will return a week later.
Protocol for Entering the Center
Our well-being begins at the front door.
– Everyone—including children, clients, parents, caregivers, staff, volunteers, transit drivers and those visiting on official business–is required to enter through the front door only, where you will be screened for specified symptoms. The screening will be required daily, with each visit.
– A non-contact temperature scanning system will measure your temperature and a pulse oximeter, sanitized between uses, will measure the oxygen level in your blood.
– Two screeners, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) will meet you at the entrance. You will be asked basic questions about your present health—if you’ve been ill in the last 48 hours, if you’ve had a fever, etc.—and you will be asked to sign a screening document.
– Please plan to arrive a few minutes early to accommodate the screening process, and remain six feet away from others awaiting screening. We expect the line to move very quickly.
– Parents will be allowed to bring their children to the doorway of their classroom but are asked not to enter the classroom.
– The safety of our children, adult clients, volunteers and staff is our priority. Anyone arriving with symptoms of illness will not be able to enter the building. Transit drivers will be asked to take ill clients home. If that’s not possible, the person will be isolated until a caregiver can pick them up.
– If a child or adult client becomes ill during the day, they will be isolated. Parents and caregivers will immediately be contacted and asked to pick them up within the hour.
Keeping Your Loved Ones Safe and Healthy
Some things will change and some will stay the same when St. Ann Center reopens.
– We have cleaned and sanitized both of our campus buildings thoroughly, and upon reopening, we will continue to clean throughout the day.
– Children and adults WILL NOT be participating in intergenerational activities until we find it is safe for the generations to be together.
– Childcare classrooms will open with no more than 10 children per room, and in some cases fewer, in compliance with Phase 1 of Wisconsin’s plan for reopening. The children will remain with classmates from their room and will not mingle with other classes when inside the building or on the playground. We won’t be expecting the children to observe social distancing, but we will be vigilant about handwashing and other hygiene measures. The ball pit at both campuses will be closed.
– Adult care units will open with 10 clients per room. Adults will remain with other clients in their unit and not mingle with other units when inside or outside the building. Furniture will be arranged to observe the six feet social distancing guidelines.
– As Wisconsin moves into Phase 2 of reopening, we will adjust our classroom and adult unit capacity accordingly. We hope to increase our child and adult census as soon as it’s safe to do so.
– Staff will be provided PPE, including face masks, visors, goggles, gloves, shoe covers and lab coats—depending on the amount of contact they have with children or adult clients. This will be our new normal for a while. Parents are asked to talk with their children about masks, so they won’t be frightened by their teacher wearing them. Many teachers will be choosing to wear kid-friendly masks made with fun fabrics. Caregivers will also want to inform their loved one that staff will be wearing protective equipment.
– Young children WILL NOT be required to wear masks. We will make masks available to older, after-school and summer camp children. Adult clients will be provided masks to wear as they are able.
– Social distancing, as possible, will be observed by all staff and volunteers. New office spaces will be set up to accommodate staff members who previously shared small offices.
– The Overnight Respite Center at the Stein Campus has remained open and safe throughout St. Ann Center’s closure and will continue to be open. The Bucyrus Campus Overnight Respite Center will open as soon as additional staff members are hired and trained.
– The beauty salon WILL be open, with strict guidelines.
– Selected services WILL NOT reopen immediately. Those include our warm-water swimming pools, massage department and medical and dental clinics. The clinics will reopen when our medical staff determines it’s safe to do so.
– In case of a dental emergency, an appointment can be arranged with our dental clinic.
St. Ann Center Has Been Busy
Although our doors have been closed, St. Ann Center staff members have spent several weeks preparing for our successful reopening.
– Both campuses have been cleaned top to bottom. At 21 years old, the Stein Campus has received a facelift—including new paint in the childcare classrooms and new flooring in the adult units.
– Sr. Mary Jeanne Michels, an expert on decluttering, has been at work organizing several rooms.
– Teachers are taking online classes to improve their credential levels.
– We are consulting with the Wisconsin Adult Day Care Association to ensure we are following best practices.
– All staff members will attend an in-service on health and safety protocol before the center reopens to ensure they understand our high expectations—particularly regarding interaction with our children and adult clients.
– We continue to work on our reopening plan. Please stay tuned for more information. You will be contacted in advance with our confirmed opening date and further details.
We are so looking forward to having your loved ones back with us. We’ve greatly missed our children and our adult clients. They are truly the heart of St. Ann Center!
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the administrators listed below.
Stein Campus Adult Day Care: Toni Alvarez; talvarez@stanncenter.org
Bucyrus Campus Adult Day Care: Jackie James; jjames@stanncenter.org
Stein Campus Child Day Care: Latisha Hickson; lhickson@stanncenter.org
Bucyrus Campus Child Day Care: Carrie Davis; cdavis@stanncenter.org