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| Ribbon-cutting participants gather during a ceremony to open the new Catholic Charities Adult Day Center (ADC) in Madison. Holding the ribbon are Cricket Hesselberg, ADC program director, left, and Dan Fitzgerald, CEO and president of Horizon Develop Build Manage, right. Catholic Charities of Madison President and CEO Jackson Fonder is holding the scissors. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — A new era in caring for those with special needs and their caregivers has begun.
On April 26, staff members of the Catholic Charities Adult Day Center, Catholic Charities of Madison, and other guests were on hand as the new center was blessed and officially opened with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
The 13,000 square foot center — located at 5401 Fen Oak Dr. in Madison — began serving participants late last year, after moving from its previous location on International Ln., near the Dane County Regional Airport.
The new building was purchased by Catholic Charities of Madison and renovated to specifically serve the needs of those who will use it.
The Adult Day Center serves as an affordable alternative to in-home health care.
The center, the largest in Dane County, allows caregivers to be able to tend to chores, work at their jobs, or have some rest and relaxation time while their family member or friend is at the center.
It provides a variety of activities and care for participants, such as: personalized care, meals and snacks, movies and games, and support for medical conditions or physical disabilities.
It is also a certified Music & Memory facility, using songs as part of its care for participants.
The new facility
The blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony began with some words from Chris Ziemba from Second Harvest Foodbank in Madison, who represented the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.
“We’d like to congratulate Catholic Charities staff on their opening of the center,” Ziemba said.
“This is a special place,” he added, “we trust this center will continue to be a place of respite for many area residents and their loved ones for years to come . . . the seniors in the area, their families, and caregivers are counting on you.”
Next, Jackson Fonder, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of Madison, spoke.
“We’ve come a long way in the last few months,” Fonder said.
He added, “We all worked together and we found ways to expand the services and improve the programs that participants and their families have grown accustomed.”
Some of the new features of the building Fonder shared with those in attendance were: an outdoor courtyard, heated accessible shower rooms, new areas specified for arts and crafts, memory loss programs, dining, and family programs.
There was also a color waterfall wall installed in the facility adding to the look of the interior.
Fonder praised the staff of the center for their efforts in moving from building to building, while also continuing to take care of the participants.
Blessing the facility
Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general for the Diocese of Madison and member of the board of directors for Catholic Charities of Madison, gave a blessing for the new building.
He read a passage from the Gospel of Luke, where Simeon and Anna see the Messiah in their old age, during Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple.
He then prayed for the facility’s participants, “We bless you for the gifts you have showered on them for so many years . . . we ask that they might find joy and renewed strength and spirit.”
He also prayed, “Grant that in this facility, staff will receive the kindness of all those who will be coming here and will tend to them with skill and care so that those who come here will leave restored in spirit and in body and forever praise your mercy.”
Monsignor Bartylla then walked around the entire facility, blessing all the areas with holy water.
For more information on the Catholic Charities Adult Day Center, go to https://adultdaycentermadison.org