A trusted name in senior care for over a century, Vassar-Warner Home is turning the page following a months-long fight to keep its doors open. This spring, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit at 52 S. Hamilton St. in the City of Poughkeepsie will open as Vassar-Warner Home for the Day (Vassar-Warner), Dutchess County’s newest private-pay social model adult day care.
The program – which will operate Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – will offer personalized care to each senior based on their interests, needs, dietary restrictions and health considerations.
With daily and hourly rates, Vassar-Warner will be a haven for Hudson Valley seniors and their loved ones, providing a safe and supportive environment for elders all day, while a caregiver is at work, or a few hours, so their spouse or child can have a short respite to go grocery shopping, run other errands or care for themselves. Though the program is intended to feel like home, not a hospital or other medical model, there will be a home health aide and personal care assistant on-site to aid those who need additional support.
In addition to a nutritious hot lunch and morning and afternoon snacks, attendees will enjoy various activities, including bingo, trivia, exercise and mobility classes such as chair yoga, painting, knitting and other crafts, educational lectures on a range of topics, book clubs, cooking classes, performances from local community groups and more. The facility will also host support groups for those navigating caregiving or bereavement and health-focused informational sessions on topics like diabetes and dementia.
“Vassar-Warner Home is meant to serve seniors,” said Ericka Von Salews, executive director of Vassar-Warner. “Our adult day care program will enable our team to continue to care for people’s loved ones, now in an extended capacity.”
While Vassar-Warner intends to welcome senior residents back in the future, the pillar of the Poughkeepsie community recognized and then filled a need for supportive care programs in Dutchess County.
“We wouldn’t be here without the support of the Vassar-Warner Home family and greater Hudson Valley community,” said Richard Schuster, board president and leader of Save Vassar-Warner, a grassroots movement that worked to stop the home’s permanent closure. “This new chapter gives us the opportunity to continue serving Dutchess County’s most vulnerable population: seniors.”
As a thank you to those who have continually supported its mission, Vassar-Warner is offering a complimentary one-day pass – which can be used on any weekday in June 2025 – to the program’s first 25 applicants. Those interested can apply at www.tinyurl.com/VWHapplication. To stay updated on Vassar-Warner Home for the Day and its upcoming opening, visit www.vassarwarner.org and follow along on Facebook (@VassarWarnerHome). To support Vassar-Warner’s work with Hudson Valley seniors and its continued legacy in the community, make a donation at www.vassarwarner.org/make-a-donation/.
About Vassar-Warner Home and Vassar-Warner Home for the Day:
Housed in an 1835 Greek Revival building, Vassar-Warner Home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, began as the Dutchess Academy for Boys. In 1870, Jonathan Rowland Warner transformed the Academy into a refuge for elderly women, a vision he pursued with local church groups. Despite his passing, his legacy endured and the Old Ladies Home opened its doors to the first residents in 1871. By 1896, the Home faced high demand, prompting Smith Brothers cough drop manufacturer William W. Smith to fund an expansion to accommodate 27 new rooms. The Old Ladies Home merged with the Vassar Home for Aged Men, originally founded by Matthew Vassar Jr. and John Guy Vassar, and in 1974, became Vassar-Warner Home, which served as Dutchess County’s sole nonprofit senior living facility for 153 years.
After a brief closure in 2024, Vassar-Warner Home announced plans to reopen in 2025 as Vassar-Warner Home for the Day, an adult day care facility. The program intends to provide support and opportunities for socialization to Hudson Valley seniors and their loved ones.
For more information about the history of Vassar-Warner Home and its present services in the community, visit http://vassarwarner.org.
