(Radio Iowa) – Construction work will start next week on renovating a vacant memory care unit of a northwest Iowa nursing home to become a daycare center with room for 120 kids. Melissa Michels, director of Kids Express Daycare in Sanborn, says there’s a childcare crisis in the region and this will be a huge step forward.
“We currently have an 18-month wait list and I have room for one child,” Michels says, “and so this facility is going to allow us to double in size and really help us better serve rural Iowa.” Officials with the day care and the nursing home say the kids and the residents will see benefits from sharing the space. Wendy Nelson, administrator of Prairie View Home, says they hope to hire a music and art teacher who could handle the residents and children together.
“My plan is to get an activity director to coordinate all intergenerational activities,” Nelson says. “So anything from sing along, reading books, rock-a-bye babies, adopt a grandparent, and that would be their sole position is having these projects.” Instead of buying land and building a new facility, the daycare will be able to move into the space that’s been vacant since 2022, providing what officials say is a more cost effective, eco-friendly option. The neighboring businesses will be among the first in Iowa to offer intergenerational care for Sanborn’s youngest residents and those in assisted-living.
“For our residents, it’s going to help immensely with isolation decrease, empathy, a need and a purpose to be around,” Nelson says. “When you bring a child or an animal into this place, it lights them up. And we’re going to have that Monday through Friday, several hours.” Michels agrees, saying the collaboration will be a win-win for both groups.
“There is a lot of research behind it that shows that when you put seniors and kids together, they thrive,” Michels says. “Europe does do a lot of it, and it has not caught on in America yet. We will be one of the first ones in Iowa. There’s a couple other ones that are operating, but I don’t know if they operate to the level of collaboration that we are planning.” It’s hoped the new Sunrise Express Daycare Center will open in September.
