New elder day center opening soon
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
Helping seniors stay sharp and social is the goal of Our New Home Elder Day Center, opening by February at the shopping plaza at 5th Avenue and South Street West in South St. Paul. It will be able to serve about 30 seniors on any given day and participants can enjoy simple activities like card games and bingo and attend special events and group outings. Above all, it will be a place of community adapted to the interests of the seniors using the center.
“My mom is very passionate about this kind of business,” said Lia De La Torre, who owns the center with her parents Helio and Patricia De La Torre. “She’s always wanted to grow a business together as a family…. We know so many people in the community and there’s an eagerness to have a place like this for our senior elders to go to throughout the day.”
Previously, Helio worked for more than 30 years as an accountant for CLUES, a Latino-led nonprofit that works to advance social and economic equity and wellbeing for Latinos in Minnesota, and Patricia worked at West Side Community Health Services and with CLUES’ senior program for many years. Lia was a healthcare worker for Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis for 15 years. All three also have extensive volunteer experience, having given hundreds of hours to organizations including CLUES, Neighborhood House, and Sacred Heart and St. Francis churches in St. Paul.
The trio will manage daily operations with assistance from a staff nurse, and a physical trainer will likely visit a few days a week to lead exercises. Other professionals may hold various classes or presentations, and transportation will be available to take seniors around the community. Snacks and meals will be catered.
“Once we have the program going, it’ll be more based on their needs and what they want to do,” said Lia. “We’ll definitely have certain things that will be structured, but we want it to be adapting to them and just switch it up once a while.”
Billing goes through insurance, and the State of Minnesota may cover a percentage. Lia said people are free to stop by to see the space and hang out for a day before joining. The center is all on one floor and features a lounge with a TV and one without a TV, a kitchenette and an event space. The center plans to host birthday parties for members as well as holiday events. It will be open weekdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and may hold special events on weekends. Moving in next door to Our New Home will be another new business that offers care coordinating services, which is fitting as the two may be able to work together in their service to seniors.
When asked what fuels her to continue working in a caregiving industry, Lia mentioned her grandparents, who are 85, 86 and 92.
“They are the healthiest I have ever seen them, despite their age,” she said. “People would be taken aback…. I think having social interaction and staying mentally stimulated and moving with structured activities is helping them maintain independence and improving their quality of life. They’ve been such an inspiration and seeing them just really keeps us going.”
