Oxford Seniors Community Adult Day Service turns 25
The facility is one of only two in Butler County and the longest serving by nearly a decade.
The Oxford Seniors Community Adult Day Service on the lower level of the Faith Lutheran Church celebrated its 25th anniversary on Feb. 4, making it the longest-serving adult day center in Butler County by nearly a decade.
The only other adult day center located in Butler County listed on the Adult Day Ohio website was opened in Fairfield in 2016, according to reporting by the Journal-News.
According to Oxford Seniors Executive Director Emily Liechty, the Community Day Center was already located in town years before her organization took it over in 2001 and was originally called Mount Pleasant Adult Day.
Liechty said it was difficult for adult day centers to remain open since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they serve a vulnerable population, including seniors with varying mental capabilities. She said many people also don’t know about the services adult day centers provide or may be “scared” to sign up, thinking it’s “daycare for adults.”
“It’s not,” Liechty said. “We have had clients that bring their loved ones as far as Mason, West Chester or Indiana to be with us here.”
Rather than placing a loved one in a memory care unit at a skilled nursing facility, Liechty said adults with age-related cognitive or physical needs may remain in their homes but spend the day at the center, engaging in one-on-one interactions with volunteers, socializing and participating in activities to maintain autonomy.
Liechty said the day center sometimes has around 12 clients, although its capacity is 15, with four paid staff members and around four volunteers or interns with Miami University. She said the varying ages of the individuals interacting with clients allow for intergenerational opportunities.
Recently, Oxford Seniors took on two interns from the psychology department at Miami to assist at the center.
There are also two drivers who work with the adult day center, offering trips to shop, visit museums and gardens or have lunch.
Liechty said there are a lot of similarities between the Oxford Seniors Center on Tollgate Drive and the adult day center, with the difference being more support and supervision for clients at the adult day center.
Adult Day Service Director Stacey Frazho said she starts the day by engaging clients in a “morning chat,” wherein they review current events and horoscopes. Then, they’ll begin exercise activities to get moving, like mini golf, or cognition games to exercise their minds, like crossword puzzles, bingo or arts and crafts.
Liechty emphasized that when clients are diagnosed with an age-related impairment, it doesn’t stop them from being an individual who can make valuable contributions.
“You don’t want to sit isolated, watching TV, sleeping in your living room, getting depressed,” Liechty said. “And so you come here, and you can slow that cognitive decline by being physically and mentally and socially active.”
Liechty said loneliness may also negatively affect someone’s health, and the adult day center provides community.
She said the adult day center may provide temporary care for clients who are transitioning to assisted living, or it may help family members and caregivers take a break, allowing them to focus on their own health, while allowing their loved ones to have independence and find their own social group.
“I think it’s an amazing program,” Liechty said of the adult day center. “They help support them staying home and help support caregivers.”
Ada Bright, 20, is a Miami senior majoring in social work and an intern at the adult day center. Every day for the past four weeks, Bright has spent time with and exercised alongside clients.
She said she chose the internship because she is interested in working as a one-on-one caregiver for older clients.
“They all have … stories,” she said, adding she enjoys the “rest and relaxation” period with clients after lunch where they can watch television, work in workbooks or have their nails painted, and she can just spend time talking to them. “You start to really see who they are.”
Autumn Johnson, 22, is also a Miami senior majoring in social work who has been coming to the adult day center twice a week since the fall 2025 semester. She said her experience has made her want to continue working in the field, possibly at a nursing home or at a facility where she can provide art therapy.
She said “(The job) gives me meaning.”
Retired 1st Sgt. Robert “Bob” Sauer is a client at the adult day center. He said at first he wasn’t sure he was going to enjoy it, but the friendly staff helped.
“I think it’s good,” he said of the center, adding it helps him work on his memory every day. “Coming here, each day was different. … And I (like) everybody that’s in here, and all the staff that (work) here.”
“They’ve got a grip on you. They won’t let you go,” Sauer said.
When Sauer isn’t at the adult day center, he paints at home. Some of his paintings are now at the center.
Sauer will turn 93 in May and said of seniors like himself, “People shouldn’t forget us. We’re still here.”
The adult day center is open to new clients and costs $82 a day when paid out of pocket, according to the website, which covers transportation, lunch and daily care, including weight and blood pressure checks and medication administration.
Anyone wishing to donate to the adult day center may make out a check to the center, and those wishing to volunteer may contact Frazho at (513) 523-0464.
