Originally from Illinois, Barb Kubiszak and her husband moved themselves and their four children to Valpo to be closer to her husband's work and they fell in love with the community.
After getting her nursing degree, Kubiszak took time off to be a stay-at-home mom while their four children grew up. With the children grown, Kubiszak decided that it was time to return to the nursing field. She started working part time for the former Canterbury Senior Living Center where she climbed the chain, finally becoming the Assistant Director for Nursing for a year before leaving in 1997 to work at St. Agnes Adult Day Care.
"I loved getting back into the workforce with Canterbury, but I had missed seeing patients and their families on a day-to-day basis," Kubiszak said. "Here at St. Agnes, I can do as much hands on work as I like, and I missed that so much. I love seeing the patients and their families, helping them as much as I can."
Kubiszak had been a parishioner of St. Paul's Church and when she found out that they were opening up an adult day care center on the premises, she jumped on the opportunity. While St. Agnes' Adult Day Care is located on property owned by St. Paul's Church, the facility is owned by the diocese of Gary and is nondenominational. A not-for-profit facility and member of the United Way, St. Agnes' is open to the community. The Kubiszak and the rest of the staff at St. Agnes' takes care of people with Alzheimer's or dementia, providing socialization for their clients as well as therapeutic activities for them to partake in.
"It's nothing short of Heaven here. I am so grateful for my co-workers and all of the volunteer staff. Without them, a lot of what we do would not be possible," Kubiszak said. "My team and I try to keep people functioning at the highest level possible for as long as possible. We are here as much for the families as we are for the loved ones being left in our care."
Kubiszak and all of the staff at St. Agnes' do everything they can to alleviate stress from their clients' caregivers. The caregivers don't have to worry about their loved ones for those few hours out of the day, because they know that their loved ones are safe. The staff at St. Agnes' currently has seventy-five volunteers that help them every day. The paid, trained nursing staff take care of bathroom trips and meals, whereas the volunteers keep the clients immersed in various daily activities. Currently, St. Agnes' is the only Adult Day Care facility in Porter County that specializes in taking care of Alzheimer's patients.
When she's not working at St. Agnes', Kubiszak volunteers with various organizations that she has come across through her work at St. Agnes'. For the past four years, she has volunteered on the PCACS Board, a company that offers transportation on demand. She has also served on the VNA Hospice Auxiliary Board for the past three years, where she also spends time with the Meals on Wheels volunteers in the area.
"I love feeling like I can contribute, give back to the community, or make a difference in somebody's life," Kubiszak said. "I try to help people as much as I can."
In what remains of her free time, Kubiszak enjoys reading, loves riding horses, and spending time with her blind Appaloosa at Shiloh Ranch in Hobart.