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How Manatee County childcare providers
stayed open during COVID-19 crisis
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Like a luminary shooting warm light through a grey winter
sky, Kara Moates rises each day to comfort and guide.
Not long after sunrise, she dives into a day chatting about
theology and spiritual concepts with a man eager and grateful
to share his thoughts about the world while she assesses his
vitals. On the same day, she visits a woman in her 80s who lives
alone and passes the time sewing colorful quilts, coin purses,
As a nurse for Tidewell Hospice, Moates dons a caring cloak
of armor as she organizes pillboxes, educates, and lends an
ear while treating a host of symptoms ranging from nausea and
vomiting to hallucinations and anxiety.
Ellanora and depends on Happy Cubs, a childcare center in
Bradenton, to juggle her superhero role of working parent.
country and a shadow of fear loomed above Manatee County,
essential workers with young children collectively held their
breath and watched in disbelief as childcare centers shuttered
County schools and a spectrum of small businesses, closed
their doors, trying to navigate what seemed like a cruel funhouse
maze through a global pandemic.