DHSS Press Release |
Date: December 19, 2006 DHSS-133-2006 |
| Vincent P. Meconi, Secretary Jay Lynch, Communications Director (302) 255-9037, Pager (302) 247-8523 Email: jay.lynch@state.de.us |
NEW MEDICAL CENTER FOR THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED TO BREAK GROUND
Original Building to Be Demolished Upon Completion in June
GEORGETOWN - Lt. Governor John C. Carney and the Division of Developmental Disabilities will break ground Wednesday, December 20 at 1PM on the new Stockley Medical Center in Georgetown. The new facility will be a multi-purpose facility providing both community-based services such as diagnostic evaluations, assistive technology and rehabilitative services as well as residential services and short-term admissions for persons with developmental disabilities is scheduled to be completed by June '08.
The $25.6 million construction project, scheduled to begin in late December, involves building a new a new 84,000 s.f. facility adjacent to the existing facility followed by the demolition of the old building when the new one is complete. This will allow for uninterrupted care to the medically fragile, developmentally disabled residents who currently live at Stockley.
According to Marianne Smith, the Division's Director, "The new 54-bed Intermediate Care Facility is specifically designed for individuals with developmental disabilities. Some of the beds will be used for short-term, rehabilitative stays and some will be used to provide medical care to individuals who live at home but whose families need brief periods of respite care. Forty-five of the beds will be for the medically fragile residents who currently receive care and will continue to receive residential care at the new facility."
Many in Delaware have heard of Stockley but many do not understand its mission or the population Stockley serves. At its highest census, in the 1970s, nearly 700 people with developmental disabilities lived at Stockley. The "best practice" philosophy 30 years ago was for people with substantial developmental disabilities to live in a "custodial mode of care" - in other words to be institutionalized. Our society has evolved and has been enlightened since that time so that today there are only 85 people living on the Stockley campus. Out of that number, 45 live in the medical care facility while the others are able to live in several cottages on the grounds.
Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.
