Bethpage, NY - February 20th, 2015 - Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc. (ACLD), a leading Long Island based not-for-profit agency devoted to supporting the pursuit of an enviable life for children and adults with autism, learning and other developmental disabilities, has opened Magnolia Manor in Bethpage, NY, a new eight-bed, 24-hour nursing critical healthcare residence.

Magnolia Manor was designed to bring medically frail individuals with special needs out of typical nursing home environments and provide them with the appropriate and specialized round-the-clock care they require. All of the individuals’ medical needs are met through skilled nursing. Individual care can also include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.

Nassau County Legislator Rose Marie Walker, Legislator Laura Schaefer and Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes Jim Stefanich joined ACLD Executive Director Robert Goldsmith, ACLD Board of Trustees President Joseph J. Ortego, Esq., along with other ACLD officials and residents for the ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the opening of the new $1.6-million facility.

Three years in the making and built with the support of New York State’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), Magnolia Manor serves individuals with learning and developmental disabilities who have complex medical conditions that require 24-hour nursing oversight and monitoring beyond what typical nursing facilities offer. Magnolia Manor was built on land purchased by ACLD roughly two decades ago with an eye on future development to further its mission. The land site is also home to the Charles Evans Health Services Center.

The 4,500 sq. ft. facility, with a lower level of equal size, includes four single bedrooms and two double bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a kitchen with multiple cooking areas, a living room, a laundry room, and a dining room, which is also utilized for communal activities. Magnolia Manor also features office space for staff, a nurses’ station and a backyard patio.

“Medically frail individuals with special needs are people to be cared for, not cases to be warehoused,” said Robert Goldsmith, Executive Director of ACLD. “Our residents need to live meaningful and eventful lives. The facility is named after the magnolia flower associated with beauty, perseverance, mobility and dignity…all things residents of this home will become accustomed to.”

Some residents at Magnolia Manor recall not ever having left the four walls of their previous nursing homes, which is why they came to ACLD without even owning a winter coat. One new resident said he had not been to a movie in seven years. Now, with the assistance of ACLD support staff and medical professionals, Magnolia Manor residents with special needs can pursue many recreational activities while their critical healthcare demands are being met.

Potential candidates for Magnolia Manor can be selected from any Long Island nursing home. Those eligible for stay and treatment are identified by OPWDD and must meet the criteria of being high-risk or at-risk, and/or currently placed in a nursing home environment that is not appropriately suited to their needs. OPWDD provides ACLD with a list of candidates to screen, after which a clinical-care team visits the nursing homes to meet with potential candidates, their families and their current caregivers to ensure that Magnolia Manor is a good fit for the individual.

Many individuals are on a waiting list for this type of specialized residential healthcare service. To meet the need and accommodate the demand, ACLD is working to gain New York State approval to open two additional facilities to follow the Magnolia Manor model.

For more information about ACLD’s Magnolia Manor, located at 857A South Oyster Bay Road, Bethpage, NY 11714, contact Juliette McKenna, Director of Development and Community Relations at (516) 822-0028, ext. 206 or mckennaj@acld.org. For information about ACLD, visit www.acld.org.

About Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc.
Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc. (ACLD) was founded in 1957. The 501(c)(3), not-for-profit agency serves the needs of more than 3,000 children, teens and adults with learning disabilities, autism and other developmental disabilities, and provides support for their families. ACLD’s mission is to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to pursue enviable lives, increase their independence and improve the quality of their lives within the community. ACLD employs more than 1,100 people and operates 77 different program sites including group homes and apartment programs across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Service programs include early childhood services, day habilitation, residential alternatives, vocational training and job placement, recreation programs, respite, family support services, Medicaid service coordination, and medical and behavioral health services.


Pictured at the opening of ACLD’s Magnolia Manor in Bethpage are Nassau County Legislator Rose Marie Walker, Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes Jim Stefanich, ACLD Board of Trustees Ellen Spiegel, ACLD Board of Trustees President Joseph J. Ortego, Esq., Nassau County Legislator Laura Schaefer and ACLD Executive Director Robert C. Goldsmith.