Dear Staff,
Hard to believe we are already into the second week of February. We are all dug out from the heavy snowfall a few weeks back, and thankfully there are no other snowstorms on the horizon for now. We would like to recognize the efforts of our entire Residential team for doing what they always do when we are faced with a weather-related issue – they go above and beyond! Staff members slept over to avoid traveling during the height of the storm, and staffers remained on duty until others could arrive for relief. We are truly grateful to all of you for your commitment to the people who reside with us. Read about the extraordinary job the Facilities team did clearing out all of our locations and other staff who deserve a snowstorm shout-out in this issue of Limelight.
As we look forward to spring next month, we are reminded that we are now two years into the pandemic. While we continue to navigate the after-effects of the pandemic, we are hopeful that this year will look different than it has since 2020. We know it has been difficult for all of our staff, and we commend you for all your efforts to ensure an enviable life for all. Your dedication, commitment and work do not go unnoticed. Next month, we will be starting the first of our quarterly Town Halls with staff, and we encourage you to join the zoom meetings. Look for more information in your email in the upcoming weeks.
Also in this edition of Limelight, we are celebrating Black History Month with highlights of historical figures and ACLD staff, along with other stories and news from across the agency.
Sincerely,
Rob, Gerard, Anne Marie and Kim
Robert Ciatto, Executive Director
Gerard DiMuro, Assistant Executive Director
Anne Marie Sime, Assistant Executive Director
Kim Leonard, Chief Financial Officer
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ACLD is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. As an organization, ACLD recognizes the perspectives and the humanity of all our Black colleagues and people we support. Black History Month celebrates Black achievements and provides a reminder to take stock of where racism persists today. Please join us as an agency in celebrating figures in Black history, along with ACLD employees, in this edition of the Limelight, as well as on social media this month.
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What Black History Month means to ACLD Staff |
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Richardson Cadet: Lead Day Habilitation Specialist, Bethpage Day Program
“Black History month is an opportunity for everyone, not just people of color, to take time out and see what the people before us fought for. It is very limited but necessary for the acknowledgement of the history of African Americans.
Black History Month is an opportunity to celebrate and learn about our community that is full of talents, resilience, and beauty. It is a time to recognize the achievements and honor those who paved the way before us. From slavery, to now, even though we still have a long way to go. During the month of February, we have the opportunity to sit down and reflect on our Black leaders from the past. Everyone can learn at this time. It’s not Black history, but American history. If you don’t talk about our history, how will we made strides and improve? We must always remember how our past helped shape our future”.
Ken Martin: Day Habilitation Specialist, Bethpage Day Program
“Black History Month means everything to me. My family lived through the Civil Rights era. My father is from Alabama and my mom is from South Carolina. They both marched in the civil rights movement. They believed firmly in what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for, fairness and equality. As their child, it was upsetting learning about the Jim Crow laws and everything my parents experienced. When I think of our civil rights leaders from the past, I am proud of what they stood for. They needed strength to overcome their struggles and they gathered together to build community support. Civil rights leaders put their lives on the line, put their families at risk for the greater cause, with the end goal of an integrated society.
It’s important to note, the discussion on inclusion and integration is important for not only black Americans, but for Hispanics, Asians and people of all cultural backgrounds. This conversation is huge and a positive one, and we should recognize how far we have come, along with the importance of continuing to progress today"
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(left to right) Ken Martin and Richardson Cadet at the Bethpage Day program
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Kenyada AbdulWahab: Administrative Assistant, Office Services
"To me Black History Month is a time of rejoicing, celebrating and thanking those Black Americans who have paved the way and for giving us hope and life lessons that we apply daily. It's about integrity, leadership and determination, and showing strength in all circumstances. As I reflect on how great we continue to be, I am proud to celebrate Black History not only in the month of February, but throughout the year."
Bridgette Samuel: Entitlements Coordinator, Finance
"Black History Month means acknowledging, honoring, and celebrating the history of Black Americans. I also see it as a time to shed light on how the Black community continues to advance culture, industry, and society. Just know that for me, because of the innumerable amounts of Black Americans that dedicated their lives to change, Black History Month re-affirms the fact I, a proud Black woman, have no excuse to not impact my community, this nation, and ultimately the world."
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(left to right) Kenyada AbdulWahab and Bridgette Samuel at the Administrative Offices
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Children's Services celebrates Black History |
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A bulletin board in the hallway of Kramer Learning Center, titled "Black History Month - A Medical Perspective", featuring biographies of brilliant black men and women who have made advancements and discoveries in the field of medicine.
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Around the schools are doors and walls highlighting historical black figures. |
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The Man That's Lived a Thousand Lives |
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This month, we would also like to highlight George Singfield, ACLD Education Consultant for Residential Affairs, and one of the most respected and accomplished people in the history of ACLD. George has dedicated the last 6+ decades to this field and has been a part of our agency since the 1960's.
Please take a moment to read about George's life in the newest edition of the "Enviable Life News" newsletter today.
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Historical Figure in Black History |
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Rosa Parks, known as “the mother of the civil rights movement”, invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Her act of defiance helped propel a movement that ended legal segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. So, today, let’s heed the words of Rosa Parks, “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right” |
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Meet Alyssa De Stefano, Residential Manager of the St James IRA.
Alyssa began her career as a Direct Support Professional at St James in 2012, and over the years has developed strong relationships with the men and women she supports. She was promoted to Assistant Manager in 2015, followed by Manager in 2021 due to her strong leadership and for always putting the needs of the residents first.
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MaryCara Ferdinando, CFL Trainer and Alyssa’s former House Manager says, “Alyssa truly cares about all of her residents and always listens to them with a kindness and respect that enables them to overcome anything. She has a calming nature about her, and when someone is having a bad day, all they need to do is sit and talk with Alyssa for their day to turn around. She makes it a point to bond with her residents, and everyone in St. James is very lucky to have her."
As a manager, Alyssa is held in high regard not only by the people that reside at St. James, but also by their families, staff and other depts at ACLD. She works very well with all of her staff and is not only a leader, but also a team player that is happy to help her staff with anything that needs to be done. Her team respects her and relies on her ability to guide each day.
Thank you Alyssa for being a great resource, a partner, an ambassador, an encourager and teacher for the men and women of the St. James IRA.
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In addition to thanking all residential staff that worked during the snow storm at the end of last month, we also want to shout out the entire Facilities Management team for the incredible amount of work they had to do in order to clear the snow at ACLD residences, programs and offices.
They worked tirelessly on that Sunday, and unfortunately due to drifts, weight and amount, the snow blowers wouldn't throw snow, so much of the snow had to be cleared away by hand. Amazing work by all!
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Facilities Management team on the Bethpage campus |
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A shout out goes to all nurses who worked during the snow storm too, including Jean Swan who proactively made arrangements to come in on Friday before the storm and volunteered to stay until Sunday, and Eloise Ward who agreed to come to work earlier on Friday and to work with Jean until Sunday as well.
Their Nurse Supervisor Gwendolyn Seymore-Pinckney, said, "This dedication,commitment, and team work is what makes being a nurse leader rewarding. These nurses with stood the challenges and were relieved from duty on Sunday afternoon. Thank you and all those who worked during this storm!"
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Jean Swan and Eloise Ward
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Last Friday, The Organizational Care Committee organized an Employee Engagement Day called Wear Red Day, in which staff from across the agency came dressed in red in recognition of American Heart Month.
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Congratulations to Bridgette Samuel, Entitlements Coordinator in the Finance department, on making the Dean's List this past semester at S.U.N.Y. Old Westbury. Bridgette is now in her final semester of working on her Bachelor's degree in Sociology.
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Congratulations to ACLD Art Program and Community Coordinator Diane Salome-Diaz's husband Eliot, and their daughter Nadja on their recent artistic accomplishments.
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Nadja, a very talented artist and 9th grader in Freeport High School, submitted artwork in a contest to be featured in the 2022 calendar for the Shanti Fund, an organization that spread's Gandhi’s message of peace and promotes a culture of peace and nonviolence among children, and she won! Congratulations!
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Eliot, an accomplished interior/exterior designer and artist, was recently featured in the Video Music Box documentary for painting a tribute mural for Ralph McDaniel, who is well known in the Hip Hop industry for his show Video Music Box, which featured the early beginnings of many major artists, such as Whoodini, Run DMC, and Nas. At the documentary screening, Eliot gifted McDaniel with a beautiful metal print of the mural, and gifted Nas a print of the mural he did for him in Queensbridge 6 years ago.
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Eliot (middle) standing with Nas (left) and Ralph McDaniel (right); each holding prints of their murals |
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Another mural painted by Eliot and two other artists, which was recently featured on the cover of Queens Graffiti Legends: Vol 1. This mural depicts old trains that use to run the subway lines. This past month, Eliot, along with all the other artists in the book, had a “Graffiti Legends” exhibit held in Manhattan.
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ACLD Art at the Senator's Office |
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Congratulations to all of the men and women we support who have their art currently displayed in Senator John W. Mannion's district office.
As the Chair of the Senate Disabilities Committee, Mannion is an amazing advocate for the I/DD population, and says he’s thrilled to have these paintings brightening up his office. Displaying these paintings is part of Mannion’s goal to highlight artists with disabilities across the state.
These paintings will be hanging in his office till June of this year, and we hope to display more work from our artists following that.
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Stony Brook University Master's Program |
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Message from Human Resources: ACLD is proud to announce another educational opportunity with Stony Brook University for the Spring of 2022. We had previously offered employees the chance to enroll in a Master’s program.
If you are interested in enrolling in the program, click here for admissions and application. The two programs being offered are MA in Liberal Studies and MS in Human Resources Management. When you enroll, you need to identify as the cohort program in order to waive the application fee.
If you decide you are interested in the program, an official transcript should be sent to Stony Brook University electronically at: spd_transcripts@stonybrook.edu (note there is an underscore after spd_).
The deadline for enrollment for Spring 2022 is February 15, 2022. Classes begin March 21, 2022. If you have any questions about the program you can reach out to Carolyn Jankowski from Stony Brook University via email at Carolyn.jankowski@stonybrook.edu.
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50th Anniversary of Willowbrook |
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February 16th of this year is the 50th Anniversary of the original broadcast of Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace, the ABC television exposé by Geraldo Rivera.
In recognition of the anniversary, and as part of the "2022 Year of WIllowbrook" at the College of Staten Island (CSI), the Willowbrook Legacy Project will present an evening of reflection and discussion with Geraldo Rivera, hosted by Ken Iwama, former CSI Vice President of Economic Development, Continuing Studies, and Government Relations, and current Chancellor of Indiana University Northwest.
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Medicare Solutions webinar |
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All ACLD employees are invited to attend a Medicare webinar on February 17th at 11:00 am hosted by Alliant Retirement Services.
This webinar will give an overview of different Medicare plans and options, explain how Medicare works with other coverage and more.
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Temporary Employee COVID-19 Procedures |
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There were revisions regarding the quarantine and isolation period for the "Temporary Employee Procedures for COVID-19".
The previous document that was emailed out on January 14 should be replaced with this newest version.
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Employee Handbook Updates |
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The ACLD Employee Handbook has been updated and posted on Microsoft Teams and ADP. The following policies have been updated or added:
Deficit Reduction Act/False Claims Act
- Section 740 and 741 was revised on page 10 & 11 of the employee handbook.
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COVID-19 Vaccination policy for CMS as per Federal Requirements (new policy)
- This is a new policy that only applies to programs covering Article 16, Hauppauge and ICF Residential homes.
- Employees who are affected by this vaccine mandate have already been previously notified by the Human Resources Department and program management.
- Policy begins on page 111.
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This month we are continuing with our new section in this newsletter that covers safety tips that we can all use in our everyday lives. This month's topic is on Driving in Low Visibility. Click the image below to download it as a pdf.
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Employee Referral Program |
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Don't forget about the NEW EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAM! You can now earn up to $6,750 when you refer people to work at ACLD. See the flyer below for details.
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Message from the Center for Learning: The CFL runs reports which detail the training status of ACLD employees. We have posted a new version of this report. It can be accessed by going to MS Teams. Find the ACLD Today team and the Center for Learning channel underneath that.
Select “Files” at the top (See the red arrow on the image below) and then click on the folder named “02 – CFL Staff Training Reports”. (See the blue arrow on the image below). The report in that folder is organized to make it easy to find your staff’s information by work location, by department and by name. It can also be filtered so you are only looking at the staff that report to you.
REMINDER – CFL documents are now posted exclusively on MS Teams. See the image below.
This newest report has been revised to provide information on staff training in Blood Glucose Monitoring, Tube Feeding, Tube Medication and Sub-Cutaneous Injections. The report also covers:
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Employee certification in AMAP, SCIP, CPR-First Aid and AED (New Version which highlights when staff are close to expiring or already expired)
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- This report includes extensions made to staff certification expiration dates.
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Click on the report to view this information and stay on top of the training and recertification needs of your employee. |
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Help the people we support find employment |
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Do you know of a job opening in your area that would be a good fit for the men and women we support who are seeking employment in the community?
If so, please send an email to the Vocational Services department at Millerl@acld.org.
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Discounts for ACLD Employees |
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Did you know that by being an employee of ACLD, you can take advantage of exclusive discounts at different businesses such as Splish Splash, Verizon, P.C. Richard, Six Flags and a lot more?
You can also register as an ACLD employee on PlumBenefits.com to get even more discounts on vacations, entertainment, online shopping and other services. Use company code ac0825520 to register.
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Anniversary Milestones - February 2022 |
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Shetika Wright Direct Support Professional, Great Neck
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Jeanie Shelton Assistant Director, Vocational Services
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Welcome ACLD New Hires - January 2022 |
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Marie Antoine Direct Support Professional, Yorktown
Marie Arnault Direct Support Professional, Sayville
Keyonie Bailey Day Habilitation Specialist, Bethpage 837
DeAaron Brown Direct Support Professional, Yorktown
Leondra Buscemi Curriculum Coordinator, Kramer Learning Center
Jada Bush Day Habilitation Specialist, Hauppauge
Destynee Celifie Direct Support Professional, Long Hill Road
Rolgens Dextra Direct Support Professional, Magnolia Manor
Paulonne Dor Malivert Direct Support Professional, Wildwood
Choisi Florkency Direct Support Professional, Oaklake Ln
Jennie Francois Direct Support Professional, Yorktown
Simone Greenspan Respite Counselor - In Home Waiver, Bethpage 807
Brenda Kassim-Olorunnishola Direct Support Professional, Hawthorne
Donald Kelly Residential Manager, Autumn
Martin King Residential Manager, Calvert Avenue
Emma Leddy Day Habilitation Specialist, Hauppauge
Danes McCarter Teacher Aide, Kramer Learning Center
Lorraine Reid Behavior Support Specialist, Kramer Learning Center
Macrena Shallow Direct Support Professional, Great Neck
Allan Smith Maintenance Supervisor, Bethpage 857
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Don't forget to give a SHOUT OUT to recognize someone at your location for something special they did for you, your department or a person we support. |
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The Organizational Care Committee is always looking for new ideas and suggestions from all of YOU to continue to make ACLD one of the best places to work, and for children and adults to receive supports and services.
Please share your ideas and suggestions anytime at brightideabox@acld.org or by using the "Bright Idea Box" at one of the following ACLD locations.
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807 Building
837 Building
857 Building
Program Without Walls
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Kramer Learning Center
Spiegel Children's Center
Hauppauge Day Program
Levittown Day Program
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Glen Cove Day Program
Westbury Day Program
Farmingdale Day Program
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RewearAble has replaced their bins on the Bethpage Campus with beautiful newly designed bins (see below). These new bins can also be found at the new B.L.U.E. program in Deer Park, and will soon replace the bins at the Hauppauge day program.
Donation bin addresses: 807 South Oyster Bay Road, Bethpage, NY 11714 / 305 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788 / 775 Long Island Avenue, Deer Park, NY 11729
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Submit YOUR stories for the "Limelight" |
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Each month we include stories in this newsletter about YOU and all of the amazing staff here at ACLD!
BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP to find out about these stories. Please send us anything to include such as:
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A story about how you or someone else went above and beyond to help the people we support, organized any fun or educational activity, or did anything to further our mission in any way
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Information on any staff member or team who you would like to see spotlighted for their exceptional work.
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Information or news useful for staff across the agency. Anything important or fun.
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Proud moments for you or your family (Personal or professional milestones, awards, weddings, educational degrees or works in the community).
- Or anything else you can think of!
Don't be shy about submitting stories - we need new ones every month!
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"the limelight" is an initiative of the
Communications Committee
and is produced by the
Development and Community Relations Department.
Jonathan Dolan, Editor. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email dolanj2@acld.org
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Thank you to all who have submitted information
and photos. Keep them coming!
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
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