The residents of Mount St. Joseph Association have been on lock down due to the Pandemic. You can make the Christmas season brighter for them just by sending one of your extra Christmas cards! 

This is a simple and affordable way to spread holiday joy, love and cheer during a most unusual year! It is so easy anyone can do it! 

Write a positive message, draw a picture, or simply sign your name.

Mt. St. Joseph Association

24955 North US HWY 12

Lake Zurich, IL 60047-0131

This small act of love will make a big difference in the life of someone with different abilities and/or special needs. 

About Mount St. Joseph 

Mount St. Joseph is an intermediate care facility for intellectually disabled women in Lake Zurich, Illinois. Owned by the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence, Mount St. Joseph provides a full range of medical care, therapy, and psychological services to its 115 residents. It is a not-for-profit facility.

The women who live at Mount St. Joseph range in age from 24 years to 94 years. The resident population is composed of all four intellectual disability categories: profound, severe, moderate, and mild. Physical disabilities range from severe to minor. As an intermediate care facility with 24-hour nursing and direct care staff, Mount St. Joseph meets the needs of all in a safe and nurturing environment. Individual care plans are designed to foster as much independence as possible. Mount St. Joseph is equipped to care for individuals throughout the stages of their lives, so residents can “age in place” without disruption.

Research shows that people with developmental disabilities who contract COVID-19 face a two to 10 times greater risk of dying as compared to others. Given that, Shannon McCracken, vice president for government relations at the American Network of Community Options and Resources, or ANCOR, said people with developmental disabilities should be “explicitly included in the top priority tier.”

“We would certainly expect the message of increased mortality in people with IDD, especially those living in group settings, would resonate with public health officials at the local, state and federal level,” said McCracken whose group represents disability service providers across the nation.

Under the current CDC recommendations, some people with developmental disabilities could qualify for the first phase of vaccine distribution if they live in a long-term care facility. That’s likely to include residents of institutions.

The project, known as the Partnering to Transform Health Outcomes with Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities, or PATH-PWIDD, will involve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families at all stages.

“Multiple international and national agencies and organizations have issued calls to action to address the health inequities affecting those with (IDD),” said Suzanne Smeltzer of Villanova University who is a co-investigator on the project. “Improving the education of health care students about (IDD) is a major step in preparing future health care professionals to provide quality care to this population.”

term residents vaccinated by Jan. 1, said State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, “which is really incredible, considering the magnitude of this.”

Among the broad spectrum of healthcare workers, some are prioritized depending on their level of risk. For example, hospital staff working directly with COVID-19 — including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, custodial staff, and other clinical staff — are first up for the initial doses that could come early next week.

Next come long-term care staff and residents at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and state supported living centers, followed by other health care populations such as staff at outpatient and emergency clinics and pharmacies.

change the system of billing for residential facilities, resulting in losses of $500 million for care providers throughout 2020, according to the New York City Family Advocacy Information Resource.

These cuts threaten to further devastate a social services network already straining under the weight of the pandemic, with many residents and employees of group homes falling ill during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York. Pandemic life has also been particularly challenging for developmentally disabled New Yorkers who do not live in group homes, as other services like day programs and special education services face similar threats. 

Caregivers predict any further cuts will result in closed group homes and day programs, a reduction in available beds, and higher operating costs.

OPWDD was hit by the across-the-board 20% withholding in state reimbursements Cuomo enacted earlier in the pandemic because of federal cuts, but the office also faces a proposed 5% budget cut for 2022. An additional $238 million in annualized cuts to residential rates went into effect on Oct. 1 and is expected to result in the loss of 1,200 beds in group homes and other residential facilities, according to a recent survey conducted by New York Disability Advocates.

The coalition also estimates that provider organizations supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) have lost $2.6 billion over the past 10 years due to Medicaid funding cuts.

“We have gone from benign neglect to active abandonment and, in some cases, actual attacks because of the cuts that have been forced upon us by the governor,” said New York State Assemblymember Thomas Abinanti of Westchester County, who, like Miller, is also the parent of a child living with I/DD.

In addition to several elected officials, Wednesday’s speakers included dozens of self-advocates living with I/DD, family caregivers and direct service providers. Many of them characterized the situation for people living with I/DD in New York State even more bluntly than Abinanti.

“We’ve reached the breaking point,” said a mother named Maryann Virga. “This is a human rights catastrophe.”