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ANNIVERSARY St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children - 65
Posted: December 23, 2009
By Lakeshia Artis
Sixty-five years ago, a group of Catholic nuns calling themselves the Daughters of Wisdom was so disturbed by the number of abandoned and orphaned children during World War II that they established St. Mary's Infant Home. Years later the name would be changed to St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children.
"It started out as an orphanage," said William C. Giermak, CEO of St. Mary's, which is in Norfolk. "During the '50s and '60s, they began to care for younger children with milder forms of disabilities. And during the '60s and '70s, they began to care for older children with more severe forms of disabilities."
At that time, there weren't many facilities dedicated to caring for children with these levels of disabilities.
"It was difficult for parents to care for children who have these types of disabilities," Giermak said. "And they also have a lot of medical issues. The combinations of mental and medical disabilities make it hard for parents with even the best intentions to care for them at home."
St. Mary's now cares for children and young adults from birth to 21 years old who have severe to profound physical and intellectual development disabilities. The home provides a wide range of services including medical, on- and off-site schooling, and recreational activities for the children. The average stay for most is eight to nine years.
The home can care for 92 children. It is licensed by the commonwealth of Virginia and by the Intermediate Care Facility-Mental Retarded.
"All of them attend school," Giermak said of the children. "The school portion is handled by the Southeastern Cooperative Education Program. We have 10 classrooms in operation at the home."
Giermak, who started in 2004 with the home, finds working with the children a humbling experience. The staff work expertly and lovingly with the children and their families, he said.
"It's been a wonderful blessing to work with the children and see the level of care they receive from the dedicated staff," Giermak said. "It's also wonderful to see that we can really help improve the quality of life for the children by providing them medical care, excellence in education and a full range of appropriate activities."
