Caregiver Appreciation Day Spotlight: PWHO and Latham Centers
Today is Caregiver Appreciation Day and PWSA | USA is recognizing the home health aides, nursing home attendants, counselors, doulas, respite nurses, and volunteers who choose to offer their time to helping others for their (largely selfless) efforts. The individuals who provide care services to the PWS community are especially worthy of this small annual celebration, considering the personal, high-stakes labor invested by these compassionate professionals.
“Through the years at Prader Willi Homes, I have watched amazing people give endless parts of themselves to be a caregiver to individuals with PWS,” says Marguerite Rupnow, National Director of Admissions and Advocacy at Prader Willi Homes. “In the role of caregiving, we do our jobs because we love the individuals we support, but another big piece is the opportunity to work alongside amazing co-workers. Caregivers are a special breed of people: they provide love, support, encouragement, recognition, praise, feedback, guidance, humor, and most of all, they pour their heart and soul into their work. It is why I salute those thousands of caregivers around the world with a heartfelt appreciation and thankfulness that you are out there doing what you do every day. You are amazing souls.”
Prader-Willi Homes (PWHO) specializes in providing residential services and supports to individuals diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). For more than 40 years, PWHO has been nationally and internationally recognized by the PWS community for excellence in therapeutic treatment and care of individuals diagnosed with PWS. PWHO is one of only a handful of providers in the world with expertise specific to the syndrome.
“Caregiver Appreciation Day is such a meaningful way to recognize the selfless and challenging work that our staff do every day,” said Patrice Carroll, LCSW, Director of PWS Services at Latham Centers. “Latham staff members work tirelessly to provide a second home to over 100 children and adults with PWS, and they do it with love, humor, and skill. The work that we do is challenging but endlessly rewarding. Seeing children and adults with PWS achieve their goals and live full, happy lives brings great joy to me and the staff working with them. Caregiver Appreciation Day is a wonderful way to highlight the amazing people who work to bring out the best in people living with PWS.”
Latham Centers is a leader in special education and residential programs for children and adults with disabilities. Based in Brewster (Cape Cod), Massachusetts, Latham is nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation and internationally renowned for its expertise and success in working with individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome. The non-profit organization’s mission is to create opportunities for independence, self-worth, and happiness for children and adults with complex special needs.
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.