New Stockley medical center dedicated to Minner's mother
In a big surprise to one invited guest, the new facility, the Mary Ann Coverdale Center, was named in memory of Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s mother.
Minner, who found out about the naming of the building during the unveiling ceremony, was touched by the tribute. She said she usually keeps her emotions in check during public events, but she couldn’t keep back the tears at this one.
“In my 34 years of public service nothing has moved me more than when I saw the name on that sign,” she said.
Several family members, including her sons, Frank and Gary, were also in attendance.
Her mother was a volunteer and foster grandmother at Stockley Center and Howard T. Ennis School for more than 18 years.
Minner didn’t bother to give her prepared speech during the ceremony, but instead talked about her mother. “The foster grandchildren were her children,” she said.
She said her mother lobbied her during her years as governor for improvements at Howard T. Ennis. “She was a lady who cared so very much,” she said.
“There are numerous reasons to celebrate,” explained Vince Meconi, secretary of Delaware Health and Social Services. “The most important, however, is to remember an individual whose lifelong commitment to the care of others, combined with public service and humanity, significantly improved the quality of life for all Delawareans, and specifically those residing at the Stockley Center.”
According to Marianne Smith, the division’s director, “This new 54-bed intermediate care facility is specifically designed for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Some of the beds are for short-term, rehabilitative stays and some will provide medical care to individuals who live at home but whose families need brief periods of respite care. Forty-five of the beds will be for the medically fragile residents who currently receive care and will continue to receive residential care at the new facility.”
Many in Delaware have heard of the Stockley Center, but many more do not understand its mission or the special population Stockley serves.
At its highest census in the 1970s, nearly 700 people with developmental disabilities lived at Stockley.
The “best practice” philosophy 30 years ago was for people with substantial developmental disabilities to live in a “custodial mode of care” - in other words, to be institutionalized. During this time persons with developmental disabilities were often marginalized and even shunned by family and the greater community.
Society has evolved since that time, and the Dec. 30 ceremony paid homage to an individual who went against the grain and by embracing this population, and who helped pave the way toward their inclusion and acceptance in society.
Today there are only 85 people living on the Stockley campus. Out of that number, 45 live in the medical care facility while the others are able to live in several cottages on the grounds.
