We have another Meet Your Neighbor event scheduled for February 23 at 8:30 a.m. at our Red Hook campus. On tap for the morning’s event will be a description of the services provided by Devereux New York, an introduction to some of the individuals Devereux New York serves, a brief address focusing on our mission statement and vision of Devereux New York’s future from our Executive Director, John O'Keefe, and a tour given by our student leaders and staff members.

For more information, please contact Devereux New York at 845-758-1899 x1327.

Today we honor our Founder, Helena T. Devereux, on the 121st anniversary of her birth.

It was 100 years ago that Miss Devereux began her career as a teacher in the Philadelphia Public Schools. It was then that she developed an intense and unwavering commitment to children facing barriers to learning. These children were often labeled “slow learners.” Her success with these special individuals drew the attention of school administrators, who offered her a new position in "special education." Word soon reached parents from around the country who sought her help in educating their children with special needs. Although Miss Devereux continued to teach in Philadelphia until 1918, we date the beginning of The Devereux Foundation from 1912, when she took into her home her first student, Robert Simpson, from South Carolina. We are only six years from our one hundredth Birthday!

Miss Devereux was incredibly ahead of her time. Her focus on individualized treatment and positive approaches are still part of our Philosophy of Care today. This is supported by her belief that "every child is a program" and that "[each child] must first experience success, even if this success is not academic." As I travel around the country to all our many campuses, I am amazed at how the spirit, dedication, and persistence of our Founder is reflected in each program. This spirit is evident in our full array of services, including residential, foster care, wraparound services, day programs, outpatient, case management and more. Miss Devereux would be amazed and very pleased.

Next month we will honor Miss Devereux by joining the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in celebrating the work of the leading female entrepreneur in this region with the "Paradigm Award". Miss Devereux was surely a paradigm –
doing much of her work before women had the right to vote, she built the leading nonprofit provider of behavioral health services in the United States.

Today we honor our Founder on the anniversary of her birth, but, even more importantly, each of you honor her every day, as you continue and expand the wonderful work she started 94 years ago. Happy Founder's Day!

Bob Kreider, President & CEO

With an eye on ultimately helping its employees make daily lifestyle decisions that are healthier and allow for fuller and more productive lives, Devereux is kicking off a campaign to stamp out tobacco use starting with the Great Devereux Smoke-out February 1st and 2nd.

The Smoke-out, which will be supplemented by smoking cessation resources, peer support groups and financial assistance for nicotine patches, is only one aspect of a multi-year program to encourage positive lifestyle changes. Throughout 2006, The Year of Preparation, other opportunities will be presented toward that end, including Maintain Don’t Gain, to combat obesity and obesity-related illnesses, and Walking Toward Wellness to encourage greater exercise frequency.

“Although we must all concern ourselves with the cost of our medical and prescription plans, we must concern ourselves more with what are some of the causes of the increases in these costs,” said Devereux president and CEO, Robert Kreider. “We need to take steps together to control future costs. One of the ways we can do this is to make daily lifestyle decisions that are healthier and which allow us to live fuller and more productive lives.”

These programs are not “quick fixes” or to be taken as such. The Smoke-out will be repeated in early 2007, deemed The Year of Positive Change, and the Maintain Don’t Gain and Walking Toward Wellness programs are expected to be integrated into normal employee initiatives. Research is currently underway to design a high-deductible health savings plan into which Devereux can contribute credits/dollars to be tied to staff’s active participation in wellness efforts and health management activities.

“The beauty of the plan is if you don’t need the dollars or credits, you can save them and these savings can be carried over from year to year (your account can grow) and they are transferable to other employers,” said Kreider. “It is too early to give you specifics or for us to talk in terms of certainty, but this is part of our roadmap.”

Other plans are in the works for 2008, The Year of Integration, as well. However, it is still too early to say how things will change, but Devereux is currently exploring every possible avenue to reward employees who make an effort to lead or maintain healthy lifestyles.

In the past year, Devereux New York has held four blood drives in conjunction with the Red Cross of New York and Pennsylvania. During four blood drives held at Devereux from October 2004 to December 2005, 148 units of blood were collected from employees and students alike. These collected units potentially could help up to 450 people in need.