Nazareth College and the Golisano Foundation Expand Partnership with Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute Gift

Nazareth College and the Golisano Foundation are proud to announce the expansion of their partnership with a gift from the Foundation of a $100,000 to support the construction of the new Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute (WRI) at Nazareth College. The gift showcases the Golisano Foundation’s commitment to Nazareth’s $16.5 million capital expansion project that will enhance education of the next generation of health care professionals trained to work as part of an inter-professional team that can meet the needs of people of all abilities. WRI is expected to be open and ready for students in fall 2015.

“It is rewarding to be able to partner with the Golisano Foundation as we move forward with our Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute,” said Nazareth President Daan Braveman. “Nazareth has a long history of developing programs in response to community needs, including the needs of those with intellectual disabilities. We are honored that the Foundation appreciates the remarkable work we have done as well as the potential for expanding that work in the future with our new clinics. We are proud to participate with the Foundation in serving the Rochester region with patient-centered care for all clients and their families.”

“This is a unique grant for the foundation,” said Ann Costello, Golisano Foundation Director. “We can’t fulfill our mission to improve care and supportive services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) unless we have organizations that can step up, partner with us, and take action to impact change. We certainly have a partner in Nazareth, which has taken the initiative to establish programs to train the next generation of health and human service professionals to support people with ID. And, Nazareth is the only college in the community that offers the unique array of allied health professional programs that will be offered at the Institute.  We applaud Nazareth’s commitment, and are also excited about the expansion of the clinic capacity to serve more people from the community and the new program in autism.

The substantial gift to Nazareth is the latest in a strong foundation that the two partners have together.  The Golisano Foundation supports the WRI endeavor as it aligns with its goals of the Healthy Communities initiative in partnership with the Special Olympics. Access to quality care, forging partnerships with providers, and training heath care professionals to care for people with ID, are the fundamental objectives of Healthy Communities.

Examples of how Nazareth has supported the goals of the Golisano Foundation include:

• Development of a first-of-its-kind in the region new Interdisciplinary Specialty Program in Autism (I-SPAN) – a graduate level program that brings together the strengths of Nazareth’s School of Education and School of Health and Human Services together to address one of the fastest growing developmental disabilities in the U.S.
• Nazareth hosts unified sports for the Special Olympics on its campus
• Life Prep @ Naz, an innovative program designed to provide individuals with disabilities an opportunity to go to college
• The Foundation awarded one of its very first healthcare leadership awards to Mary Kay Bradley. Bradley is a Nazareth College clinical assistant professor of speech-language pathology that formed Kid’s Club, an after-school, interdisciplinary wellness program for children with special needs.

Learn more abouther the Foundation’s Healthy Communities initiative with Special Olympics.

About Nazareth College

Nazareth College’s academic strengths cross an unusually broad spectrum of 60 majors, including education, health and human services, management, the fine arts, music, theater, math and science, foreign languages, and the liberal arts. The coeducational, religiously independent, classic campus in a charming suburb of Rochester, N.Y. challenges and supports 2,000 undergrads and 800 graduate students. Nazareth is recognized nationally for its Fulbright global student scholars and commitment to civic engagement. Rigorous programs, an uncommon core, experiential learning, career skills, and a global focus prepare graduates for not just one job, but for their life’s work.