Help Make OPWDD Better - Survey

The Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) wants your opinion! They are currently reviewing their system and need your feedback on any changes that you believe are necessary to better meet their mission of enriching the lives of people with developmental disabilities through our four primary goals: home, health, meaningful relationships and activities in the community.

Please take a moment to fill out this survey.

Please share this information with friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Anyone without internet access can call 518-474-3625.

Appeal for Sinergia's Nurses

Dear Friends and Families of Sinergia:

Sinergia has served people with disabilities and their families for 36 years. Our initial educational advocacy services for children with disabilities evolved through the years into multi services that include residential and nursing services for persons with cognitive disabilities. We provide multiple services yearly to over 2000 underserved persons with disabilities and their families who come from some of the most distressed communities in New York City.

Over two years ago Sinergia moved to its present space located at the cross roads of East and Central Harlem. The challenging and complex needs of children and adults with disabilities have placed a great demand on our services at a time of deep fiscal cuts because of the difficult economic conditions. Nowhere has this been most evident than in the provision of our nursing services.

Our nurses provide comprehensive nursing care and coordination of medical services to individuals with intellectual and multiple disabilities, as well as provide staff training in medication administration, CPR, and First Aid to our staff.  We are expanding our nursing services to accommodate the increasing demand for services. The new Nursing Center will be on the 2nd floor of our existing main site which is located on the 3rd and 4th floor of 2082 Lexington Avenue. Therefore we are making this special appeal to you to help us equip our nursing center with furniture, shelving and equipment so that our nurses can enhance the provision of excellent, quality services to people with intellectual disabilities. In addition, the separate exam room will afford privacy and dignity to the people we serve.

Sinergia’s nurses are unsung heroes who are deeply committed to the individuals with disabilities whom they serve. They care for individuals who reside in our certified homes, some with complex medical issues and terminal illness, in addition to their intellectual disabilities. They oversee the coordination of medical care with numerous health providers for participants in our residential and Day Habilitation Programs, as well as develop an assessment of children in our Homeless shelter and those who attend our respite programs. Most recently they have joined the team that serves young mothers with cognitive disabilities and make homes visits to oversee nursing care for infants and babies in our Healthy Families project. Our heroes truly deserve a new nursing center.

This year we did not hold a special gala or event, so that all donations through this special appeal will be used exclusively to equip and furnish our nursing center.  We hope you will be generous and contribute to the best of your ability.  Any and all donations will be appreciated. 

Donors over $5,000 will have a plaque with their names prominently displayed in the Nursing Center. Sponsors/Donors contributing over $10,000 will have the option of naming the Nursing Center in their honor. Please send donations to:
Sinergia, Inc. 2082 Lexington Ave., 4th floor
New York, NY 10035

Please call or email me at cuadralash@sinergiany.org if you wish further information. Sinergia’s Board of Directors and Executive Director thank you for your interest and consideration of this appeal. Attached you will find a list of the items that your donations may purchase.

Sincerely,

Myrta Cuadra-Lash
Executive Director

Len Torres, Ed.D.
President, Board of Directors

CPR Re-certifications

Sinergia staff in action at the CPR Re-certifications. Re-certification is a mandatory requirement for all the staff that are directly involved in providing health care for all the consumers we serve. Sinergia sponsors the events and invites a member of the American Heart Association to teach the class. "Cardio Pulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR) saves lives and this is why all of the staff are trained to continue to provide efficient care for all of our consumers, not only in the Residential settings, but also in the different programs where we provide Direct Care Staff such as UpLiving, DayHab, Respite and Family Care," explains Asuncion Muyalde, Head Nurse at Sinergia.

Sinergia Appoints New Associate Director, and Other Staff News

Sinergia is pleased to announce that on August 20th Dr. Bernice Moro will assume the position of Assoc. Director of Sinergia. Dr. Moro is a committed educational administrator with extensive experience in the field of education for students with special needs. She worked for the NYC Department of Education for 32 years and at New York University, Hunter College and Touro College. She is an educator with a specialty in English Language learners and special education. She has held numerous positions as a Deputy Superintendent of Bronx School District 7, Deputy in the Impartial Hearing Office, Deputy Superintendent for Administration and Student Support, District and High school Placement Officer, among others. We are looking forward to Dr. Moro’s arrival, the knowledge she brings and the many contributions she will make to future programming at Sinergia.

Any Nunez has been a beloved and well respected member of Sinergia’s Fiscal Department for over ten years. She has now taken over the reins as the controller of Sinergia and those of us who value her competency, work ethic, loyalty and dedication are thrilled by this appointment. We welcome Raquel Martinez back to Sinergia who will ably assist her along with Felicia Gomez in fiscal operations. Our best wishes for success to Edwin Barreto our former controller.

Our Nursing team will move to expanded brand new quarters on the second floor sometime in September.  The nurses at Sinergia  are our unsung heroes and we hope you will respond to our special appeal to provide them with a new Nursing Center.

Sinergia's MPC Receives Award from OSEP

The Metropolitan Parent Center received a special award at the annual Office of Special Education (OSEP) Leadership conference that was held during July 30-August 1st in Washington, D.C. The award was for participating in the Voluntary Standards of Excellence for Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIC) and Community Parent and Resource Centers (CPRC.)  The six recipients of this award provided information on the standards in the areas of provision of services to families and management issues for non-profit organizations. In addition, each award recipient discussed how their Centers went about developing their standards and shared ideas and suggestions with the audience that can be used to help other Centers develop their own standards of excellence. The MPC was represented by its Co-Director, Cassandra Archie (above, center), who accepted the award and discussed the process the MPC used to develop their standards of excellence. The conference held an interactive discussion and also featured a question and answer session that focused on effective strategies that Centers can use to improve their work with children with disabilities and their families. Below: Sinergia Director Myrta Cuadra Lash (left) holds the award with Godfrey Rivera, Co-Director of the MPC.

Sinergia Boardmember Joins EICC

On April 18th Paola Jordan, a board member of Sinergia and the parent of twins, received official notification from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office that she had been appointed as member of the Statewide Early Intervention Coordinating Council (EICC), which is a committee of 27 members who represent families, providers and the New York State Department of Health. This committee assists the Department of Health in administering the Early Intervention program and makes recommendations to the Department on appropriate services for children with disabilities between the ages of 0 to 3 years and their families.

“As a representative of the families I am honored and proud to be in this group since my twins have benefited greatly from this program. During the nearly three and half years that my children received therapy services, I learned that the role of parents is crucial and this helps to make a difference in the results,” explains Paola. She is available to all families currently obtaining services from this program to receive and transmit messages to the EICC.