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Leeway Mission Statement
Leeway, an integral part of the continuum of AIDS care, is committed to being a center of excellence in providing inpatient rehabilitative and palliative care and creating new community treatment options so that those with AIDS can live as independently as possible. This expert care is respectfully provided with compassion and without regard to race, national origin, age, religion, handicap, gender or sexual orientation with a focus on the integration of body, mind, and spirit. We are committed to promoting quality of life and dignity to all those with HIV/AIDS.
About Leeway
In the 1980s, the late Catherine Kennedy saw that there were precious few services for people with HIV/AIDS in Connecticut. Catherine – who had moved to New Haven from England with her husband, Yale Historian Paul Kennedy – was troubled by this, as AIDS was becoming the leading cause of death for young adults in New Haven. So, she set out on a multi-year struggle to change the situation. She succeeded in establishing Leeway as a pioneering AIDS medical facility, and the struggle became the topic of a Harvard Business School nonprofit case study.
Leeway accepted its first patient in 1995, and is Connecticut's only free-standing nursing home dedicated solely to the care of people living with HIV/AIDS. A 40-bed, sub-acute medical facility, we have provided compassionate, state-of-the-art treatment for more than 600 people, 16 years of age or older, who require 24-hour nursing care. With a staff which includes practical and registered nurses (two of whom are masters prepared nurse practitioners) and certified nursing assistants, Leeway offers a high standard of care, geared toward the particular needs of each resident, many of whom have daunting co-morbidities. Leeway's physicians offer 32 hours of on-site care weekly, and include an infectious disease specialist, an AIDS specialist and a psychiatrist. Care is short- and long-term, transitional and terminal, as well as palliative. It includes IV therapy, physical, occupational and speech therapies, wound care, CAPD, whirlpool sessions, and exemplary diagnosis and treatment.
In addition to 24-hour traditional medical care, Leeway offers complementary treatment, such as massage, reflexology and reiki. Staff includes a social worker, case manager, podiatrist, dietician, recreational therapist, chaplain as well as substance abuse and life skills counselors. Weekly Narcotics Anonymous meetings and Relapse Prevention groups are held onsite. Leeway works closely with local drug treatment agencies so that residents with substance abuse challenges may receive continuing drug treatment, including methadone maintenance, while at Leeway.
Also, in support of Leeway's mission to promote quality of life and dignity for each resident with a focus on the integration of body, mind and spirit, Leeway has established a holistic wellness program. The Wellness Team, which consists of representatives from each of Leeway's service areas, including nursing, physical therapy, housekeeping, recreation and nutrition, as well as life skills, substance abuse and mental health counseling, work together with residents to develop individualized wellness plans. These plans address topics important to each resident, and include discharge, end-of-life, nutrition, drug tolerance and spiritual issues.
In September 2000, we obtained an outpatient license to continue to serve those Leeway alumni who lack established relationships with other medical institutions in the region.
The year 2000 was also notable for the publication of the findings of the 1999 long-term AIDS care conference, "A Unity of Care," which Leeway sponsored jointly with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Medical Center. The entire June 2000 issue of the "Journal of Urban Health," the official Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, is devoted to the findings of the conference, and is edited by our Medical Director, Dr. Peter A. Selwyn.
Referrals to Leeway are accepted from hospitals, outpatient clinics, home-care agencies and private individuals. All admissions must be recommended by a physician. The daily cost of care is covered through reimbursement from Medicaid, Medicare, insurers or private payments from patients themselves.
Other vital financial support comes from individual donors, foundations, corporations, and through several special events. For more information on supporting Leeway, visit How You Can Help.
And we could not do all this without our wonderful volunteers. There are many ways to join Leeway in its important work, so feel free to contact Sylvia Sanders, Community Volunteer Coordinator at: 203-865-0068.
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Newsletter for more about what's happening here at Leeway.
See what the press is saying about Leeway!
Hartford Courant |
August 17, 2008
New Haven Register |
August 18,
2008
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