"You are doing the work of angels," said Tom Grodek, chair of the board of directors for Central Fairfax Services Inc., as he addressed the agency's staff. Central Fairfax Services (CFS) provides daytime care for disabled residents of Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington. The organization tends to the 2 or 3 percent of the disabled population with the lowest functional ability.
Assistant Executive Director Deb Bauer agreed with Grodek. "Yes, it's great to have a new building now, but it's really the staff that makes such a difference from day to day," she told the crowd gathered to celebrate the organization's anniversary Thursday morning, May 24. The private, nonprofit agency now cares for more than 200 clients in an office building on Commercial Drive in Springfield, but many of Thursday's speakers remembered when it started out in the basement of a small church nearby.
Several local politicians showed up for the occasion. State Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-34) said she just taken a tour of the facility and remarked, "I was so impressed with the services you offer." She presented a resolution from the Virginia House and Senate commending the agency.
Supervisors Penny Gross (D-Mason) and Sharon Bulova (D-Braddock) noted that the county's Board of Supervisors has authored a proclamation commending CFS for its work over the last three and a half decades. However, since the proclamation was in the care of Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-At-large), who was late in arriving, a "virtual proclamation" was presented, with Bulova miming its size and Gross assuring that it included "a lot of 'whereases.'"
When Connolly arrived, quipping that "somebody needs to do something about traffic," he presented the actual proclamation and told the agency's staff, "We are so proud of the efforts you've put into this." Connolly noted that CFS is one of the nation's most successful models of care for the severely disabled.
"The staff here goes far beyond professionalism," said Pat Bennett, as attendees helped themselves to a lunch buffet following the speeches. Bennett is a member of the organization's volunteer board of directors, and her daughter has been attending the program for about 17 years. Bennett's daughter, Ginny, just turned 40 but functions at the level of an infant, although her cognitive ability is considerably greater than her capacity to express herself, said Bennett. However, she said, "The program for Ginny is designed to meet her personal needs, so she can reach her own maximum potential."
She noted that medical services are also provided at the facility. For example, her daughter relies on a feeding tube, as well as a pump that administers muscle relaxant to treat her cerebral palsy. These must be tended to by the staff.
Cindy Drawdy, one of the agency's program managers, said Ginny Bennett has a job shredding paper, with assistance or with the use of an adaptive switch she can control with her head. Part of the center's program is to offer clients some payment for performing simple tasks.
Bennett's daughter also spends time stretching out on a water bed or playing with sensory equipment — objects that light up, vibrate or make noise — said Drawdy. "We use a lot of sensory activities because they're very limited in terms of what they can do," she said. Other activities include computer games, music therapy and social activities. "We try to make them have a meaningful day," said Drawdy.
"Now, you or I might have a hard time saying what makes a meaningful day for Ginny," said Bennett. She noted that although her daughter lives in the Northern Virginia Training Center, as do many CFS clients, coming to the facility during the day gives her a chance to interact with others and participate in a community. "Each individual is respected and given an opportunity to participate in their own lives," said Bennett. "To me, they perform miracles here." She also pointed out that the need for such services has grown, because only decades ago people like her daughter were not likely to survive birth.
Also in attendance were Royce and Alan Friedman, whose son attended the center until he died last year. They were visiting because the people were "like a family," said Royce Friedman. "Our gratitude is boundless." She noted that after the age of 22, when they can no longer attend the Kilmer Center through the public schools, few places existed where the profoundly handicapped can be part of a community. "This was a wonderful place for him," she said of her son.
Mike Bruggeman had arrived with extended family to visit his sister, Cathy, and to help present the Robert L. Bruggeman Lifetime Achievement award, named after his father. Although they were not founders of the agency, his parents were involved since its infancy, he said. His sister has been attending CFS for over 20 years. "It has been kind of a family project," he said.
He noted that the Northern Virginia Training Center offered "a great program, but around here, you get a wide variety of folks, and [staff] are able to emphasize what they can do and give them the skills that allow them to maximize their ability." Of the staff he added, "A lot of these folks could get higher-paying jobs, but they keep coming back here."
Michael Pawlukiewicz, Community Relations Committee chairman, said about 40 percent of the organization's funding comes from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, while about half comes from clients' Medicaid coverage. However, he said, if a client is out sick or if the center closes because of snow, Medicaid money is lost. "But you've got to pay the staff. So we're constantly on edge."
The remaining 10 percent of the budget comes from grants, the United Way and the community, said Pawlukiewicz, adding that he is still trying to find ways to make CFS more financially independent.