Pathways of Southwestern Pennsylvania: A New Beginning
By Sylvia Cavallo
for the Washington County
Chamber of Commerce
To the directors of the formerly
known United Cerebral Palsy
Foundation (UCP) of Southwestern
Pennsylvania, the saying
“change is good” is far more than
just a cliché.
When UCP officially changed its
name to Pathways of Southwestern
Pennsylvania on July 1, 2009,
Jill Ealy, Executive Director, said
the name change represents a rebirth
and a new beginning for an
organization that has been helping
reform lives for nearly 50 years.
Jill Ealy, Executive
Director of Pathways.
“We want to make it clear that
this name change has nothing to
do with any ill-feelings or anything
remotely negative in reference to
the national UCP organization,”
said Ealy. “This change just offers
us more independence and the
ability to utilize the dues that we
were paying to the national organization
for input back into the community.”
Dr. Brian Deyarmin, Chairman
of the Pathways Board of Directors,
said UCP’s new name, which
was created in part with the help
of senior business students from
W & J College, will also help
eliminate the stigma that only
persons with cerebral palsy seek
services through the organization.
“In actuality only a small percentage
of the children and adults
to whom we provide services, actually
have cerebral palsy,” said Deyarmin.
“It was important that we
created a name to serve the community
and give a better vision of
what we do…Every year this organization
has grown in one way
or another. We want to emphasize
that our commitment to that
growth hasn’t changed at all.”
Pathways of Southwestern
Pennsylvania services more than
1,000 adults, children and families
in Washington, Greene and
Fayette Counties each year.
It offers services for children, the
physically and intellectually disabled
and for adults who need either
daytime or 24-hour care.
Programs like early intervention
address issues for children from
birth to age three while facilities
like Rainbow’s End provides a
safe, wellsupervised
learning environment
for children
of all abilities.
The newest
addition to
the Pathways
family
is the addition
of a
b u i l d i n g
along North Avenue in Washington
which houses Your Child’s Place, a
facility for medically fragile children
where pediatric nurses provide
medical care and academic enrichment,
and Recreation Station,
a parent-supervised creative play
center for children with or without
disabilities.
Lisa and Michael Capozzoli attribute
the physical and mental
growth of their 1-year-old son,
Robert John, to the staff at Your
Child’s Place. Robert was born at
31 weeks gestation after suffering
from supraventricular tachycardia
(SVT) and Hydrops, a condition
that causes congestive heart failure
in newborns and fetuses.
“He nearly died more than once,”
said Michael Capozolli. The baby
spent such a huge portion of his
young life in the neonatal intensive
care unit that he was nicknamed
“Rocco” in honor of St. Rocco,
and as a representation of his
strength and tenacity.
When Rocco was about six
months old, Lisa and Michael began
sending him to Your Child’s
Place so that Lisa could return to
work and so that Rocco could receive
constant monitoring.
“We actually became more comfortable
knowing that Rocco was
there rather than with us because
we knew he was getting professional
care that we couldn’t give
him, and the constant monitoring
of his condition gave us peace of
mind,” said Michael. “Now to look
at Rocco you would never know
there was anything ever wrong
with him. He looks and acts like a
normal, everyday child and I have
UCP to thank for that.”
Currently five children are enrolled
at Your Child’s Place and the
facility has room for more.
Rainbow’s End offers this playground for children enrolled in the daycare
facility.
“We have a world-class organization
right here in Washington
County and most people don’t even
know it exists,” said Capozolli.
Ealy and Deyarmin said Pathways
of Southwestern Pennsylvania
is blessed with a staff of highly
dedicated individuals that help
to enhance the organization’s purpose.
“Our staff is dedicated to making sure
that our clients have the fullest lives possible.
They come to work with smiles on
their faces and truly have a genuine love
and compassion for our clients,” said Ealy.
“We are all working toward the same goal:
creating a pathway for bigger and better
things. When you come to Pathways you
are entering a new beginning.”
For more information about programs
and services offered by Pathways of
Southwestern Pennsylvania, visit
www.pathwaysswpa.org or call 724.
229.0851.