Have any questions that you haven't found answered in our pages? Please check through the list below for answers to our most commonly asked questions. If you have a question that is not addressed here, please give us a call at 201.653.8300 ext 2161.
Question Categories:
About Our History
About Us
About Our Medical Care
About Admissions
About Your Rights
About Our Events
About Our History
Q: Who is Margaret Anna Cusack?
A: Margaret Anna Cusack founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. In 1891, she and her order established St. Joseph's Home for the Blind, a ministry devoted to providing housing and spiritual guidance to the blind, as well as teaching them practical skills that enabled them to build satisfying and independent lives.
Beyond her dedication to this often-ignored community, Margaret Anna Cussack was an internationally best-selling author whose writings shook
the foundations of power within the Government and the Church of her time.
A radical thinker who dared to assert that all people were equal and deserving of respect, she was also a philanthropist who raised money for many humanitarian causes.
This leader and woman of distinction served as the inspiration for our new state-of-the-art care facility.
Margaret Anna Cusack's words still echo in our minds: "We are all equal, man or woman, rich or poor, young or old, blind or sighted."
Q: Are you also a "Home for the Blind"?
A: Cusack Care Center was founded as "St. Joseph's Home for the Blind" in 1891 on the site of our current facility. This home cared for blind men, women and children regardless of their ability to pay. The Sisters believed that all people benefit from the self esteem that comes from feeling useful and self-sufficient. Their pioneering efforts in identifying valuable work that the blind can perform led them to Boston's Perkins Institute (where they learned broom and mattress making, caning and embroidery) and to the prison in Trenton (where they learned mat-making and hemp weaving.) The population grew, requiring additions in 1900 and 1915. By the early 1970's the Sisters realized that the special needs of the Home's aging family required them to make a difficult decision: either they had to "break up the family" by transferring the residents to nursing homes... or somehow keep their family intact by learning to take care of their own. Looking to the fearless example of Margaret Anna, they set out to obtain the skills and personnel needed to become a licensed nursing care facility. The home thrived as word spread that the heritage of providing love, dignity and respect was now available to all. They quickly grew to become one of the top non-profit facilities in the state.
Q: What is your relationship to the "School for the Blind?"
A: Due to the high number of children in their care, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded a separate School for the Blind in the late 1920s. This independent organization has now evolved to not only care for blind and partially sighted children but those with other disabilities as well. Find out more about them at www.sjsb.net.
About Us
Q: When was the Cusack Care Center established?
A: The Cusack Care Center was founded as "St. Joseph's Home for the Blind" in 1891 working out of 4 simple frame houses located on our current site on Pavonia Avenue. Just after the new millenium, in order to acknowledge the evolution of our mission and the legacy of our founder, we changed our name to "The Margaret Anna Cusack Care Center at the Historic St. Joseph's Home for the Blind."
Q: How many beds are there?
A: Our new state-of-the-art facility accommodates 139 residents.
Q: How many staff people are there?
A: Currently, we have over 150 full and part-time staff, with the majority of these being dedicated to providing medical care.
About Our Medical Care
Q: What does "Skilled Nursing" mean?
A: The term "Skilled Nursing" is a technical term, which indicates that we deliver a specific level of medical care, which includes IV therapy and a full range of other medical services. On the continuum of care, we provide more advanced support than an "Assisted Living" environment, but not as complex services as those rendered by a "Subacute Care" facility.
Q: How many doctors do you have on staff?
A: We currently have 22 physicians on our admitting staff - with another 20 medical specialists on call.
Q: Can I keep my current doctor if I am admitted?
A: Your doctor is welcome to join us. If their schedule allows them to accommodate your move to our facility, then we will gladly start the process to add them to our admitting staff.
About Admissions
Q: How much does it cost?
A: For more than a century, we have been providing love, dignity and respect for all of those in our care, regardless of their ability to pay. The costs of care are usually covered either by your insurance company or through Medicare (which offers short-term support) and Medicaid (which provides long-term support). In all cases, your social security and pension checks are signed over to the Care Center as a form of payment. For more information, please contact our Admissions Coordinator at 201.653.8300 ext. 2163.
Q: What is the admissions process?
A: We highly recommend that you start by coming by for a personal visit. This gives you the chance to tour our facility and sit down with our Admissions Coordinator to review your unique needs. While the process requires specific medical and financial steps be completed - we are here to guide you every step of the way. Contact our Admissions Counselor at 201.653.8300, ext. 2163 to get started.
About Your Rights
Q: What is HIPPA and how does it protect my privacy?
A: HIPPA stands for "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996". This act was designed to safeguard all aspects of your healthcare information. Its protections cover everything from how we store your information to how we can disseminate it.
Q: What are my rights as a resident?
A: Your rights as a resident are guaranteed by law. An official copy of your Statement of Rights is included in your admission materials.
Some of the areas it addresses include your right to:
• Safe and clean living conditions
• Participate to the fullest extent possible
in your own care planning
• Manage your own finances or to have
that responsibility given to a designated
guardian, such as a family member or
friend
• Privacy - whether alone in your room or
during a visit from your family and friends
• Participate in activities both in and out of
the Care Center
• Retain and exercise constitutional, civil
and legal rights to which you are entitled
by law
• Maintain religious practices
• Prepare advanced directives for health care
If you have any questions about your rights, please contact our Social Services department at 201.653.8300 ext. 2162.
About Our Events
Q: What is Grandparent's Day?
A: Every September, our family and friends gather to celebrate the generations that have come before us ... and how they have enriched our lives. Sitting down at a gourmet brunch held in a beautiful restaurant overlooking the Statue of Liberty, we celebrate each other and our "grandparents of the year."
For more information about this event, please call our Development Officer 201.653.8300 ext. 2161
Q: What is the Blessing Tree Ceremony?
A: The end of the year always finds us "Counting Our Blessings" - gratefully acknowledging those who touched our lives throughout the year. Since one of our biggest blessings is our family of residents and employees, we open up this celebration to them and their loved ones. Colorful stars are placed on our large blessing tree each year - which graces our lobby through the holiday season. For more information about this event, please call our Development Officer at 201.653.8300 ext. 2161
Q: What is the Garden Party?
A: Our Peace Garden is a beautiful oasis within our historic city setting. Every spring, our residents and their loved ones come together to celebrate the season's renewal with an afternoon of fun and family. For more information about this year's event, please call our Development Officer 201.653.8300 ext. 2161
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