Elgin’s Marklund Wasmond Center, a residential facility and school for people with developmental disabilities in Elgin, has completed a $17.4 million expansion and renovation project.
“There are only nine facilities like this in Illinois, including ours in Elgin, which is the most-modern in the state,” Marklund President and CEO Gil Fonger said.
The Wasmond Center at 1435 Summit St. now has state-of-the-art equipment to help provide specialized, 24-hour care to adults and children combined with modern living and visiting areas, Fonger said.
Marklund raised $4 million for the project and took out loans to fund the rest of the cost. The 20,000-square-foot addition took about 18 months to complete, according to a news release.
“We are very proud to have developed this incredible facility on this location to continue to expand upon its history within the Elgin area while we continue to meet our mission, our promise, to make everyday life possible for individuals with profound disabilities,” Fonger said.
Most of the people the nonprofit serves are nonambulatory and nonverbal, he said. According to the Marklund website, they include people who “have severe cognitive deficits due to genetic disorders or complications during pregnancy and delivery. Others acquired disabilities during infancy or childhood through tragic accidents. Many have complex medical problems that require 24-hour skilled nursing care.”
The Elgin expansion added 24 new beds, bringing the total to 85. All are now 24/7 vent capable, allowing for improved overnight care, Fonger said.
As of Sept. 30, there were 79 residents at the Wasmond Center. It’s expected to be at capacity by the end of October and a waiting list will be started.
Nineteen of Wasmond’s residents moved over from the now-closed Marklund residential facility in Bloomingdale, Fonger said. Marklund still maintains a day school in that town.
The nonprofit also operates the Marklund Hyde Center in Geneva, a 250-acre campus with six, 16-bed homes and seven classrooms, according to the Marklund website. In Elgin, Marklund also operates Nathan Education Center at 1210 Hunter Drive.
Elgin’s Wasmond Center has a day school that, with the expansion, added a third classroom. It currently serves 30 children from various school districts, Fonger said.
The center also increased the number of new or renovated community day services classrooms to seven, according to a news release, and renovated a community day services multipurpose room.
With the expansion, the Wasmond Center now employs a staff of 120, 20 of whom used to work in Bloomingdale, Fonger said. Most are nurses and direct support professionals in addition to a chief medical officer, therapists, management and administrative employees.
Other new amenities include an expanded parking lot with 131 spaces, therapy pool, recreation room, two additional nurses stations, more restrooms, two private living rooms for parents and guardians to visit with their loved ones, and two courtyards, including one with a sensory garden.
The Wasmond Center was previously known as the Little Angels Center for Exceptional Care, founded in 1958 by nurse Pat Wasmond. In November 2016, Little Angels merged with Marklund, which was founded in 1954 and named for its first resident, Mark William Lund.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
