Delaware

Del State and Milford Wellness Village partner to offer GWAP

Published

2 years ago

July 29, 2024

Del State and Milford Wellness Village partner to offer GWAP

Officials sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Milford Wellness Village and Delaware State University to create a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program

On Friday, July 26, officials from Milford Wellness Village and Delaware State University signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner with a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWAP). The program is designed to provide multiple degree offerings in programs designed to aid the older population in Delaware.

I welcome everyone here today to Milford Wellness Village. This is the home of, right now, of 22 healthcare and wellness providers that is moving and growing, delivering services to all ages and the creation of over 650 new jobs,” Meir Gelley, President of Education, Health and Research International Inc., the parent company of Milford Wellness Village, said. “We are gathered here this morning for the launching of this new GWEP, Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program initiative with Del State University, partnering with EHRI, otherwise, Education, Health Research International.”

Gelley explained that this project had been in the planning stages for almost four years, almost since EHRI took over the former Milford Memorial Hospital campus on Clarke Avenue in Milford. Rabbi Y. Halberstam, Director of Public Affairs, explained that this was a goal of the organization from the beginning.

“Today is a historic day for southern Delaware. As Mr. Gelley mentioned, today is the culmination of a dream that began in 2019 when the old Bayhealth hospital was reimagined as the Milford Wellness Village to fill an education gap in southern Delaware, EHRI has been looking for the perfect education partner and today, thanks to the vision of Dr Tony Allen and Dr. Gwen Scott-Jones and the wonderful leadership at Del State, we have found our educational partner Delaware State, University,” Rabbi Halberstam said. “This program will greatly enhance the educational landscape of southern Delaware, The program will focus on geriatric workforce training at Milford Wellness Village”

According to Rabbi Halberstam, Delaware State University will provide both senior-focused training as well as clinical rotations at Milford Wellness Village service providers.

“As the saying goes, it takes a village. In our case, we like to say it takes a village to create the Milford Wellness Village,” Rabbi Halberstam said. “To that end, EHRI has received support from many elected officials across the first state, and while it would be impossible to mention all, I would like to highlight Senator Tom Carper, who was instrumental in advocating for this federal grant, as he has done for many previous EHR I initiatives.”

Dr. Tony Allen, President of Delaware State University, stated that Senator Carper was instrumental in Milford Wellness Village and the university in receiving a $5 million federal grant to create the program.

“What could be called divine providence, in 2021, Bill Strickland, who was chairing the Wesley College board then, and his father, who was, I think, the Founding Chair of the old Milford Hospital, said to me, “you need to come see the wellness village.” And I brought my Provost there and talked to Meir and the rabbi. And all of us were saying this partnership must work out. Meir, in particular, focusing on how this must work out. And I said, “Do we have any resources that we can attend to this?” Both parties said, “No, but we will figure it out.” And we stopped the conversation for about a year and a half, actually. And then we acquired Wesley College. And when we acquired Wesley College, we set up the Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. Just to give you a sense, in Wesley’s last year, they had about 600 faculty, staff and students. Today, the Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences has about 2,500.”

Dr. Gwen Scott-Jones, the founding dean of the college, was given the task of making the program at Milford Wellness Village a reality.

“And I can tell you that if you put a person like Gwen Scott-Jones with a person like Meir, some things are going to happen. And I am proud to say that things have happened for us here. It’s a special, unique opportunity for Delaware State, because this is the first time we will have significant presence in Sussex County. And we believe that we are the most diverse, substantive, contemporary proudly HBCU in the country, and that means that we can be all over the state, not just Delaware,State University, but Delaware state’s university,” Dr. Allen said. “So, this gives us unique opportunity from a couple of perspectives. You’ve already heard about our clinical opportunities. I was just telling a reporter our students want more opportunities earlier in their matriculation process, and that’s what they deserve. And oftentimes there are simple barriers that you might not imagine, like transportation. Through this grant, we figured that out. We created more substantive, political, experiential opportunities than we ever had before just through this program, and we’re building capacity for the future with a population that we should care about.”

Dr. Allen introduced Senator Tom Carper, calling him a friend and one of Del State’s biggest benefactors.

“I recall my first visit to the campus of Delaware State College. I had just gotten out of the Navy after serving in the Vietnam War, serving three tours over there. I came to Delaware right at the end of the war and got an MBA at the University of Delaware,” Senator Carper said, joking that he was waitlisted at Del State. “After I graduated, I said, where am I going to go to work? And I thought about moving to other places I’ve been. I was born in West Virginia, grow up in Virginia, went Ohio State, but I said, I think I want to stay here in Delaware. And I when I had been here in Delaware, out of graduate school for like a month, I ended up being the treasurer and fundraiser for the congressional campaign.”

Senator Carper recalled being pitted against Pete duPont, one of the “wealthiest men on the planet,” and going to see a young man by the name of Joe Biden who was then only in his early 30s.

“I was 29 years old and nobody wanted to run for state treasurer, so, I said if nobody wants to run, I will run. We had no money, I literally, I took every dime saved in my name and bought every billboard where I could be seen. I gave up my job at the Division of Economic Development, which was in a building on the Delaware State campus. I can remember after having been on the campus of the University of Delaware, they had everything, beautiful, gorgeous campus, well-funded, and Delaware State had so little and I said, this is not right. Later on we had the opportunity to transform that campus.”

Senator Carper recalled how he walked through Milford during his campaign for treasurer and handing out flyers to employees as they came to work at Milford Memorial Hospital. When he learned about the new campus being constructed outside of Milford, he worried about what would happen with the old hospital.

“A lot of times when this happens, the building is left empty and collaspses, it is a terrible thing. And then guess who comes along? Meir Gelley, an amazing man with a vision and the key to getting things done. That is something I have learned that the key to getting things done doesn’t matter who gets credit for stuff, as long as you can work together and share the credit and, frankly, share the challenges,” Senator Carper said. “One of the reasons why we kind of punch above our weight in Delaware, in terms of federal money, getting money for folks in Kent and Sussex is Lisa [Blunt Rochester] and Chris [Coons] and I are a team. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit. We share the credit for Delaware. “

Pointing out that he is 77 years old and still does 100 pushups every morning, Senator Carper explained that workforce development programs designed to help people his age were critical.

“We need workforce training for those who work with people my age and the age of Joe Biden to make sure that we have the ability to continue to be not just functional, but able to make contribution in different roles. And it’s, it’s a team effort, and part of that team is Del State, and part of that, that that team is going to get better and more effective, helping a lot more folks, older folks like Joe, like me to help us to be relevant and happy and able to continue to contribute to society,” Senator Carper said. “To be honest, $5 million in the whole scheme of things in Washington DC doesn’t sound like a lot when you’re looking at the federal budget, but here in Delaware and Milford, it’s a lot.”

Dr. Scott-Jones thanked the senator for his support and explained that the awarding of the $5 million grant was quite an undertaking stating that the application had to be submitted just three weeks from when they began working on it.

“I’d like to take this time to thank the Milford Wellness Village for having the foresight to partner with us at Delaware State University. Additionally, I would like to thank all parties involved for providing support in writing and the submission of the grant, my team often would say to me “you’re taking some blood from us. You’re taking some blood from us.” I think Rabbi, I think we really got to get to know each other on a regular basis, working six, seven o’clock at night. I will say that as leaders, we actually showed our team this is what it’s all about. He will call me. I will call him,” Dr. Scott-Jones said. “I said, we’ll get it to you. We actually did some writing ourselves. We changed some documentation. We pulled up our sleeves to get this done. So, thank you. We had approximately three weeks to define a plan of how we would implement a geriatric work enhancement program that would educate and train the healthcare, supportive care workforces, how to care for older adults with dementia or other health related disorders through an inner professional and community collaboration approach that wasn’t easy to think or design. But we did it.”

Dr. Scott Jones explained that others in the industry questioned how she could complete and successfully receive a $5 million grant in just three weeks.

“I said, we stayed on it from the time we started, weekends, nights. I think I called Tracy Harp all way up 12 o’clock at night asking questions about nursing, what to put in the documentation. When the staff had to stop, me and Rabbi started writing. So we did a great job this partnership with the Milford Wellness Village, Education, Health and Resource International as well as Delaware State University are creating a stronger footprint in Sussex County,” Dr. Scott-Jones said. “This will allow our students an opportunity to have excellent clinical experiences and training opportunities. Delaware State University’s Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Science will have allocated space here at the Milford Wellness Village that will allow us to provide a clinical simulation experience and professional development opportunities for our students and other healthcare providers who will be participating in the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. Delaware State University and Education Health Resource international will be collaborating to develop a certificate program that will focus on age friendly and dementia friendly care. That’s extremely important. It’s extremely important that we train individuals how to take care of individuals while they’re in their golden years. To this end, I’m very excited about this partnership to see the geriatric workforce enhancement program as a cutting edge program, and so that we can take this approach to learn how to care for our older adults here in this great state of Delaware, and also to continue our research and how we can try to eradicate dementia.”

After the presentation, officials signed the MOU establishing the Geriatric Workplace Enhancement Program at Milford Wellness Village.

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Delaware

Delaware eyes $25.3 million infusion to affordable child care. But to what end?

Published

5 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Delaware eyes .3 million infusion to affordable child care. But to what end?

Delaware is debating a $25.3 million investment into its state-subsidized child care program, known as Purchase of Care.
A potential federal rule change could require the state to pay providers based on enrollment rather than attendance, costing an estimated $25 million.
If the federal rule is dropped, officials propose using the funds to expand child care eligibility to more lower-income families.

Delaware child care has been a fixture of this budget season.

Gov. Matt Meyer pitched some $50 million toward early education in his proposed budget for next fiscal year. It included an $11.3 million federal grant to bolster systems, $8 million to pilot statewide hubs – and the largest piece in $25.3 million to boost Purchase of Care, or state-subsidized child care.

That line item proved a major talking point during a public health budget hearing in Legislative Hall on Monday, March 2, while connecting to broader visions for early childhood reform.

As it turns out, Delaware’s subsidized child care program in particular was already due to shoulder federal requirement changes dating back to the Biden administration. And those changes, effective April 1, could cost the state about $25 million to keep up.

That morning, lawmakers were briefed by the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services for more than three hours, before well over 50 public comments stretched late into the afternoon. Topics ranged from at-home care and centers supporting Delawareans with disabilities, to the ongoing strain of child care.

New Health Secretary Christen Linke Young said the Trump administration might drop these coming changes to pay providers based on child enrollment, before they’re effective.

And for Delaware, she would agree with that call.

Boosting Delaware child care, one way or the other

Purchase of Care is one program helping lower-income Delaware families – or those making below 200% of the federal poverty level, as of yet – afford care at various child care outfits across the state. Delaware pays those providers directly, around the end of the month, based on how many days these children attended.

Federal requirements could force states to change that.

Delaware would have to pay providers at the top of the month, based on their overall student enrollment, regardless of attendance. Young told lawmakers that would cost around $25 million each year, if requirements are not rescinded by the Trump administration.

It would mean more money for providers, she said, though also harsher policy needed around attendance expectations.

“If the federal government does change the rules, we need that full amount to shift to enrollment,” she said, addressing the Joint Finance Committee dais. “If not, our intention is to use it for increased eligibility.”

In other words, the administration hopes to invest about $25 million into this bucket either way. However, the health secretary said paying based on enrollment isn’t her recommendation.

Young told lawmakers the administration would rather see that amount infused into the program to expand eligibility to 250% of the federal poverty level. So, picture a family of three making roughly $80,000 would make the cut. No changes were proposed to co-payments or special education tiers.

This was met with mixed reviews.

“I’m sure some folks are going to have something to say about that,” cautioned Sen. Trey Paradee, committee chair.

For her part, Jamie Schneider was already editing her remarks in real time.

“Comments today suggested providers want to keep attendance-based payments instead of moving to enrollment-based payments,” said the interim executive director for Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children, representing some 900 early care providers. “That is inaccurate and I hope it’s a misunderstanding.”

Schneider welcomed the enrollment model, with “clear rules” to hold both providers and parents responsible. She and a handful of other speakers still also reinforced the necessity in bolstering the Purchase of Care program, from accessibility to reimbursement rates.

Some lawmakers hesitated on shifting away from enrollment boon for providers, while others pushed for attention on the benefits cliff. Meanwhile, child care became an economic discussion.

Is Delaware child care everyone’s business?

Some lawmakers did not care for this price tag, either way.

“So, there’s $25 million that will be saved because of this non-change, and you’re going to expand the program?” Sen. Dave Lawson posed to Young, while expressing concern for taxpayer dollars.

The secretary quickly turned to economic impact.

“Child care is expensive,” she said, in a portion of her remarks. “It is keeping people out of the workforce. It is posing an enormous burden on families and keeping them from making choices that they want to make, to participate in the economy, or to drive change.”

The Rodel Foundation released survey data in fall 2025 that would buttress these claims. The nonprofit is focused on public education and policy, with early childhood education as one pillar. At a glance:

About 92% of Delaware employers surveyed said child care challenges are hurting their employees, while some 76% reported such problems directly impact their business operations.
About 1 in 4 caregivers said they considered leaving Delaware because of child care challenges.
1 in 3 employers cited productivity declines, lost hours or services and staff turnover.
2 in 3 have seen their employees miss work, reduce hours or report absences at least monthly.
For parents, 1 in 3 reported turning down a job or promotion, cut hours or left work to meet child care demands.

“The cliff is real for me,” Sen. Eric Buckson said. “It disincentivizes individuals to climb out, and I’ve seen it work against folks.”

Purchase of Care’s “graduated phase out” level – often referred to as the “benefits cliff,” when eligibility runs up – would remain at 300%, according to DHSS budget documents and hearing remarks. It was unclear Monday if it would be solidified in more years to come.

There is a long runway ahead.

Untangling a bigger picture for Delaware child care

Sometimes Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay describes the state of Delaware’s early childhood education system as the backside of an average desk. Tangled wires trace down the wall, with various colors and knots headed toward different outlets.

She’s been tapped to help straighten it up.

Named chair to the Interagency Resource Management Committee last year, Gay has overseen several Delaware departments as they centralize on early education. Those are state departments like Health and Social Services, Education, Services for Children, Youth and their Families and more.

The cross-agency group – with cabinet secretaries, agency leadership, lawmakers and the Delaware Early Childhood Council – landed a $11.3 million preschool development grant. Gay sees this next year ahead as setting the stage.

“That will go to projects in each of the agencies, as well as projects in my office,” the lieutenant governor said.

“And truly, with that money, we are building that investable system so that we can have information, including data about how to better serve Delawareans. We’re going to be building local infrastructure so that we can make sure that providers, educators, parents, have resources at their local levels.”

The former state senator and longtime advocate on child care issues sees a north star of early education as a universal, public good.

“But that’s an incredibly large project,” she said. “And it’s a big change from how we traditionally think about birth through 5.”

From exploring finance models to connecting public and private partners, this could be one step in that direction.

DDOE’s Office of Child Care Licensing has also been working to digitize electronic record systems to elevate the office’s public database, while tracking compliance and investigating complaints across Delaware’s licensed providers. A combined $2.4 million was pledged to make it happen, in the last two years, and it’s highly anticipated, Gay said.

The “Delaware Early Childhood Care & Education Alliance,” or likely hubs to the north and south, may also land an $8 million infusion to work across area providers and assist the state in expanding child care access, as outlined in the governor’s proposed budget.

A budget hearing on public education should bring more on that, Tuesday, March 3.

Got another education tip? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@usatodayco.com.

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Delaware

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Published

17 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Karl Baker
| Spotlight Delaware

This story was produced by Spotlight Delaware as part of a partnership with Delaware Online/The News Journal. For more about Spotlight Delaware, visit www.spotlightdelaware.org.

A Delaware law passed last year in the wake of escalating assaults on the state’s corporate brand shielded powerful company leaders from facing certain lawsuits brought by smaller investors.

What it didn’t do was violate the Delaware Constitution, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday, Feb. 27.

More than three months after hearing arguments, the justices ruled that the corporate law reform – known as Senate Bill 21 – did not strip Delaware’s prominent Court of Chancery of its constitutional authority to decide when a business deal is fair.

“The General Assembly’s enactment of SB 21 falls within the ‘broad and ample sweep’ of its legislative power,” the justices stated.

The ruling ends a bruising fight in Delaware over when the state’s business court should allow small-time investors to interrogate insider deals struck within companies by founders or other business leaders.

The ruling also averts what could have been an embarrassment for the state’s legal and political establishment had the high court overturned the law.

More than a year ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the world’s richest person — was calling on business leaders to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware. Musk had launched the campaign, which became known as “DExit,” after a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled that he could not accept a multibillion-dollar pay package from Tesla.

Just as the campaign appeared to be gaining a foothold, Gov. Matt Meyer, legislative leaders, and Delaware attorneys who represent corporations threw their collective heft behind SB 21.

They argued then that the legislation amounted to a “course correction” that would bring the state’s business courts back into alignment with rulings from a decade ago. Many also said the bill was needed to pacify executives who were considering following Musk’s calls to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware.

In response, a cadre of critics — which included national law professors, pension fund attorneys, and a handful of progressives within the Delaware legislature — derided SB 21 as a “billionaires bill.”

Some also argued that the legislation was the latest in a string of recent changes to Delaware corporate law that have shifted the state away from protecting shareholder rights and toward giving greater deference to powerful executives.

Meyer and others SB 21 supporters rejected those characterizations last year. And on Friday, he celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In a statement, he said the decision affirms that “Delaware is the gold standard locale for global companies to do business.” He also stated that the number of companies that maintain their legal home in Delaware had increased throughout 2025 despite the DExit campaign.

“In short, SB 21 is working, and I’m glad it will continue to be the law,” Meyer said.

The legal arguments for SB 21

When arguing against SB 21 in front of the Supreme Court last fall, one attorney asserted that the new law removed the Chancery Court’s time-honored and constitutional duty to say what is fair – or equitable – in a business dispute.

The attorney, Gregory Varallo, argued that by removing a shareholders’ ability to sue their company, the law reduced what he described as the immutable power of the Court of Chancery to oversee a “complete system of equity.”

During his arguments, Varallo also offered the justices an unusual acknowledgement, stating that he knew that his stance was unpopular — and that he understood “well the pressures on this court.”

The comments were a likely reference to the consensus of big business groups and the state’s political establishment that believed SB 21 was necessary for Delaware to remain the world’s preeminent corporate domicile.

Following Varallo, Washington, D.C.-based attorney Jonathan C. Bond defended SB 21, in part, by characterizing his opponents arguments as unprecedented. If adopted, he said they would imperil several existing Delaware laws that go back decades.

He also argued that changing the rules of corporate law – as SB 21 did – “is the same as wiping out jurisdiction merely because it makes some plaintiff’s claims harder.”

Also arguing in favor of SB 21 during the hearing was William Savitt, an attorney with the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz – among the most prominent corporate law firms in the country.

Last spring, Meyer hired Savitt’s firm to represent the state in the legal defense of SB 21 for a budget rate of $100,000. By comparison, Wachtell Lipton charged Twitter $90 million in 2022 to ferry that company through its arduous, four-month-long acquisition by Elon Musk.

Wachtell’s client list also includes Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives and board members, who last summer settled a seven-year-long, multibillion-dollar shareholder lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court.

During his arguments on SB 21, Savitt said equity as determined by judges must follow the statutes created by the legislature, and “not displace the law.”

“No natural reading of the words (of the Delaware Constitution) support plaintiff’s position,” he said.

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Delaware

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

State police identified 29-year-old Brian Silva of New Castle as the victim of a fatal motorcycle crash in Wilmington.

Silva was riding a Harley-Davidson northbound on Dupont Highway approaching Millside Drive in Wilmington around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 when it collided with the rear of a stopped Lexus at that intersection, police said. Silva was ejected from the motorcycle. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Delaware State Police are still investigating this incident, and anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to them or to Delaware Crime Stoppers.

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