Our Story
On August 30, 1989, Angie and Bob Policastro’s daughter, Angela, was born. She had suffered severe brain damage during birth leaving her very medically frail, requiring nursing care. The daunting task of home care seemed overwhelming, especially without an agency available to coordinate the services needed to support Angela at home. There were no systems in place for supporting a child with such severe medical needs and children such as Angela were not only institutionalized due to lack of home based services, but also living in hospitals in New York and out of state as well. The lack of services locally put additional emotional and physical strains on the Policastro’s, as they would travel to Connecticut over two hours away to spend time with their daughter. Angela succumbed to her frail state and passed away shortly after her first birthday.
The Policastro's then began what came to be their lifelong commitment to helping medically frail individuals and their families. They began advocating and meeting with state and local officials and did everything in their power to bring awareness to this hidden population of children. During their advocacy they helped to create traumatic brain injury as a special category of diagnosis allowing funding which helped to pinpoint the needs of this population and the services needed to support them which had not been available before.
It was from these efforts that the Policastro’s created Angela’s House, a Long Island agency dedicated to helping families care for medically frail children. The first services that Angela’s House started were the home care supports which were the first of their kind on Long Island. It is most important, and has remained the mission of Angela’s House, to empower families with knowledge and to offer them support services in the home so that their children can live the most independent and safe life possible. In 1995 our advocacy helped us create New York State’s and Long Island’s first home for medically frail children.
For over 29 years, Angela’s House has helped families by providing waiver, respite, crisis, service coordination and home care services- such as advanced nursing and therapy. They manage the vast array of services and service providers that are necessary to keep the programs available and functioning for the families.
Angela’s House has grown to become Long Island’s leading agency for direction, advocacy and support for medically frail children on Long Island. They run several fundraisers yearly in order to provide medical equipment and other items to the family that are not covered under any insurance plan or by Medicaid.
Angie brings these experiences, and her work as a Registered Nurse, to the NHTD and TBI Medicaid Waiver Programs here on Long Island where the goals are the same in helping to empower individuals in living the most independent life possible.
“It is my belief that above all else, the emotional and caring support that one can give to another is the most important aspect of being entrusted with their care. Treating individuals with respect and caring is not only the right thing to do, but I see it as a responsibility that I have in my personal and professional life”.
