The 7th annual “Gift of Age” Cabaret was held on Friday, September 12, 2014 to benefit the Eldercare Foundation, a division of VNA Homecare. Funds raised by the Foundation support the important work of Home Aides of Central New York, a not-for-profit agency affiliated with VNA Homecare that has been serving the aging members of our community since 1966.
More than 125 guests from the local community enjoyed entertainment by Delfeayo Marsalis, a member of the most celebrated and internationally-renowned jazz families of the past quarter century. Additionally, Senator John A. DeFrancisco, Francis House and the late Honorable Stewart F. Hancock, Jr. were honored for their support and commitment to the mission of the Eldercare Foundation.
“Those honored at the Cabaret have been advocates for our aging population and have shown true dedication to the work done by Home Aides of Central New York,” said M. Kate Rolf, president and chief executive officer. “They, along with our generous sponsors, advertisers and contributors, allow our agency to serve the aging, ill and frail members of our community.”
2014 Accomplished Professional Award
Senator John A. DeFrancisco
Senator John A. DeFrancisco was first elected to the New York State Senate in 1992 and, in his 22 years of service, he has proven to be a tireless legislative advocate for the elderly and infirm.
The Senator was an ardent sponsor of the bill that created the Missing Vulnerable Adults Alert system (alternatively known as the Silver or Gold Alert system). Signed into law in 2011, it created a statewide public alert system for cognitively impaired adults who wander from home or go missing. For the past 10 consecutive years, the Senator has also sponsored an annual Senior Fair, inviting Central New York senior citizens to browse informational displays from local exhibitors. He is a regular supporter of local senior centers and programs, including the Home Aides of Central New York Respite Program, which he has supported for more than 20 years.
Senator DeFrancisco’s contributions to local organizations are numerous. Most notably, he served two terms as President of the Central New York Leukemia Society and was a member of the organization’s National Board of Trustees. He was also a Charter Member of the Board of Trustees and first President of the Central New York Combined Health Appeal.
Senator DeFrancisco currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where he has been instrumental in delivering four fiscally responsible, on-time state budgets. He is also a long time member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A lifetime resident of Syracuse, Senator DeFrancisco attended Christian Brothers Academy and graduated from Syracuse University’s College of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1968. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Duke University in 1971 and was admitted to practice law in New York State in 1972. The Senator was an associate with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City before serving as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force from 1972 to 1975. He was then appointed Assistant District Attorney for Onondaga County, a position he held until 1977. From 1978-1990, he served as an Adjunct Professor at the Syracuse University College of Law.
Prior to his time in the State Senate, Senator DeFrancisco served 15 years in local government. He was a member of the Syracuse City School Board of Education for four years and held the position of President. He then served 11 years on the Syracuse Common Council, the last three years of which he was Council President.
Senator DeFrancisco is counsel to the DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Law Firm in Syracuse. He and his wife, Linda, have three grown children and eight grandchildren.
2014 Corporate Champion Award
Francis House
In 1989, Sr. Kathleen Osbelt, OSF approached the leadership of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities with her idea for a home where persons with terminal illnesses could live out their final days with dignity and experience unconditional acceptance, respect and compassion. Taking great interest in the proposal, the Sisters provided a circa-1900 two-family home at 108 Michaels Avenue and, just two years later, Francis House opened its doors to its first two residents with a family of caregivers that included three sisters of St. Francis and 56 volunteers.
In 1998, as the need for services continued to grow, a single-story addition was added, increasing the number of resident bedrooms to eight and providing a spacious kitchen, great room and chapel. In 2003, the organization expanded yet again with the construction of a second eight-bedroom home adjacent to the first. Today, with a home that can accommodate 16 residents, Francis House employs 14 full and part-time caregivers and more than 500 volunteers who serve as the extended family for each resident, providing care 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Through a partnership with Hospice of Central New York, Home Aides of Central New York provides a team of specially trained home health aides who help care for Francis House’s terminally ill residents.
Francis House accepts referrals for admission from hospitals, home care agencies, physicians and family, and may have up to 25 active referrals at any given time. Referred individuals must have a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live, as determined by a physician. Each applicant must also be enrolled or enroll on admission to Francis House with a licensed hospice or certified home care agency. When a bedroom becomes available, it is offered to the applicant deemed most in need of Francis House’s care. The average length of residence is approximately 22 days.
Francis House operates under the auspices of the Onondaga County Department of Social Services with the designation of “Community Care Shelter for the Terminally Ill.” It is the only home of its kind in the Greater Syracuse area. As a private home, Francis House is not eligible to receive direct third-party reimbursement such as Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. Instead, the organization relies on private donations and fundraising activities to continue their mission.
Since first opening their doors 23 years ago, Francis House has provided a home and family to more than 2,300 terminally ill individuals, providing the compassionate, respectful care that allowed them to live out their final days with dignity.
2014 Lifetime Achievement Award in Memory of
The Honorable Stewart F. Hancock Jr.
Before his passing, The Honorable Stewart F. Hancock, Jr. wrote a letter to his 13 grandchildren, drawing on his years of experience and hard-won wisdom to offer his advice for life. “I hope you’ll be able to say that, in some way, you gave back to society and made it better,” he wrote. As a man who dedicated his life and career to bettering his community and the lives of the “common man,” he was more than qualified to offer such sage advice. Indeed, his lifelong commitment to his community paved the way for several members of his extended family, whose outstanding contributions make it clear that his legacy rests in the best of hands.
Judge Hancock graduated from Deerfield Academy and attended Wesleyan University. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he was a veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict. He received his law degree from Cornell Law School in 1950 and was a member of the Onondaga County and New York State Bar Associations.
Judge Hancock’s long and distinguished law career began in 1952, when he joined Hancock Estabrook, LLP, the Syracuse law firm founded by his grandfather, Theodore E. Hancock. In 1962, he was appointed to serve as the first full-time Corporation Counsel for the City of Syracuse, a position he left at the end of 1963 to become the Onondaga County Republican Party Chairman. In 1966, he was the GOP nominee for the 33rd District of Congress, losing to incumbent Democrat James M. Hanley. Shortly thereafter, in 1971, he was appointed to fill a vacancy as Justice of the Supreme Court in Onondaga County. In 1977, Governor Hugh Carey appointed Judge Hancock to the Appellate Division, 4th Department, where he served until his appointment to the New York State Court of Appeals by Governor Mario Cuomo in 1986.
After retiring from the Court of Appeals in 1993, Judge Hancock returned to private practice at Hancock Estabrook, LLP and Goris & O’Sullivan, primarily in appellate work and arbitration. He also took on several pro bono criminal defense appellate matters, including assignments from Hiscock Legal Aid Society of Syracuse, where he was a Director and volunteer throughout his career. Judge Hancock taught as a Distinguished Visiting Professor and Jurist in Residence at the Syracuse University College of Law and served as the first Oneida Nation Court Chief Justice.
Despite his demanding career, Judge Hancock’s life was by no means “all work and no play.” An avid sailor, golfer, skier and tennis player, he remained active well into his nineties. His love of the law, quick wit, vital energy and sense of humor live on in his family, including wife Ruth Pass Hancock, six children and 13 grandchildren, as well as the thousands of people he touched throughout the course of his career.
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