Sterling’s new Cornerstone Special Care facility builds on Exceptional Care legacy

After nearly five decades of serving individuals with developmental disabilities, Cornerstone Special Care has opened a new 45,000-square-foot, long-term care facility in Sterling, designed for residents with developmental and medically complex needs.

Cornerstone, formerly known as the Exceptional Care & Training Center, celebrated the milestone Tuesday, Aug. 12, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 815 W. 23rd St. The event featured remarks from HutsonWood President and CEO Doug Smith, Executive Director Melissa Francque, and Board Chair Jim Ridenour, along with tours showcasing the state-of-the-art campus designed to enhance residents’ quality of life.

“This campus represents more than new walls and fresh paint; it represents progress. A bold step forward in how we serve individuals with developmental disabilities,” Smith said. “The beautiful, purpose-built community will provide our residents with more room to grow, more opportunities to thrive and more of what we want to call a place that is home.”

Chief Marketing Officer Hoppy Sell said the building sits on 25 acres and can accommodate 84 residents, with two per room. Its four halls are decorated with photos of residents and staff alongside artwork created by the residents.

The facility also features a lounge for visitors, a conference room, classrooms, special sensory environments for therapeutic activities and advanced care features, such as ceiling lifts that eliminate the need for manual transfers, designed to enhance both safety and quality of life.

“What we provide for our residents is a very calming space with a lot of light...This is to help keep them from being in an agitated state,” Sell said of the sensory spaces, noting that caregivers use these areas for therapeutic activities, including occupational therapy and educational classes, and allows residents to learn, play and relax in a supportive environment.

He said the new facility represents an investment of more than $25 million to provide a modern home for Cornerstone’s residents, who will begin transitioning from their current home on Woodlawn Road in early September. Its design reflects a focus on both comfort and functionality, giving staff the tools they need to provide individualized care while helping residents feel at home.

“We try to do creative arts programs with them, which can consist of music, different art, cooking, smells, tastes. We try to stimulate all of their senses,” Case Manager Deb Busc said. “It’s real fun, and we try to keep them as active as possible.”

Smith noted that while Cornerstone has been part of the Sterling community since 1979, the former Exceptional Care center did not come under the ownership and operation of the Tennessee-based nonprofit HutsonWood until 1988.

“About the year 2020, Doug Smith came to me and asked, ‘If you could wave a magic wand and build a new building, what would you put in it? What would you take with you, and what would you change,’” Francque recalled. “I had a long list, and almost everything on that list has come to fruition.”

Francque said Cornerstone operates under a unique medically complex (MCD) license, one of only nine in Illinois. Its residents come from across the state, with some having been with the organization for 40 years.