Henderson transferring land for teaching clinic, vocational training center

By Jeremy Twitchell (contact)

Thursday, June 18, 2009 | 3:32 p.m.

The city of Henderson is moving forward with the transfer of five undeveloped acres near Nevada State College to the Lili Claire Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists children with neurogenetic conditions such as Down Syndrome and autism.

The Henderson City Council unanimously approved a resolution June 9 to proceed with the transaction and set a sale price of $292.63 — the cost the city paid to acquire the land, as mandated by its charter. Final approval of the sale is scheduled for July 21.

In 1970, Henderson paid the Bureau of Land Management $449.40 for 8.2 acres; the sale price to Lili Claire is a pro-rated portion of the original purchase price for the part of the land that Lili Claire is purchasing.

The Lili Claire Foundation plans to build a vocational training center for people with neurogenetic conditions and a teaching clinic for Nevada State nursing students on the site. The training center will have classrooms that can be set up to mimic various work environments, a foundation spokeswoman said.

“The idea is to help (students) realize their dreams, to find a way for them to work their way into the world so they can feel that their dreams have been fulfilled,” said Dana Collinson, national executive director for the Lili Claire Foundation.

The foundation already has a presence in the valley with a research clinic it operates on Twain Avenue near Paradise Road.

The clinic on the Henderson site will be a teaching clinic to train nursing students from Nevada State in the care of individuals with neurogenetic conditions.

“Obviously, the more people have exposure to these individuals, the more they can develop an understanding of how amazing they are and what abilities and talents they have,” Collinson said.

Henderson city spokeswoman Kathy Blaha said the site, next to the future Nathan Adelson Hospice and Adult Day Care Center, is ideal for such a project.

The facility, once completed, will contribute to the city’s goal of creating a health care campus alongside Nevada State and will provide the community with ample care and learning opportunities, she said.

“It’s next to Nevada State, so it will provide the opportunity to train students and teachers. It will have a classroom component to teach those who have neurogenetic conditions and, of course, will have a world-class clinic,” Blaha said.

The foundation was founded by Keith and Leslie Resnick in honor of their daughter, Lili Claire, who was diagnosed with a neurogenetic condition known as Williams Syndrome and died in 1997 during surgery to repair a heart defect common to the condition. She was 5 months old.

Collinson said the Resnicks try to develop the foundation in a way that keeps pace with where their daughter would be in her life.

The Henderson facility, she said, will have the kinds of educational opportunities that Lili Claire Resnick would have been able to use as she entered her teenage years.

“(Keith Resnick) would have wanted for her to have had this opportunity,” Collinson said.

Collinson said the foundation is involved in ongoing fundraising efforts, and does not have a projected timeline for the building’s construction. The terms of the deal give the foundation six years from the date of the sale to begin construction.

“We want to thank Mayor James B. Gibson, the City Council and all of the city staff for their support of this project and our vision,” she said.