After a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, the Southeast Missouri Alliance for Disability has officially moved into its new facility on Rusmar Street in Cape Girardeau.

"We're thrilled" about moving into the new building, said Joyce Dooley, director of accounting for SADI. Miki Gudermuth, executive director for SADI, was unavailable for comment Friday.

Dooley said she believed being in the new building would allow the organization to be more efficient. She said the old building had become too small. Many employees had to share offices in cramped spaces in the old building on South Broadview Street, and they had to reschedule shifts to avoid crowding one another. On average, three or four employees shared an office, Dooley said; one office housed six employees. Many employees also did not have access to telephones or computers because of the lack of office space.

The old building, which SADI rented, was roughly 5,500 square feet; the new building, which SADI built and owns, is 10,000 square feet. SADI does not have any medical facilities in its building, but it does act as an operations base for nurses who prepare medicine for disabled residents who live at home.

Dooley said the organization had been hoping for a new, larger building for the last four years. It was not until about two years ago that the construction project got underway and the "dream" came to be, Dooley said.

The organization is already looking to expand its new building, Dooley said. She said the new building is already filled to capacity, since employees were cramped in the old building. Dooley said SADI hoped to build a wing onto the building in the next two to three years. Last year SADI made a down payment on another 2.3 acres next to the new building for future expansion.

tthomas@semissourian.com

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com The SADI office has a training room set up for CPR instruction, learning how to make beds and a variety of other skills.

335-6611, extension 197

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