Amy Dominello's Email & Phone

Murdoch Center in Butner, North Carolina is an ICF/MR-certified facility and one of North Carolina's four Regional Centers operated by the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Murdoch provides comprehensive residential care for approximately 550 citizens from 18 counties in the state's Central Region. Murdoch is located 15 miles north of Durham, North Carolina, off Interstate 85, and 30 miles northwest of Raleigh near Route 50. Approximately 1,720 Murdoch Center employees provide 24-hour supports, which include activities, therapies, and habilitation for the people who live at the Center. The Center serves as the safety net for community programs by providing short-term, respite admissions when a program or family cannot manage the needs of the client. A team of professionals, along with the family and person residing at the Center, develops a comprehensive Person-Centered Plan, which outlines the specific needs and wishes of the person. Team members include representatives from Health Care, Nursing, Social Work, Speech and Hearing, Education, Recreation, Psychology, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. Staff representatives such as a physician, psychiatrist, dentist, dietician, pharmacist, or vocational instructor participate depending on the needs of the person who lives at the Center. Programs are designed to fit the individual's needs, and generally include education, self-help skills, speech and communication skills, fine and gross motor abilities, socialization, recreational and leisure activities, and vocational skills. To be eligible for admission to Murdoch Center a person must have a diagnosis of profound, severe or moderate mental retardation or a related developmental disability. All admissions are subject to space available in the appropriate cottage. No one is denied admission because of inability to pay. Murdoch also serves young adult males with developmental disability diagnoses and extreme behavior problems from the entire state in a specialized behavioral unit (BART), and provides statewide, specialized residential services to children who have Autism with accompanying severe behavioral challenges (PATH) and adolescents with developmental disabilities, mental health issues and behavioral challenges (STARS).