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Newsletter for
May/June 2007
Volume 4 - Issue 4 - Page 1 |
General Operations
Ladeska (Decky) Makings, Chief
Operations Officer
We’re very excited to have a new color copier so it is now
possible to inexpensively include color photos in our newsletter
and ‘dress up’ many of our mailings. Our staff work hard to
provide opportunities for participation in a wide variety of
area events so we always have volumes of pictures that will be
great to share with all of you. The difficulty will be in
deciding which to include!
Our annual audits are completed for another year. Things went
very well with compliments to our fiscal staff for their hard
work and cheerful responses to requests for reports, and
information, and dates, and copies, and…
Sunflower participated in the Great Bend Job Fair on May 3rd.
The unemployment rate here is very low and the labor pool small
so many area businesses are dealing with difficulties in finding
employees. Sunflower had a booth showcasing our services and
employee benefits with opportunities to ask for additional,
specific information and fill out an ‘indication of interest’
application to be provided to our managers and coordinators for
consideration. Thanks to our Personnel Services Coordinator,
Rhonda Fisher, for her hard work in making the event a success
for our agency. Finding adequate numbers of qualified staff has
become of increasing concern for DD provider agencies
state-wide. We have been and will continue to participate in
local, area and state meetings designed to develop creative
methods to attract, train, and retain quality employees.
The state has issued waiting list funds and we will soon be
working with several new individuals in our residential and day
services. It’s always gratifying to see these folks come into
services after having to wait for such long periods of time but
there are so many more who continue to wait. Remember to take
every opportunity possible to remind our state government that
disability services are still under funded and that all Kansans
with disabilities should have access to necessary supports.
Before the end of school, tours of the recycling operation were
provided to classes from Lincoln School and the Environmental
Studies students from BCCC. There was also a presentation given
for thirty Jefferson School kindergartners. We typically see new
customers as a result of these events- children teaching their
parents environmental responsibilities!
I recently signed the new Great Bend Recreation contract for day
services. This continues to be a beneficial arrangement for the
people we serve and facilitates a variety of educational and
community access opportunities.
Another successful Texas Hold’em tournament was held on June
10th. If you have never been, please join us for the next event
on August 12th. Many people drive long distances to play and
obviously enjoy themselves because they keep coming back! If you
have any questions about the event or participation please call
Connie Oetken at 792-1325 extension 111.
We are pleased to welcome Gary Youngman as our newest addition
to the Case Management team. He comes to us from Nebraska with
great qualifications and experience, arriving just in time to
experience the implementation of the new state requirements for
targeted case management documentation and billing. Glennda and
the case management staff have been planning and preparing for
the changes which become effective July 1st.
By the time
this newsletter arrives you should have
received your invitation to the annual
Sunflower Diversified Services
Appreciation Dinner.
Your support has made it possible for Sunflower to
continue assisting people with disabilities in living more
independent, productive lives in communities,
workplaces, and homes of their choice. We hope you
and your family will allow us to show our appreciation
by joining us on July 13th for a great dinner at Vet’s
Park and for two hours of fun at the Water Park. Dinner
is served from 5-7:00. Pick up your Water Park passes
at dinner and then frolic in the water from 7-9:00.
Hope to see you all there!
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UP-COMING HAPPENINGS |
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June 27 |
Aktion Club Meeting |
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June 29 |
Venture Crew Meeting |
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June 29 |
Indian Center at Abilene |
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July 13 |
Venture Crew Meeting |
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July 13 |
Annual Appreciation Picnic with fun at
the Wetlands Water Park |
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July 14 |
Advocacy groups camp out at Kanopolis
Lake |
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July 25 |
TUFF Meeting |
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July 30 |
Aktion Club Meeting |
Day Services
Sarah Krom
Transportation
Sunflower’s successful partnership with KDOT’s Office of Public
Transportation allowed us to retire 2 vehicles as new units arrived
in May. This year we were able to donate the retired vehicles to a
community in true need – Greensburg. Pictures truly don’t let you
‘feel’ the devastation that occurred in May due to the tornado.
Folks who went on the trips to deliver the donated vehicles all came
back unable to truly express what they saw and felt, and these trips
were weeks after clean-up began. Both the Great Plains Regional
Hospital and the Kiowa County Senior Center have stated they will
never forget our generous efforts to provide a type of aide not
often thought about, helping people get where they need to go!
Transportation allows all of us the freedom to ‘DO’! DO the
shopping, DO the recreation and social things, DO the medical
things, just DO.
Day Services
Staff and clients who work
at the plant and recycling facilities enjoyed a spring picnic at the
Park on May 25th. This year’s picnic was planned to be a ½ day event
and the committee {Barb, Leslie, Cathy, Angie R.} put together an
event that included a presentation by zoo personnel that everyone
enjoyed. Not to be outdone the CHS staff and clients had their
annual summer BBQ on June 13th. This year the event was re-staged
from the park to CHS due to forecasted rain, an additional day at
the park is being scheduled soon
With summers heat more inside activities are being planned and Penny
is always interested in any suggestions folks might have. Lawn crews
have been busy trying to dodge the rainy weather and keep up with
grass growth and weed control. Work opportunities remain steady and
we have had 2 more folks join the ranks of individuals seeking to
work and earn a paycheck, maximizing their opportunities for
independence.
Recycling
Material volumes remain
steady and we are still looking for an employee to boost the bale
capacity of our crew and the flow of materials to our buyer while
prices remain good. Recycled goods are a commodity which prices
fluctuate often. Making the most out of our materials is one of the
ways we can keep this service available to the citizenry. Matt and I
recently sought some support from the local governing bodies for our
service and are waiting to here if those funding requests will be
granted.
Balancing the work options available for clients and the
efficiencies of processing we implement a strategy called Job
Carving. The task is divided into steps and each step is matched
with a client whose capabilities most suit the process required.
For example: A mixed box of items needs sorted. The process might be
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Worker 1: Material Handler gets the box to the client’s work station
Worker 2: Pulls out all non-paper products and sorts by types
Worker 3: Can identify magazines and newspapers but not the types of
office paper so they pull those items.
Worker 4: Sorts the remaining office paper by color/type.
Worker 1: Materials Handler returning items to correct containers.
Job Carving allows for each client to maximize their earnings by
allowing them to do tasks they can be the most productive at. Staff
in the processing facility are experts at helping folks identify
their personal work strengths and providing them opportunities to
use them.
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