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Newsletter for
Mar/Apr 2007
Volume 4 - Issue 3 - Page 2 |
Day Services
Sarah Krom
Recycling
Recyclers have kept us very busy sorting material. Each spring as
businesses purge their files, we get amazing amounts of paper
in. Often folks have to sort thru 20 pounds or more to pull out
3 or 4 sheets of colored paper. This sorting process allows us
to maximize sales income as each type paper has a different
market value. When we are “over-loaded” with product we
occasionally do what I refer to as ‘dumping’, which is to market
everything as mixed paper, saving the costs associated with
sorting and accepting a bit less for our commodity.
Our Earth Day event with the Bt. County Hazardous Waste
collection at 1st Step went very well. The predictions for the
‘blizzard of 2007’ were wrong, however many folks let Dan know
that they changed plans to attend and visited us earlier in the
week. Our prize drawing winners were Edalea Keeler, Randy
Conrady, John Gruber, and Kyle Ratcliffe. We also gave out 20
T-Shirts this year. Dan and I spoke with a GREAT group of
kindergarten students at Jefferson School this year. We
challenged them to bring something back to school from their
‘trash’ and Dan collected 2 large bags of things that should be
recycled {the pressure is on for Mom and Dad!} and 2 youngsters
won t-shirts for their efforts. The BCCC Environmental Sciences
students took a tour of the processing plant and we received
great comments from them about what we do and all the folks
working.
Transportation
Sunflower participated
in the 1st KDOT local Transit Planning session April 10th.
Thirty community members from central Kansas met to look at ways
public transportation could be working harder at meeting the
needs of transit dependent citizens. There will be a plan
developed with some clear goals by June and we will work with
other providers in our area to help meet those goals.
Day Services
SPRING FEVER – everyone has been itching to take a break from
work in plant work lately. We have started our spring clean-up
processes and the lawn crew is back in full swing, just taking
care of agency property keeps them busy. Folks don’t have a 3
day weekend from the 1st of the year until Memorial Day {almost
a full 6 months} so this time a year everyone is ready for a
break and several staff and clients have taken some time off.
While time off rejuvenates us it also makes those left at work
‘carry the load’ - and this year we have been very busy in our
manufacturing plant. I want to thank everyone who has kept
lifting, sorting, assembling, sawing, nailing, wrapping, mowing,
baling, gathering, packaging, mailing, supervising, assisting,
teaching……the list could go on and on….you are making us the
successful organization that we are!
Manufacturing/Maintenance
Matt Schnoebelen
Maintenance
The store front at 1st step has a couple spots where the roof
has decided to give way to the water that sits on top of it. The
old tar roof is cracked in numerous places and needs to be
repaired. The North East side of the building where all the old
monitors are stored is slightly flooded and can’t be repaired
until the roof is fixed. We are currently getting quotes on the
roof and hope to have it restored very soon.
We are in the process of finding a new Maintenance person, we
have received a few promising applications and will soon be
scheduling interviews. The position is still up in the air so if
you know somebody that would be a good for the job please let us
know. So far, besides 1st step’s roof we have been lucky in that
nothing else major has occurred while we are without a
maintenance person.
Manufacturing
We have added another
new contract this month. We are currently seeking new business
from interested customers. If you or someone you know has a
product that needs some touching up we are perfect for those
types of jobs. Feel free to call me for info on what we can do
for you or to give me information on other possible jobs. I am
preparing to go out and tour some of our customer’s facilities
so I can get to know them and better understand how we can help
them. I am willing to meet with anyone who feels Sunflower
Diversified Services may be a good fit for your company, so call
me at 620-792-1321 to set up an appointment.
Medical Services
Sharon Henderson, RN
Medical Services promotes wellness of body, mind and spirit with
education and positive supports. Medical Services staff includes:
Sharon Henderson, RN; Candra Deschner, Support Staff; and Diane
Ramos, Restorative Aide.
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We have been busy this month completing the medical paper work and
health assessments for the people who are going to Cerebral Palsy
camp this summer. We have about 18 campers going this summer. CP
camp requires very detailed medical information because their staff
and volunteers are the ones who provide all necessary supports
during camp.
There is new information in the last few years that indicates that
people with Downs Syndrome are more likely to show signs of dementia
and Alzheimer's disease.
One of the reasons given is that people with Downs Syndrome are
living much longer than they use to. Many are living sixty years
plus.
The onset of dementia starts at an earlier age with statistics
indicating that 40% will start to show these signs in their forties
which is the percentage for others when in their eighties. Signs
such as confusion, changes in sleep patterns, forgetfulness, loss of
appetite or simply forgetting to eat are typical early signs.
Inability to consistently recognize familiar objects and personality
changes such as irritability, poor temper control, anxiety,
depression and great frustration are also common.
When we recognize these changes, we schedule an appointment with a
neurologist for testing. They do many labs tests, an MRI of the
brain and an EEG (which checks the electrical activity of the brain)
We now have three people in our services that are taking a
medication called Aricept which helps control some of the symptoms.
It does not cure, but it slows the progression of the dementia or
Alzheimer's disease and we have seen some very positive results.
Residential Services
Shelly Shelton
Congratulations are in order for Cindy Crawford, one of our
Triage team. In March a beautiful baby girl was born to her. As
excited as we all are for her, she was really missed and we are glad
to see her back. The same week that Cindy had the baby, Cynthia had
just left for a week’s vacation in North Dakota. As usual, Brenda
jumped to the rescue and handled her job as residential manager and
also did both Triage shifts for the week. What a team player and
dedicated person Brenda is. When Cynthia returned from her vacation,
she passed on the news that she and her husband will be moving to
North Dakota the first of June. I understand wanting to move back to
where her family is, but it is hard to accept. We will soon begin
our search to fill the big void in our team.
One of our individuals, Randy Myers, has been talking for some time
about a trip. Randy is one of those folks that does not spend money
unnecessarily. By not spending extra money, Randy had to funds to
take a weekend trip. Through several visits with Randy, he
determined that he wanted to stay in a motel with an indoor swimming
pool. Jenni Welsch, our community access specialist, helped do the
research and assisted with the booking of the motel. Reservations
were made for Randy and a staff of his choice at The Grand Prairie
View Hotel in Hutchinson, Kansas. Along with the inside water park,
other areas of interest in Hutchinson were discussed. A shopping
spree was on the agenda as Randy loves KU and KC Chiefs apparel.
Randy chose Yvonne West as the staff to accompany him. She accepted
and seemed as excited about the opportunity as Randy was. When the
day of the trip arrived, they drove to Hutchinson, checked into the
motel and then went to eat. Randy wanted a meal with a salad, and
then it was off to shop. While shopping, Randy added a new fishing
pole to his list. After the shopping spree ended, it was back to the
motel and off to the arcade room. Yvonne had seen where the monster
trucks were having a show in Salina and when she mentioned it to
Randy, it was “let’s go”. Yvonne called to make sure it was okay to
travel to Salina from Hutch and then off they went. Yvonne had
expected that once they got there Randy would become bored with the
performance part way through. Boy, was she wrong. Randy really
enjoyed and got into the big trucks and stayed for the whole show.
They arrived back to their motel at 1:00 am. The following morning
Randy swam in the water park and then they headed home. On Monday
morning, Randy was full of stories and smiling from ear to ear. This
is a trip that he will remember for a long time.
After the extremely late blasts of winter folks are ready to get
outside and enjoy the outdoors. Fishing, baseball games, picnics and
walks are some of the things that they are looking forward to.
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