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Newsletter for
October 2005
Volume 2 - Issue 10 - Page 2 |
Advocacy/Training
Amanda Urban
We are waiting to get our charter back from the Kiwanis group for our Aktion Club. After the charter comes back, the Aktion Club will start having monthly meetings and more activities. We have attended a few meetings with the local Kiwanis Club and have had great support with getting this club rolling. The first function the Aktion club will be assisting with is the
Halloween parade.
The Venture Crew has been busy and will stay busy through October. They have decided to put together a coup thong that represents all the activities participated in. Some folks already have 4-5 community service beads. This coup thong has a yellow bead for each community service project, blue beads for over night stays, large white bead for camping activities and red beads for day trips. In the month of October the
Venture Crew will help with Scouting for Food by helping sort the food as it is brought into the food bank.
The TUFF group is looking forward to the SACK (Self-Advocate Coalition of Kansas) conference that is right around the corner. We will stay 2 nights in Wichita and attend different conferences such as self-advocacy, rights and responsibilities, and protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation. This will be an informative trip and I am looking forward to this group’s
participation in this awesome experience.
September 24th the Venture Crew and Tuff group participated in the Buddy Walk held at Brit Spaugh Park. The Buddy Walk was hosted by the Upside of Down Syndrome group to raise public awareness about Down’s syndrome. There were many activities to en-joy.
On September 19, Thomas and I attended a training to better understand benefits (SSI and SSDI) and
employment. It was very informative and our trainer, Michael Walling, was very good at presenting the
information so the average person could understand.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has helped along the way!!! A special thank you to Tammy Romine, her two daughters and niece for helping build the float for the Labor Day Parade.
Community Employment
Thomas Birdeno
My first day as Community Employment Manager was August 25th. Amanda Urban covered the position until it was filled. Amanda and I attended an employment services conference in Kearney, NE on August 30th and September 1st. Rob Hoffman, from the University of Missouri, instructed the class of thirteen attendees. The two-day seminar taught us the value of community employment. Among the many useful items presented was the utilization of personal networks for the
facilitation of successful employment and how to support the client in directing their own career development. The whole experience was enlightening and the seven-hour drive there and back was surprisingly soothing.
I have had a lot of fun getting to know some clients that I have never met before. Currently, we have ten
individuals employed and ten individuals seeking employment. My goal is to strengthen ties with current
employers and to seek out new employers in the community who recognize the value of employing people with disabilities – not as a charity case but because our
clients are valuable resources to the workforce. Local employers have an opportunity to tap into the
tremendous talent demonstrated by the people we serve.
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, CNA, Support Staff; and Diane Ramos, Restorative Aide.
It's that time of year! October 18 at 10:15 am, flu vaccinations will be administered at our CHS facility and at 11:15 am at the plant site. You should have received a form to be signed by the guardian. Please return the form and a copy of the medical card for October so the vaccination can be given. These need to be returned by October7th.
As of this date, there has been no vaccine shortage reported. It was about this time last year that we were informed of a shortage, we hope that does not happen this year.
The Barton County Health Department has come to our facility to administer the vaccination for several years. The staff and nurses have enjoyed our clients. We appreciate the time and effort on their part.
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Residential Supports
Shelly Shelton
With the first day of autumn here and summer behind us, I look back at all that has been done throughout the summer. The residential staff and the day services staff that have helped us out deserve a big pat on the back. Even through periods of being short staffed, ex-isting staff made sure that the extraordinary things got to happen for the folks that we work for. Folks got to take day trips to go visit family and friends, many at-tended the holiday festivities in the community or had their own with neighbors and friends. Quite a few folks and staff made plans and attended the big Labor Day festivities and parade held in Hoisington. Several staff got together with the folks in the sites where they work and planned a trip to the state fair. After talking to both the staff and individuals, I still can’t determine who had the most fun. Some folks had birthdays and wanted to have a celebration at their home. Staff made this pos-sible. There were BBQ’s, paddleboats at Vet’s Lake, attending softball games and many other events that took place. A big thanks to staff that made this hap-pen.
We have had two individuals that have been in the day services program come into the residential program. I am looking forward to being able to work for them. It is always a challenge to match the right person to work at sites, but when you do find the right match, everyone reaps the benefit.
Our mornings are getting cooler and this gets us thinking about good old man winter. With the forecast of much higher heating bills, staff and the folks that they work for will be looking at ways to make their homes more energy efficient. Doors need to be kept closed, not just the storm door. When it is extremely cold and windy out, keep curtains closed. Set the thermostat a
few degrees cooler and wear warmer clothes or dress in layers. When it was predicted a year ago, $3.00 a gallon gas, very few of us believed that it would happen. Guess what, it did. Maybe with everyone thinking about higher heating bills and trying to be as energy efficient as can be, we can maintain our heating bills.
In September there was not a residential meeting held. Seemed like
with the holiday and other things happening there were too many conflicts. We will get back on schedule in October.
Staff of the month this time is Laura Jeffrey. Laura has been working for Sunflower on a part time basis for a while, then decided to give up her full time job and come to work for us full time. Laura has been picking up a lot of extra shifts for us and has picked up quite a few at a site that is of high intensity. Also Laura works overnights at a site where meals are prepared for those who are on special diets. She has accepted this challenge and been doing a wonderful job. Our hats go off to Laura. Thanks.
Safety News
Harold Jones
Just in case you’re wondering, all those fire and tornado drills we have actually paid off during August’s storm (you know, the tornado that wasn’t a tornado.) All residential sites performed admirably; all vans
diverted to CHS to the designated shelters at that location; ATC staff still in the Airport facility took shelter in the basement. Basically, everyone – both individuals and staff – handled themselves extremely well, and everything happened just like it was supposed to. Good job, everyone!
There are some recommendations made by the Safety Committee based on our experiences during that storm, and we’ll be making some minor changes and additions to our routine and supplies as a result.
Also of note: Fire Sprinkler Systems will be installed in both Eisenhower and Churchill in the near future, as well as some additional sprinkler lines which will be installed in the manufacturing building. Work at the two homes will be done mostly while those buildings are vacant during the day…. But there will undoubtedly be some times when we have folks at home while the crews are working on the installations. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience, and we’ll try to make sure there are as few interruptions as possible when people are in residence.
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