FCG month

July Family Caregiver of the Month!

We want to congratulate Rae Jean Lunn-Nix for being nominated as our July Family Caregiver of the month!!!

To meet Rae and her sister Diana and see the love they have for each other as sisters is an undeniable bond. Rae became her sister’s legal guardian after their mother passed. Rae was just 25 years old at the time and did not have any children of her own. It was a promise she made to her mother and has kept to this day. When you go into their home there are so many beautiful arts and crafts projects that Rae has done. She is so creative and talented. She is a strong voice and advocate for Diana as she is unable to verbally communicate for herself.  She is constantly looking at new ways to provide adequate support for Diana. Rae was looking into ways to monitor Diana’s health and safety while she is at day program and taught everyone about an Oura ring that monitors vitals through an app. Rae also published a book herself, and even painted the front cover.  She has lived through so much pain and tragedy and through it all is a warm compassionate person. This book is one that you just can’t put down!  Thank You so much Rae for loving your sister and providing the care you do; you truly are inspiring!!

If you’re interested in Rae’s book, which is a memoir about her life and caring for her sister Diana, please follow the link below.

My Family’s Story of Love and and Perseverance: A Memoir: Lunn-Nix, Rae Jean, Lunn-Nix, Rae Jean: 9798328438568: Amazon.com: Books

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Clinical Department News and Updates

This summer, our Clinical Department has welcomed four new interns to our team.  Lindsay and Gillian are our occupational therapy interns, who are working toward their doctoral degrees from Colorado State University.  They were able to work with many of our clients this summer. They brought fresh ideas and perspectives to their person-centered interventions while also utilizing their OT training. Gillian and Lindsay will be moving on to continue their degrees in the fall back at CSU.  We also have two counseling interns, Anne and Madison, who are earning their Master’s degrees at the University of Denver and they will be with us throughout the year. They have been able to jump right into applying the counseling skills they have learned in school. They both bring in their own personal counseling styles, infusing empirically backed interventions with new ideas and enthusiasm.

Our interns have helped us to expand our clinical services and offer fun and unique groups at places such as the aquarium, restaurants, and more! We are also planning to increase our clinical services with our interns taking the lead to facilitate even more opportunities for our clients. We are so excited that they have joined and helped our team. We can’t thank them enough!

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Quality Assurance News & Updates

Protecting yourself & other from heat-related illness

Colorado temperatures are heating up fast and it’s important to protect yourself and the person you support from heat-related illness.

Heat related illnesses are preventable, knowing the signs to look for and responding quickly can prevent a minor illness from becoming a medical emergency. Common heat related illnesses include; heat rash (a skin condition caused by blocked sweat ducts and trapped sweat beneath the skin), sunburn, heat exhaustion (a condition that happens when your body overheats) and the most serious of heat related illnesses heat stroke (occurs when the body can no longer control it’s temperature causing the body’s temperature to rise rapidly and become unable to cool down-requires immediate medical care). To learn more about these types of heat related illnesses, how to identify signs and symptoms and what to do. Follow the link to learn more- Symptoms of Heat-Related Illnesses | Extreme Heat | CDC

Tips to prevent heat related illness:

  1. Stay indoors, in a cool place during extreme heat.
  2. Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is the primary cause of heat exhaustion! High temperatures increase the risk of dehydration.
  3. Apply sunscreen every day. Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours throughout the day especially if you’ve been swimming or sweating
  4. Wear lightweight, light-colored and loose-fitting clothing.

Extreme Heat Infographic:

Extreme heat infographic 2023 interactive.pdf – Google Drive

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National Developmental Disability Professionals Day!

Happy National Developmental Disability Professionals Day! Observed on July 15 every year, this day is all about recognizing the work done by developmental disability professionals, who often go unnoticed despite providing an amazing public service. Big shoutout to all our staff, providers and families for the amazing services they provide. Read more about this day below.

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY PROFESSIONALS DAY – July 15, 2024 – National Today

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Residential Team News & Updates

Happy Summer to all from the Residential Team! We hope everyone is enjoying the longer days and warmer weather. If you’ve attended a Provider Town Hall this year you may have heard us talk about “pie funds”. What’s that, you ask? Let us explain.

Towards the end of the calendar year and the beginning of the new year we release surveys: for our providers, for our employees, and for the people receiving services. No matter who you are, we take your feedback seriously. When it came time to compile the data – a theme emerged. Employees, specifically Residential Program Coordinators (RPCs), wanted more autonomy to make connections with the people on their caseloads. Providers and those they care for wanted to be seen, heard, and supported.

Last fall, Senior RPC Raymond Delgado, was faced with the daunting task of the dreaded Unannounced Visit. Without asking, he famously purchased pie to bring along to soften the blow of the never timely and often disruptive Unannounced Visit. The story spread, and when it came time for us to put together an action plan to respond to the surveys – we knew just what to do. More pie!

The Residential Team implemented “pie funds” earlier this spring. Each RPC is allotted a small budget every couple of months. There aren’t a lot of rules, but the idea is to build deeper connections and recognize others. That might be in the form of a card, a coffee, lunch, flowers, or??? The possibilities are endless. It’s still early, but I’ve already heard touching stories. Stay tuned- you may be the next recipient of “pie”.

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Host Home Provider of the Month!

Please join us in congratulating the June Host Home Provider of the Month- Fanny Hutabarat!!!

It’s hard to know where to begin when describing Fanny. To know Fanny is to know grace and strength. Fanny is a woman of many talents, one being the unwavering ability to take care of her Person Receiving Services (PRS). She advocates at doctors’ appointments, maintains consistent communication, and keeps track of the many moving pieces. She has created a comfortable home, allowing her PRS to know he has a stable support system and is safe to be himself.

There was an instance where Support Inc. Residential Coordinator and Fanny had to have a difficult conversation with her PRS. Fanny fearlessly approached this situation with openness and respect. She has a superpower of putting people at ease and making difficult things not feel so daunting at all. Because of her, a sensitive conversation ended up having a positive impact.

Every day, Fanny brings out the best in the people around her. Thank you so much Fanny for all the lessons you teach and for being a phenomenal Host Home Provider 😊! Congratulations on being named the June Host Home Provider of the Month!