Innovations and the Imagine! Leadership Development Group for 2018-19

Our first company value here at Imagine! is that "our workforce is our number one asset."  That means we do our best to support our employees, and give them opportunities to learn and grow.  Each year, several exceptional employees are selected to be a part of the Imagine! Leadership Development Group.  The purpose of this group is to help develop the knowledge and skills of up-and-coming leaders here at Imagine!.  This year, one of the participants selected is Innovations Group Home Site Supervisor Paula McCormick!

If you see Paula around, please congratulate her on this prestigious honor!

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Click here to read CEO Mark Emery's post on this year's Leadership Development Group.

You can also watch the short video below to learn more about Imagine!’s Leadership Development Group.

Super Hero of the Month for August, 2018

Each month, Innovations presents the “Super Hero of the Month” award to the employee or provider who has best demonstrated excellence in one or more of our Innovations Quality Standards:

• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
• Effective and Efficient
• Respect and Dignity
• Opportunities
• Integrity
• Care

This month, the award was presented to Kent Vogel, who is a Primary Residential Counselor at the Foothills Group Home.

Kent was nominated by his supervisor, who wrote:

Kent is passionate about his work with the residents at Foothill,s and has outstanding work ethic. He works so efficiently that he often picks up extra tasks to help out his coworkers. A shift with Kent always seems to run smoothly. While the Residential Assistant Site Supervisor and the Site Supervisor were both on vacation, Kent stepped up and helped complete additional responsibilities to help the house. He made the weekly menus and ordered the groceries, which really helped the house and other staff. Kent always has a friendly attitude while at work, and enjoys helping the team strive. His presence is much appreciated by both the staff and residents.

If you see Kent around, please congratulate him on being our Super Hero of the Month!

Imagine! Customer Service Award Winner!

Each month, Imagine! presents the Excellence in Customer Service award to an employee who embodies one or more of Imagine!'s Customer Service Values:

1. We provide a culture of support that relies on respect, open and timely communication, and integrity.
2. We achieve results through continual improvement and creativity.
3. We actively engage in and promote community.

This month, the award was presented to Chelsea O'Day, who is the Residential Assistant Site Supervisor at our Foothills Group Home.

Chelsea's nomination included the following praise:

Chelsea has developed genuine friendships with the residents at Imagine!’s Foothills Group Home. When she walks through the door, it brightens their day. Chelsea has been practicing a Johnny Cash song with one of the residents for a long time. She helped him learn the lyrics and then brought in her personal recording equipment to record him singing. She provided background music with her ukulele. Check it out below.

Congratulations on this honor, Chelsea! We're lucky to have you here at Imagine! Innovations. 😊

Super Hero of the Month for July!

Each month, Innovations presents the “Super Hero of the Month” award to the employee or provider who has best demonstrated excellence in one or more of our Innovations Quality Standards:

• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
• Effective and Efficient
• Respect and Dignity
• Opportunities
• Integrity
• Care

This month, the award was presented to Katy Pape, who is a Primary Residential Counselor at the Timber Ridge Satellite Apartment Program.

Katy was nominated by her supervisor, who wrote:

Katy is the only Primary Residential Counselor for the Timber Ridge site. During the month of June, her Supervisor was away on paternity leave and the Timber Ridge Residential Assistant Site Supervisor was also away on vacation. With just me filling in for the supervisor and not yet knowing all the routines, personalities, particularities, etc. of the Timber Ridge individuals, Katy basically coordinated and stayed on top of everything for all six individuals for about three weeks. She scheduled and coordinated follow-up for all medical appointments, she spent a number of days and long hours getting one of the individuals unpacked and moved into their new apartment, and she kept up with outings, shopping trips, and cooking activities for all the individuals. She consistently worked late, well after her shift should have ended, to ensure everyone had what they needed and the proper information was communicated to the right people. Katy also answered a lot of questions for me while I was still getting settled in and was very flexible with what she was asked to do when she needed to rearrange things in her regular routine if I had meetings or wasn’t able to be at the site.

Timber Ridge is a small site and quite off the grid from other Innovations programs and it’s not often that the staff there get the recognition they deserve for their dedication and hard work. Katy’s work ethic, how visible it is that she cares deeply for the people we serve, were inspiring and a model for me as I got to know the Timber Ridge individuals and begin to build relationships with them. She’s very good at her job and sets a high standard of excellence for anyone working in direct care.

If you see Katy around, please congratulate her on being our Super Hero of the Month!

Super Hero of the Month for June!

Each month, Innovations presents the “Super Hero of the Month” award to the employee or provider who has best demonstrated excellence in one or more of our Innovations Quality Standards:

• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
• Effective and Efficient
• Respect and Dignity
• Opportunities
• Integrity
• Care

This month, the award was presented to Andorra Turner, who is a Primary Residential Counselor at the Santa Fe Group Home.

Andorra was nominated by her supervisor, who wrote:

Andorra is an amazing Primary Counselor.  She continuously strives to improve the lives of the individuals at Santa Fe, and she is an amazing advocate.  Recently, Andorra took it upon herself to help one of the individuals at Santa Fe rearrange their room.  She worked with the person to ensure that their room was rearranged the way that they wanted, while making the room less cluttered and more organized.  She also made it easier for the individual to find all of their preferred items and helped construct a mini “everything in its place” (EIP) for all of the individual’s small items that get easily lost.  This has made a positive impact on the person’s room and their life.

If you see Andorra around, please congratulate her on being our Super Hero of the Month!

Super Hero of the Month for April!

Each month, Innovations presents the “Super Hero of the Month” award to the employee or provider who has best demonstrated excellence in one or more of our Innovations Quality Standards:

• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
• Effective and Efficient
• Respect and Dignity
• Opportunities
• Integrity
• Care

This month, the award was presented to Chris Black, who is a Residential Counselor at the Foothills Group Home.

Chris was nominated by his supervisor and assistant supervisor, who wrote:

I’d like to nominate Chris Black for the Super Hero of the month. He’s our newest staff member, and a stellar addition to the team. Throughout the training process he’s been diligent in letting me know his training hours, and keeping me updated on where he is with all of the required training. He stepped in right off the bat with a person-centered approach, and a clear compassion for serving people. He has asked brilliant questions throughout the training process, and continues to bring details most people don’t mention, as well as suggestions to my and the assistant supervisor's attention. We are so lucky to have him here as part of our team, and I feel like he will make a huge impact on the quality of life of the residents, the flow of the house, and even the administrative side of it all. I’d really like him to be aware of our appreciation of his hard work so far and be recognized for it.

Additionally, he works hard and is able to prioritize tasks efficiently at Foothills. There is a lot to learn and he is definitely a fast learner!  I’m impressed by his skills at working with challenging behaviors. He is naturally person-centered, positive, curious, and a great employee. I enjoy working with him, and I hope he sticks around for a long time.

If you see Chris around, please congratulate him on being our Super Hero of the Month!

Appreciating our Innovations Volunteers!

This week is National Volunteer Week, and Imagine! Innovations has two wonderful volunteers at our administrative building who we want to thank!

Christina and Beth have committed many hours per month over the last year, and their time and talents have made a real difference here at Innovations. The Innovations staff wanted to recognize their hard work, and did so by throwing them a little shindig complete with cake, gifts, and a giant poster filled with well-deserved “thank you's!”

A HUGE thank you to Christina and Beth for your help in volunteering at Innovations-- we appreciate all that you do!

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Are you interested in volunteering at Imagine!, or do you know someone who might be? Click here to learn more about our volunteer opportunities here at Imagine!