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Organizations, like people, have their own distinct character. At the Centers, the things we do and how we do them are based on our history, our shared values, and our vision of the future.

SUCCESS STORY

Pam

An outgoing and friendly soul, Pam has been a member of Franziska Racker Centers’ residential community since 1995. She was able to move to the Larchmont Drive residence in 2005, where she now Pam with brothers and staffmakes her home with her housemates, Susie, Laura, Laurie and Shalina. The move to Larchmont has proven to be very positive for Pam.

 

“Pam has become much more independent since she moved here,” says Larchmont Team Director Linda Wright. “She helps to set the table for meals, and picks up the plates afterwards. She likes to go swimming, and loves to go out to eat or to have coffee with her best friend, Donald. A staff member also picks her up for church on Sundays, which she really enjoys.” Senior Residence Counselor Charity Miller chimes in with an affectionate laugh, “She also loves to pick out what clothes to wear. She spends lots of time doing that!”

 

As Pam has become happier and more relaxed, her relationships with her brothers Randy, Scott and Tom have begun to flourish, observe the Larchmont staff. The brothers are involved in Pam’s life, and often take her out for dinner. They have begun to have her join them for weekends and holidays as well.

 

A typical weekday for Pam begins when Senior Residence Counselor Rick Mowry, who manages the night shift, wakes her at 6 a.m. While Charity or one of the other female day staff assists her with personal needs and helps her to get ready for the day, Rick makes breakfast. Pam recently mastered making her own coffee, and enjoys a cup of decaf as part of her morning routine.

 

Once Pam finishes breakfast, she gets ready to head out to Tompkins Day Services, where she connects with her friends, and where her brother, Scott, drives up from Johnson City for monthly visits. “She’s always happy to be there,” says Scott, “so it’s a perfect place for us to get together.”Pam

Pam’s day services program is led by Habilitation Specialist Pat Ballard, an employee of the Broome Developmental Disabilities Services Office (DDSO). Pat helps Pam and her classmates to learn daily living skills and social skills, and engage in work for pay activities such as a recycling program. They play games, and do group activities like making homemade dog biscuits to give to the SPCA, and to have available when dogs visit the class from the “Pet the Pet” project. She also reads the daily newspaper with them. “I try to keep them aware of what is going on in their environment and in the world,” Pat states.

 

Pat and the staff of the Centers transfer information about Pam on a daily basis. “As a team, we get to know Pam as an individual, assessing her strengths and needs, and how to achieve a good outcome,” she states. Like Pam, Pat meets with the staff responsible for the primary care of every person in her class to determine what is best for that person, and to develop plans that might help with achieving his or her goals. “The overall objective is to help each person become as independent as possible,” she explains.

 

Scott remarks,“The staff of the Centers take wonderful care of Pam, and the day services program is a really positive experience for her as well. It makes it much easier for Randy, Tom and me to know that Pam is well cared for and having a good life.”

 

STAFF FOCUS

The Centers’ residential program currently serves 102 people, and employs nearly 250 staff. At Larchmont, Team Director Linda Wright notes that she and Senior Residence Counselors Charity Miller (both pictured on right) and Rick Mowry have all been with the Centers for approximately nine years, bringing a wealth of Linda and Charityknowledge and understanding to their jobs.

 

Linda and Rick both worked with Pam at her previous residence, which helped to make the transition for Pam to Larchmont easier. Pam’s move to a residence that more adequately reflects her personality than her first home with the Centers did, embodies the agency’s approach to providing an enriching residential experience by bringing together folks in each home that are a good match for each other. According to Director of Residential Services Pat Montanez, the goal of determining placement is to “respond to each member as an individual, and see where needs complement each other.

 

In addition to the residential program, Pam also receives Service Coordination services through the Centers’ Family Resource Program. Service Coordinator Cindy Henderson, who has been an employee of the agency for the past seven years, knows both Pam and her family well, and helps them to access services and resources available to Pam outside of the Centers’ own programs, such as Tompkins Day Services.

 

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