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GBC Newsletter

ARTICLES

Elevating CARE
CARE-packages
Habits of Happy People
Transfer of Learning
Supporting Military Service
Living Simply

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MARCH 2011
FEBRUARY 2011
A CARE-Giver's Newsletter April 2011
Vol 1, Issue 3
What's in a Name? 

                 Elevating "CARE" from within "GBC"		 Supporting Care Together
During the last several months, Granite Bay Care has been making a determined effort to distinguish itself from among the many other human services organizations providing much needed services to individuals with cognitive and physical organizations. Having identified itself for years as “GBC”, there was a growing awareness among leadership that others, outside of the organization, had begun to define what the Agency stood for, believed in, and wanted to do to make a difference. On occasion, the moniker “Granite Bay” or the abbreviation “GBC” became confused with Agencies possessing similar names and initials. In due course, Granite Bay Care became known within the industry as the organization serving a certain kind of consumer with very narrow needs.
 
Ironically, when the Agency was in its formative stages, while many name suggestions were offered back and forth, “CARE” was specifically chosen to both distinguish the new organization from its sister (older) Agency, Granite Bay Connections of New Hampshire, alternatively referred to as “Connections”. Indeed, beyond the common “Granite Bay” preface, each organization was always distinguished from the other in vision, mission, and values. While we are proud of our sibling Agency, Connections, and the common heritage that links us together, CARE is equally proud of those things that make use distinct and special. It was never either organizations intent for the “GBC” appellate to become a shared identity, making each indistinguishable from the other.
 
Moreover, the Agency hoped the positive associations conjured by the word “CARE” would fittingly represent the organization’s commitment to provide quality care to Maine individuals in danger of being marginalized because of various challenges placing them at odds with traditional service models. As the “CARE” part of the Agency’s name became increasingly invisible as part of our day-to-day conversations with others, it is understandable how the organization’s emphasis on care became increasingly displaced and obscured by words like “containment”. In an effort to renew our promise to provide care to those individuals who are perhaps most in need of this kind of assistance, mentoring, and modeling, Granite Bay Care has been working toward shifting our corporate culture to reflect our long-held core values.
 
Consistent with these internal changes, the Agency is re-branding our logo to extoll our mission of “CARE”. Not a token or superficial change, this re-branding reflects a significant shift in our priorities. Indeed, this newsletter article and the newsletter as a whole reflect our intent to be a more transparent organization. We invite all interested parties to take a closer look. As we unveil special organizational initiatives or just share simple life perspectives, we hope to more fully share what occupies our thoughts and energies. While CARE hasn’t cornered the market on caring, the Agency nonetheless believes we must hold ourselves responsible for ensuring the highest quality of CARE-giving, to the end of making Maine a better place to live for all CARE-recipients. We are determined to become a more purposeful part of a CARE-ing solution and hope you let us know how we are doing during this transformational process.

~Caroletta Alicea, Senior Executive Vice President
CARE packages

CARE collecting "CARE-packages" for Japan
In this 24/7 media news cycle, it easy to become indifferent to the plight of others around the world.  Even when disasters reach a level where they are recognized globally, begging our attention, we can be left feeling powerless to assist.  Last month, the world experienced such an event.  On March 11th, 2011, an earthquake registering a magnitude of 9.0 jolted the coast of Japan, triggering a Tsunami with waves recorded as high as 77 feet.  The damage and destruction are so extensive as to be currently incalculable.  Thousands were killed or injured.  Hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes forced to leave everything behind; for many, the place they called “home” was completely erased, washed away in the watery destruction ( Save the Children; CNN).
 
On the other side of the world, in Maine, far removed from the terrible events, some have concluded there is little we can do to provide aid to the hundreds of thousands thrown into crisis. But is this true?  Is there nothing we can do to help?  At Granite Bay CARE, we believe we can make a difference.  We are convinced that no act of kindness is too small. 
 
To answer Japan’s cry for help, management in the Augusta Office devised and initiated a contest on March 25th; both employees and consumers were invited to use their creativity in assembling what each home believed was the “most creative” CARE package for distribution.  To ensure our activities do the most good for the most people, CARE is partnering with the Salvation Army, and invites anyone with a similar inclination to do the same. The Salvation Army’s primary efforts in Japan are providing food huts, hydration tents, clothing, and household items to the affected individuals and families.  Those affected by the crisis have lost everything and are in the difficult and painful process of rebuilding lives from scratch. 
 
Given the enormity of the challenge before them, no items are being discouraged from donation.   Each CARE program home has been provided information about the Salvation Army’s efforts and has been challenged as a team to decide what items best support the work being done with just one stipulation: all designated items need to be in good condition and working order.  Participation is voluntary, and no CARE individual has been forced to be involved at any level.  As with all gifts, acts of kindness must originate from a willing heart.
 
CARE receptacles will be left in the programs until Monday, April 11th, after which they will be collected and brought to the Augusta Area Office.  At the office, an independent unbiased party will evaluate which “CARE package” of all those submitted best exemplifies the spirit of giving.  The winning home will then host a pizza party sponsored by CARE for all individuals who participate in the contest.    All packages collected by CARE will then be bound together and delivered to the Salvation Army at 225 Main Street in Waterville for shipment to areas of Japan where the need is greatest.
 
It is easy to get caught up in every day pressures, trying to make ends meet in a difficult economic climate.  When our job involves supporting consumers through the same difficult challenges we face in our personal life, the demands can become exponentially more difficult to shoulder.  It is therefore understandable when we lose perspective.  As tragic as the crisis in Japan is, it provides each of us an opportunity to see beyond our own home, community, state, and nation.  At CARE, we hope our efforts to share beyond these boundaries and our own circumstance us to collaboratively focus on the important things in life.  By empowering CARE consumers and staff to care for others, we hope to promote personal empowerment and genuine citizenship of a wider humanity.

~Amy Tardy, Area Director - Augusta Office

The 8 Habits of Happy People

 Become Happy!
People spend a lot of time and money pursuing happiness.  They look for the next new thing, new gadget, new outfit, new relationship, or new job.  They see happiness as something to be achieved and earned rather than experienced.  For these individuals, “happiness” is often confused with the temporary pleasure of having gotten a new gadget.  The problem with this approach is that the positive feeling wears off quickly.
 
Unlike pleasure, happiness is a sense of wellbeing and contentment arising from within the individual. It is a journey not a destination.  It requires each of us to stop chasing all the bells and whistles that represent success and focus on what is truly important in life.    When we settle down and focus on habits more likely to produce genuine happiness, we are more likely to “become” happy. To increase your level of happiness today, resolve to adopt eight healthful habits:
 
  1. Keep this simple reminder close to your heart. Neither money, power, nor fame brings success. While poverty may bring stress and leave you feeling miserable, the opposite isn’t necessarily true.
  2. Take control of your time; learn and apply good time management skills. Set goals and reduce these to smaller action steps. Seeing your success and achievements will provide you with a sense of accomplishment and success.
  3. Act happy. Smiling releases chemicals in the brain causing you to feel better. Put on a happy face! Laugh! Smile to others. Smiles are contagious and when received tend to produce more smiles in response.
  4. Find work and leisure activities designed around your skills and build on your strengths. Doing things that are challenging but not overwhelming can result in a sense of mastery.
  5. Exercise. Exercise improves your mood as well as your body
  6. Get enough sleep. Sleep deprived people can become crabby, cranky and generally negative.
  7. Develop close relationships with your family and friends. Share your happiness with them. Focus beyond yourself. Happy people tend to help others more, and helping others makes people feel good.
  8. Keep a gratitude journal. Keeping track of good things that happened during good days will help your remember good things. The more you remember good things, the more good things you’ll remember. Nurture your spiritual self.  People with a strong faith in a caring higher power tend to be happier. 
 
These are small steps, and seem simple.  But, like any skill or good habit, they take practice and diligence.  Pick one and start with it…Let’s make Maine a happier place to live…one person at a time.

~Dr. Elise Magnuson, Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Director
Ensuring a Transfer of Learning

  CDS/DSP "Live" Training:

                          A Transfer of Learning


 
The Granite Bay Care (CARE) Training Department is excited to announce the creation and implementation of the Direct Support Professional/College of Direct Support (DSP/CDS) “Live” Training. It is a two (2) day training devised to meet and exceed all guidelines set forth by theDepartment of Health and Human Services- Office of Adults with Cognitive and Physical Disabilities Services (DHHS-OACPDS). The DSP/CDS “Live” Training is offered in conjunction with the “Online” Maine College of Direct Support (CDS) program and fulfills MaineCare training requirements for employees who function as Direct Support Professionals.
 
The format is designed to provide a rich integrated learning experience for the DSP by offering a structured forum to engage in a healthy give and take process with both instructor and peers. Ultimately, the “Live” training serves four (4) basic purposes:
  1. Compliment the information offered within the CDS online format,
  2. Clarify any misunderstanding of core information,
  3. Create examples for direct application of material, and
  4. Construct opportunities for trainees to demonstrate core competencies.
 
This interchange of thoughts and perspectives ensures the transfer of learning required for accurate application to the job, work site, and most importantly, the supported consumer.
DSP Staff should leave the training experience with a person-centered appreciation of the essential skills required to effectively support the needs of persons with cognitive and physical disabilities.The CARE employee is provided a safe learning environment to recognize potential challenges, ask clarifying questions, develop effective solutions, and practice care-giving skills. Topics are presented in a manner specifically designed to accommodate all learning styles. The training integrates the following topics:
  • Introduction to Developmental Disabilities
  • Community Inclusion
  • Communication
  • Documentation
  • Direct Support Professionalism
  • Positive behavior Supports
  • Teaching People
  • Individual Rights and Choice
  • Maltreatment
  
If you are a CARE employee, please be sure to register in advance for upcoming training. Please view the training calendar on the Agency website at http://www.granitebaycare.org/calender.php.   After identifying any needed training, select desired training dates and times, and confirm attendance by sending an email request directly to the training department (dkinsella@gbcinc.org). CARE looks forward to your participation in “Live” training.

~Dave Kinsella, Training Director

CARE's Commitment to Supporting Soldiers Committed to Serving

 Welcome Home Andrew
Please join us in welcoming Program Manager Andrew Morgan back to the Granite Bay Care (CARE) Team.  Andrew joined CARE in August of 2007 and has had the notable distinction of working in each of the Agency’s Area offices, Sanford, Portland, and Augusta. Always willing to help out in a pinch, Andrew stepped up and served for several months as interim Area Director of the Augusta office until a permanent replacement could be identified.
 
Last September, Andrew, a member of the Maine National Guard, was called to active duty for training in advance of a possible deployment in 2012.  Over the last six (6) months, Andrew was stationed with the 554th Engineering Battalion at Fort Knox in Kentucky and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, where he received training in operating light, medium and heavy armored equipment and the new anti-IED vehicles.  CARE is proud of Andrew’s commitment to his Country, and while Andrew was serving, we hope he gained comfort in CARE’s commitment to securing his job until he could return. 
 
We are glad to have Andrew back safely with GBC and would like to ask you to join us in thanking and recognizing him for his service.

~Ken Olson, State Director
image_EarthDay_2011-04-12_small 2 Living Simply...                                      
               so that Others may
                                          Simply Live
 
Spring is here and the snow is finally melting. Because “Earth Day” is Friday April 22nd, it’ss a good time to focus on what we all can do to make our lives simpler and safer for the environment. It doesn’t have to be difficult or take much time to change things for the better. Here are seven (7) simple suggestions:
  1. Stop buying bottled water. Use a washable reusable BPA free water bottle. Tap water in general is just as healthy as bottled and it’s also better for your wallet and the earth. If you do use plastic bottled-water return the bottles, don’t just toss them.
  2. Be careful of plastic rings used to secure six-packs. For those buying a six-pack of anything- cut the six-pack rings apart before tossing them. If they end up in the wild, these can be deadly to ocean life and birds.
  3. Please don’t litter. Where and whenever possible, make every reasonable effort torecycle and reuse. For convenience, keep a trash bag in your car.
  4. Recycling – it’s in the bag. When it’s about grocery shopping, it’s all about the bag, so use reusable cloth bags. In the event these are forgotten or misplaced, and groceries have to be bagged in plastic, please return these to the store. At the very least, try to reuse plastic bags for trash or pet waste. Waste not, want not!
  5. Refuse to buy anything made of Styrofoam. Styrofoam products are virtually indestructible. While on the surface, this may sound good; it has bad implications for the environment. Styrofoam products may not biodegrade for hundreds of years. So, while the upfront consumer cost of products like Styrofoam plates ARE cheaper than paper alternatives, they are difficult for landfills to effectively process, costing the consumer much more in the long run. As an alternative, buy paper or better yet, use washable plates.
  6. Keep water consumption to a minimum.Turn the water off while brushing teeth, washing hands, and just about whenever possible. While the world is covered in water, potable water is becoming more and more scarce.
  7. Make sure tires are inflated. With gas prices skyrocketing, it’s always a good reminder to keep our car tires properly inflated. Tire inflation levels should be checked monthly and adjusted accordingly (cold weather causes tire pressure to increase, warmer weather causes tire pressure to decrease). Over or under inflation causes poor gas mileage and decreases the life of your tires. Remember, both gas and tires are made from petroleum.
  8. Use compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs whenever possible.Check at the hardware store for specials on CFL bulbs; rebates and coupons make them virtually free. CFL bulbs last much longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and use a fraction of the electricity, saving a lot on the electric bill.

Remember to celebrate “Earth Day” on Friday April 22nd, and keep its spirit alive throughout the year!
 

~Claudia Stanley, Registered Nurse and Nursing Director
 
 
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Past Newsletters may be found archived in the Newsletter section of the CARE website.

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