AWARE March/August 2011 Volume 5, Number 2
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“The Right Services...To the Right People...At the Right Time!”
Farm in the Dell ground-breakers, left to right: Paul Babb, Butte-Silver Bow chief executive; Mike Kerns, advisory board member for Butte FID; Evan Smalley of Helena, donor of the property; Denise Kelley, advisory board member for Butte FID; Larry Noonan, AWARE Inc. CEO; Dan Steele, advisory board member for Butte FID; Josh Cleveland, advisory board member for Butte FID; and Pandi Highland, AWARE lead clinician director and advisory board member for Butte FID. Photo by Jim Tracy
Farm in the Dell breaks ground at Buxton By Jim Tracy “The builder of the house has a greater honor than the house itself.” (Hebrews 3: 2-4) That was part of the blessing delivered by the Rev. Gale Everson at the groundbreaking June 24 for the latest Farm in the Dell on 90 acres near Buxton. With snow-capped Mount Lowell Bartels Fleecer in the background, about 35 people gathered in a pasture colored with sprays of wildflowers and clumps of sage for the ceremony, marking the construction of the fourth Farm in the
Inside...
Note to staff and friends
— Page 2
Profile Magazine features AWARE — Page 3
Dell in Montana for people with developmental disabilities. “They’ll work here, become self-sufficient and help one another,” Lowell Bartels, president of the Helenabased Farm in the Dell International told the gathering. “It is a perfect place for our first phase of constructing a six-bedroom home, a work center and a working cattle ranch.” The home will house six people and employ about 15 full- and part-time caregivers. The work center and ranch will employ another 30-plus people raising farm products and cattle. Farm in the Dell, which also has operations in Kalispell, Helena and Great Falls, will work with MonSee Farm on Page 14 Contractor chosen for Center for Excellence — Pages 7
Psychiatrists join AWARE network — Page 9
AWARE hosts psychiatry confab — Page 16
Center for Excellence: what we can grow to be Dear Staff and Friends, The Center for Our newsletter, the Ink, is not about where we Excellence really refers have been and what we have had to do. Instead, it’s about where we are going, why we are going to the aspects of all our there and what we want to do once we get there. Those are the questions that provide the answers to activities that drive the our most pressing concerns and goals. Downsizing, restructuring and reallocating the need for the high level of resources and efforts of AWARE are things that we have to do quality we bring to every periodically to keep ourselves fresh, healthy and capable service we offer. of achieving our goals. The “achieving our goals” part of this correspondence is the most important part of this message.
provided either by AWARE or through other providers. Nineteen percent of other organizations we compare ourselves to place consumers of their residential services in higher and more restrictive services.
Larry Noonan
Of course, one of our highest priority efforts continues to be the final steps of creating the Center for Excellence that we have been developing for more than a year. (See story on page 7.) That effort has led to the creation of the new Galen Residential Center on the property on Pennsylvania Avenue in Anaconda and has led to the conceptualization of the Galen Educational Center in the Center for Excellence, located at Anaconda’s East Yards. We have been working with Anaconda-Deer Lodge County and the Anaconda School District and Dr. Tom Darnell, superintendent of Anaconda schools. This education center will be a critical part of the Center for Excellence.
Our efforts to reach out to people and communities throughout the state and further increase the level and quality of services we provide are driven by more than idealism. What drives us to train staff, structure care and manage outcomes in an ever-growing level of quality and better results? What drives us to offer the most accessible, comfortable facilities we can across the communities we serve? What drives us to develop and strengthen our 10 principles of unconditional care that we use to guide services and evaluate staff? Lawrence P. Noonan, CEO Geri L. Wyant, CFO Jeffrey Folsom, COO Mike Schulte, CHO
What we have not discussed too much is the way this relates to the Center for Excellence and what we mean by it. The Center for Excellence really refers to aspects of all our activities that drive the need for the high level of quality we bring to every service we offer. For instance, the quality of our residential services drives us to have the lowest placement into higher levels of services of any organization in Montana. Only 4 percent of consumers in those services end up in higher, more restrictive services
Board of Directors John Haffey, President John O’Donnell, Vice President Al Smith Cheryl Zobenica Ed Amberg Marlene Holayter Barb Andreozzi Jesse Laslovich Russell Carstens Stephen Addington Editor: Jim Tracy Staff writers: Tim Pray Bryan Noonan
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AWARE Ink is published bimonthly by AWARE, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization at 205 E. Park Ave., Anaconda, MT 59711. Copyright ©2011, AWARE Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher. Please send correspondence to: askaware@aware-inc.org.
These principles, standards and efforts are driven by the heart and soul of our organization. They stem from a Board of Directors that has focused its work on becoming Montana’s leader in human services. They come from diligence that results in AWARE having become one of the larger, more diverse service structures in Montana. They are driven by leadership and staff who believe that AWARE’s services and personnel should be available in every county in Montana. They are driven by a belief that psychiatry and mental health services should be available across the state, even when many said it wasn’t possible. People have given up their homes to access quality services for their children and family or have driven hundreds of miles to get the care they need. AWARE’s Center for Excellence will be just that— the center of our services. A place where all of our services are offered and principles represented. It is the north star of what we are doing for the people we touch during their—and our—lives. From the consumer, to the employee, to the board member and stakeholder. The Center for Excellence is the Ursa Minor of all we do.
Profile magazine features AWARE AWARE is the subject of a feature in the July-August 2011 issue of Profile, a magazine that highlights the best business practices of American industry leaders and organizations. Profile claims to be “a media advocate for both established and cutting-edge American entrepreneurs.” Profile networks those business leaders with potential clients and shares their business advice with fellow executives. Profile writer Christina Adams interviewed AWARE CEO Larry Noonan in February for an indepth editorial feature. The story and two sidebars allowed AWARE to place its name alongside the best in American business and provided a way to supplement company literature. It also gave AWARE an opportunity to share the story of its successful partnership with Farm in the Dell International and get the work out about the company’s business philosophy. The article showcases AWARE’s significant role in human services in Montana. Read the digital version online at: http://profilemagazineonline.com/digital-edition/. See pages 93 and following.
AWARE intends to continue to be a leader in Montana and, more so, a leader in human services. Historically, Anaconda has been at the center of services to Montanans whether they were at Warm Springs, Boulder, Galen, Deer Lodge or Butte. We look to continue those efforts and keep these services in an area where its residents have an understanding of people’s need for caring, individualized and quality services. The Center for Excellence is a manifestation of what we are, a manifestation of AWARE’s relationships with related organizations that make up all of what we have become and what we can grow to be.
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Jones earns certification in behavior analysis
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enae Jones of Bozeman, Service Administrator for children’s developmental disability services for AWARE, has been certified as a behavior analyst after passing a rigorous exam administered by the Behavioral Analysis Certification Board. Jones, 45, completed her classroom hours in October 2010 from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and received 1,500 hours of supervision from another analyst starting in 2008. Training for certification is based on a successful program developed by the State of Florida. Similar programs were established in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York and Oklahoma. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board gives credentials to practitioners at three levels. Individuals who wish to become board certified behavior analysts, as Jones is, must possess at least a master’s degree, have 225 classroom hours of specific graduate-level coursework, meet experience requirements and pass the behavior analyst certification examination. “I hope that having my BCBA will help me in assisting the consumers and families we serve,” said Jones, one of only a handful of such certificate holders in Montana. She has worked for AWARE since August 1998, starting as a part-time treatment service technician. She graduated in May 2000 from Montana State University with a bachelor’s
Renae Jones degree in sociology and minor in health and human development. She became an AWARE youth
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case manager in 2003 and later a family support specialist. She received family support specialist certification in 2005, an autism endorsement in October 2008 and earned a master’s in psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in March 2010. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Jones conducts descriptive and systematic (e.g., analogue) behavioral assessments, including functional analyses, and provides behavior analytic interpretations of the results. She designs and supervises behavior analytic interventions and is able to develop and implement appropriate assessment and intervention methods for use in unfamiliar situations and for a range of cases. Jones, who oversees AWARE’s Candlelight Home for children with autism in Bozeman, will also seek the consultation of more experienced practitioners when necessary and teach others to carry out ethical and effective behavior analytic interventions based on published research and designs and delivers instruction in behavior analysis. A native of Bozeman, Jones has been married to Russell Jones for 27 years. They have two children, Rebecca, 26, and Rusty, 23. To learn more about Board Certified Behavioral Analysis, visit: www. bacb.com/.
I hope that having my
BCBA will help me in
assisting the consumers and families we serve.
–Renae Jones, one of only
a handful of such certificate holders in Montana. 4
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Pizza Hut honors long-time employee Except for his distinctive grey eyebrows, John Micheletti’s youthful looks and demeanor belie his age. The 42-year-old is a cheery, hard-working man. The assistant manager at Pizza Hut said the restaurant is happy to have such a reliable and dedicated dishwasher. In fact, they value Micheletti’s work so much that upon his 20th anniversary with the company, they awarded him $1,000. “He does his job well,” said Jamie Simkins, assistant manager of the Anaconda Pizza Hut. “He comes to work on time, and he’s a fun guy to have around.” Although none of that is particularly unusual, it’s quite an accomplishment for the 1988 graduate of Anaconda High School who was born with an intellectual disability. Although his disability may have prevented him from seeking a career outside of Anaconda and kept him from driving and doing many of the other things essential for most employment, Micheletti has a stellar work record and a good attitude. ‘He gives as good as he gets’ He enjoys being teased by his fellow employees and gives as good as he gets, according to Simkins, who has worked with Micheletti for the past five years. “He’s big into the Cowboys,” she said. “And, he loves to come to work after they’ve won and give everyone else a hard time. He keeps our nights entertaining, that’s for sure.” In addition to washing dishes at Pizza Hut about 16 hours per week during their busy evening hours, Micheletti works at AWARE’s recycling plant part-time. “He works from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. sorting and crushing cans,” said Micheletti’s mother, Marilyn. “He gets to bale cardboard and go out on the truck sometimes, too.” With an almost full-time work schedule, he still finds time to play cards with his uncle, go bowling and watch football. “I like playing cards at home,” he said during an interview at Pizza Hut. “And, I like my job.” “He loves going to the lake during the summer, too,” Marilyn said. “But, he is a hard worker, and we are proud of him.” $400 bonus Micheletti, who also works at AWARE’s recycling plant in Anaconda, has received an award from Pizza Hut on each of his major anniversaries, his mother
A stellar work record and a sunny attitude have earned John Micheletti $1,000 from his employer. Photo by Jim Tracy
said. To mark five years of employment, he received a watch. For his 10th year, he got a $400 bonus. At 15 years, it was increased to $600. “This year they gave him $1,000 and a big party,” Marilyn said. “And, that is so nice because his birthday is Dec 24, right around when they had the party.” Apparently, Micheletti has big plans for the money. “He says he’s going to buy a new boat for his uncle and a snow cat for his nephew,” Marilyn said. “He is generous, generous to a fault.” Micheletti grew up in a lively household with three sisters and one brother. He lives at home with his parents, Joe and Marilyn. “People come into Pizza Hut a lot looking to see if John is still here,” Simpkins said. “I tell them, he’ll probably be here forever.” By Kathleen Gilully of The Anaconda Leader
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AWARE staff pose for a group photo in front of newly expanded offices at 600 6th St. NW, across from the State Fair Grounds. They are, left to right, front row: Dawn Ann Peterson, Annaliesa Fauth, Erin Spaeth, Denise Dean, Dr. Lynn Mousel, Amanda Haynes, Jackie Woyth, Sherry Chattick; back row: Mike Kelly, Andrea Savage, Suzanne Morgan, Bob Lewis. Mindy Hayes, Jeanne Devereaux, Gary Maxwell, Dawn Goulet, Kim Kujala and Cara Firman. Below right, Dr. John Tupper demonstrates from his office in Helena how clients are able to visit with a psychiatrist in Great Falls via videoconferencing. Photos by Jim Tracy
AWARE boosts its profile in Great Falls region
AWARE has expanded and renovated its offices in Great Falls as part of a larger effort to build its presence in the Electric City. Dozens of well-wishers, partners and old friends visited the new offices at 600 6th Street NW at an open house on July 14 to meet staff, enjoy lunch and look around. The renovation, overseen by facilities manager Steve Francisco, was completed in early July. The formerly cramped space now features roomier offices and a more professional look, including decorative touches arranged by Geri Wyant, AWARE’s chief financial officer and unofficial interior designer. The open house was part of a larger campaign to inform people in Great Falls about AWARE and its record of providing quality services that emphasize family and community. AWARE recently boosted its psychiatry service in North Central Montana with the hiring of Dr. Lynn Mousel, who is based in Great Falls.
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Ground-breaking set for fall 2011
AWARE chooses Butte firm to build Center for Excellence By Jim Tracy
The construction company will complete foundation work and the building structure. Corey Markovich will oversee the project, while superintendent Mike Ingram will manage day-to day-activities onsite. Steve L’Heureux of L’Heureux Page Werner, meanwhile, is at work on the project design. “AWARE’s plans call for creating a Center for Excellence for the care of children with significant cooccurring disabilities,” said CEO Larry Noonan. “We hope that Anaconda may become a national center of high quality care for such developmental disabilities as autism,” he said. “The Center for Excellence will also grow out of our 10-year successful programming for children with complex needs at our Galen campus. We anticipate serving upwards of 40 children after the development of all three phases. The project will incorporate 34 years of organizational expertise and critical lessons learned in serving both adults and children with disabilities.” Noonan emphasized that AWARE has worked closely with the local government on the Center for Excellence. “We’ve received extraordinary cooperation from Anaconda Deer Lodge County Chief Executive Becky Guay and other county officials,” he said. “The Anaconda School District, which will operate the school, has also been extremely helpful and cooperative.” Continued on page 8
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WARE has selected Markovich Inc. Construction of Butte and L’Heureux Page Werner architects of Great Falls to build its Center for Excellence on reclaimed Superfund land just east of Anaconda. AWARE proposes to develop administrative offices, a school and other recreational and vocational training facilities on lots 3 and 5 of the East Yards Subdivision. The development would occur in three phases. At the same time, AWARE has developed community housing on Pennsylvania Avenue in Anaconda to complement this service. Ground-breaking is expected to take place next fall, according to Corey Markovich, vice president of Markovich Construction. The school design calls for a building roughly 14,000 square feet. School year 2012 “The school should be 100 percent complete in 9 to 12 months and up and running for the start of school 2012,” Markovich said. “We think we can build this project in six to nine months, but then AWARE needs time to furnish, staff, startup, test, etc.” Markovich will complete the building construction with its local crews and include several local subcontractors and suppliers. Subcontracts have not yet been awarded.
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Center...
About Markovich Construction Markovich Construction is a Butte-based, familyowned and operated construction, real estate and development firm. Over the past three decades, the company has established itself as Southwest Montana’s largest general contractor. From modest beginnings, Markovich Construction has grown to a company that produces $15 million annually in construction work. Markovich has completed several Anaconda and Superfund projects, including the Anaconda Rest Area, the East Town Pump and work at the Anaconda Job Corps. Markovich Construction spent last winter installing 10,000 yards of concrete for the Mill Creek Power Generating station just east of Anaconda. The company also has a housing project currently under contract in Anaconda. Markovich calls this area home and has completed several major projects locally such as the Brooks Hanna Ford complex and Waterford Senior complex, both in Butte. Markovich also works across Montana and Idaho. The company constructed Montana’s largest casino on the Rocky Boy Reservation near Havre and has completed five 40,000-square-foot multi-family apartment complexes in Idaho and four in Montana. Markovich is proud to be on the front edge of sustainable building technology and has completed two LEED certified projects.
Continued from Page 7 In the initial phase, AWARE will consolidate some of its offices now scattered at locations around Anaconda into one central location at the Center for Excellence. The second phase would involve moving the school and therapeutic program from Galen to the Center for Excellence. AWARE’s Galen facility, in operation for 10 years, offers an alternative treatment program for children elementary age through high school that combines education with an intensive residential and behavioral environment. The program’s public school provides a full range of therapeutic support. 34 years of experience “AWARE has more than 34 years of experience since it was founded in Anaconda in 1976 in providing services to people with developmental and other disabilities,” Noonan said. “Montana historically has sent away our children with the greatest needs related to disability. In doing so, Montana has also exported state dollars, jobs, and economic opportunities. Much of AWARE’s growth has been related to trying to reverse this trend that makes little sense for our children or for our local economies. We believe that Montana’s children need to be served in Montana, creating Montana quality jobs, contributing to our local economies. Our Center for Excellence project will contribute to keeping kids at home in Montana while greatly contributing to our local Anaconda economy.” Noonan noted that with the population of children with severe disabilities being served out of state fluctuating to as many as 150 children, AWARE’s planned capacity to serve upwards of 90 children still will not meet demand. “From our core mission perspective, AWARE wants to meet the needs of this growing population of children with severe disabilities served out of state,” he said. “We have worked hard to develop the expertise needed to serve these children here in Montana.” To learn more about the Center for Excellence, or to donate to the project, please call Development Director Richard Saravalli at 406-449-3120 or send an e-mail to: rsaravalli@aware-inc.org.
About L’Heureux Page Werner L’Heureux Page Werner, headquartered in Great Falls, has kept pace with emerging trends in architecture and engineering with forward-thinking designs. Recent projects include a partnership with Markovich Construction renovating the Health Sciences Building at Montana Tech. Other school projects include Browning High School, Central Catholic High School in Great Falls, Conrad High School gymnasium and auditorium, Rocky Boy public schools, St. Paul’s Mission Grade School, the Gilkey Center for Executive Education at the University of Montana, and Benefis Health System Patient Tower and the Orthopedic Center of Montana, both in Great Falls. History is not the story of heroes entirely. It is often the story of cruelty and injustice and shortsightedness. There are monsters, there is evil, there is betrayal. That’s why people should read Shakespeare and Dickens as well as history — they will find the best, the worst, the height of noble attainment and the depths of depravity.” —David C. McCullough (American author b.1933)
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Psychiatrists join AWARE network in Great Falls, Helena By Jim Tracy
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WARE Inc. has expanded its statewide psychiatry network with the hiring of Dr. Lynn Mousel in Great Falls and Dr. Celeste Pfister in Helena. Their arrival helps satisfy a historic need in Central Montana, where there has been a shortage of psychiatrists — child and adolescent psychiatrists in particular. AWARE’s teleconferencing network allows Drs. Mousel and Pfister and the corporation’s 12 other psychiatrists to work with patients across the state, including in rural areas where such services have not been readily available. Dr. Mousel started seeing patients in Great Falls on June 1. Before joining AWARE, she worked for six years at a residential treatment center for children and adolescents ages 10-18 in Des Moines, Iowa. Case manager referrals She started in Great Falls with referrals from case managers for clients already involved in wraparound services who need psychiatric evaluation or ongoing care. She sees both children and adults. “My role is to provide input regarding diagnosis and the overall treatment plan, as well as prescribe and manage psychiatric medications,” Dr. Mousel said. Originally from Omaha, Neb., Dr. Mousel earned an undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in psychology from Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. She attended medical school at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha, where
Dr. Lynn Mousel
Dr. Celeste Pfister
she remained for a residency in psychiatry in a combined program with the University of Nebraska and Creighton University. After three years of residency with adult psychiatry, she spent additional years of residency training in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
often means meeting the challenge of facilitating the child’s optimal growth and development while respecting socio-cultural expectations and restrictions.” Dr. Pfister believes the best part of the job happens “when a patient realizes that he or she is in charge of how they respond to life’s gifts and challenges.”
Dr. Pfister will consult with Montana’s Successful Starts children’s program, work therapeutically with children and adults and provide medical leadership to AWARE’s outpatient teams. “As a psychiatrist, I embrace multiple possibilities for psychological and functional health,” she said. “Psychiatrists are in a unique position to provide not only biological treatments, such as medication, but also promote psychological well-being because we are trained to understand the way the internal life of the mind connects with the external world. For children, this 9
Former math teacher Before attending medical school, she was a junior high school math and science teacher. She later received her doctor of medicine degree from The Ohio State University. She then trained for four years in adult psychiatry in Columbus, Ohio, followed by two years training in a child and adolescent fellowship at the University of Cincinnati and Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
Porphyry House a big part of nurse’s job
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ursing coordinator Jessica Klapan says she’s enjoying managing the Porphyry Group Home and tending to the medical needs of other people in Butte who receive services from AWARE. “Working with these individuals is definitely the best part of the job,” Klapan said. “It doesn’t feel like ‘work’ because I enjoy working with them so much.” In addition to her duties at Porphyry, Klapan also addresses the medical needs of residents at Sampson and Mystic group homes daily and sees employee at AWARE’s Butte recycling center weekly and two other people at Sharon Court in Anaconda weekly. She also consults and audits medical records for Early Head Start in Butte each week. In all, she supervises 12 regular employees, including nurses and habilitation technicians, plus additional relief staff who work exclusively at the Porphyry home Nursing degree Klapan earned a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from Montana Tech in 2004, graduating with honors. She has worked in the medical field for 12 years in various healthcare settings and with a variety of age groups, including Montana State Hospital at Warm Springs, Kids Behavior Health and the Alzheimer’s unit at Prestige Assisted Living in Butte. She also worked with various providers: Mercury Street Medical Clinic, Focused MedCare, Montana Chemical Dependency Center, and BSW at various times before, during and after completing nursing school.
away in institutions do. They sleep in their own bedrooms in lightfilled, tastefully decorated homes. They eat their meals at their dining room table. They go outside in their yards and neighborhoods, experiencing the weather, the sun, and the change of season. They swim at the YMCA. They take evening walks and Sunday drives. AWARE won a contract with the state of Montana in December 2005 to transition 14 residents of the AB unit to community living.. Community life “Our AB Community Living Initiative has opened up community life to these Montanans who have among the most severe levels of disability in the state,” Larry Noonan, AWARE CEO, said at the time. Jessica Klapan, R.N. “The AB Initiative has once again showcased for DPHHS all “My experience with the clients the various expertise AWARE has at BSW is what actually inspired in successfully implementing a me to go to nursing school,” she complex de-institutionalization said. “All of the education and exproject of this kind. We hope that periences collectively have given the Department believes that the me a well-rounded background to AWARE AB Initiative is one of the be able to provide holistic care.” The four people who live at Por- best decisions the department has ever made.” phyry take up much of her time. Moving the residents of AB Unit Formerly residents of the Total to homes in the community wasn’t Care AB Unit at the Montana Dejust a gesture of good will. velopmental Center in Boulder, It was required by law, specifithey to enjoy life in their own home cally an order in the 1999 Olmstead after spending years – decades in decision handed down by the U.S. some cases – behind locked doors Supreme Court. in dark dormitories and hospital In what has become known as hallways with block walls and conthe “integration mandate,” the high crete floors. The last resident from AB moved court affirmed the right of individuals affected by disabilities to live in into her new home on Sampson communities. Street in Butte on June 26, 2007. Under Title II of the federal Through an initiative led by Americans with Disabilities Act, AWARE, she and 13 other people Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg debegan doing everyday things other livered the opinion of the court reMontanans who haven’t been shut 10
quiring states to place people with disabilities in community settings rather than in institutions. The mandate requires public agencies, such as the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, to provide services “in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities.” In Montana related to the Olmstead decision, the Travis D. litigation class action lawsuit filed by the Montana Advocacy Program (MAP) in 1996 on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities sought to protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and their right to appropriate community services. Alternative to institutions MAP’s Travis D. settlement agreement with the State of Montana lays out expectations of the development of community services as an alternative to institutional care at the Boulder Developmental Center. AWARE’s AB Community Living Initiative is in keeping with this settlement agreement. AWARE personnel worked closely with staff at the Developmental Center looking at and understanding the individual needs of each person. Meeting those needs in the community with the right services and housing instead of in an institution was AWARE’s job number one. AWARE staff, notably Mike Schulte, AWARE chief habilitation officer for Developmental Disabilities services, and Behavioral Services Specialist Knute Oaas, laid the groundwork for the move from Boulder, meeting with residents and their families clearly defining the individual needs of each person in terms of both housing and ser-
Leonard Lamping lived most of his life at the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder before moving to a home operated by AWARE Inc. on Porphyry Street in Butte. Sheila Horsley has been caring for Lampling since his arrival at Porphyry House in 2006. Photo by Jim Tracy
vices, developing unique programs to meet these needs, and recruiting and training staff to best work with the new residents. Schulte and Oaas, both with decades experience developing high-quality services for people with developmental disabilities, focused that expertise on meeting the needs of the AB residents. Michael O’Neil, AWARE program officer and director of the AWARE-led Montana Home Choice Coalition, directed efforts to find housing to best meet residents’ housing needs. AWARE has integrated the homes with its other programs, including work services and supported employment. Residents can also take advantage of transporta11
tion services and medical care, including physical and occupational therapy Some of the people who moved from Boulder had lived in the institution for as long as 25 years. A few had lived nearly their entire lives there. As a whole, the group is considered to have total care needs. Some cannot speak. Others cannot walk. The AB Initiative showed that people with even the most severe disabilities can and should live in the community. “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” — Winston Churchill (British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965)
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Pediatricians skipping developmental screening, according to magazine Despite recommendations that doctors routinely screen young children for developmental delays, less than half of pediatricians do so, according to a copyrighted story from Disability Scoop. Reporter Michelle Diament writes in a June issue of the online news digest that just 47.7 percent of pediatricians say they conduct regular developmental screenings of their patients who are under age 3, according to findings from a national survey published online in the journal Pediatrics. That’s nearly double the number who reported doing so in 2002. Nonetheless, researchers called the findings disappointing, Diament reports. “We’re still falling short,” says Nina Sand-Loud, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center who worked on the study. She told Disability Scoop she would like to see over 90 percent of pediatricians screening. Since 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that all children be routinely screened for developmental delays during regular checkup. Following through on this suggestion is important, Sand-Loud says, citing research showing that without regular screening roughly 70 percent of children with delays go unnoticed until problems manifest in more significant ways. The current findings are based on a 2009 survey sent to a randomly selected group of 1,620 pediatricians belonging to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Going the distance
Photo courtesy of the Boston Athletic Association
Long-distance runner Lisa Minnehan, an AWARE treatment service clinician in Billings, finishes strong in the Boston Marathon in April. This photo was taken near the finish line, which is drawn out over a mile. Minnehan ran the marathon in 2:54:29 — finishing 884th out of 23,879 participants. She was 57th out of 10,073 women and first among Montana woman who competed. “ She was second among all Montanans who ran. “I’ve been stalking the Great Falls man who beat me,” she said. “He is actually not from Montana but living in Great Falls with the Air. Force. He ran in the Governor’s Cup last weekend, too, so I did some investigating!” Minnehan has put her love of fitness to work for the people she treats. “I try to use physical activity in a lot of my therapy sessions and really emphasize the importance of it to parents of younger children, especially in terms of their children’s mood, behaviors, coping skills, etc.” Minnehan has also shared her conditioning secrets with other AWARE staff through a “Shape Up Montana Team” that includes Milissa Mossett, Nick Rubb, Christine Tobin, Elizabeth Davis, Erin Thom, Kim Lewis, Danielle Eldridge and Angie Murnion. “It was contagious and overflowed to other staff,” she said. “It was such a great team-building activity and has really jump-started participants’ awareness of physical activity. Many have participated in competition since such as the Women’s Run, Peaks to Prairie, intramural basketball, soccer, etc. Every one of them has been a part of something.” The program lasted three months and consisted of team and nutrition challenges. “They had to record all of their daily activity for three months, and we discussed how much more energetic they felt and other perks of the program,” Minnehan said. “The length of the program is vital for creating life rituals of fitness.”
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Mounds of freshly turned dirt near Buxton mark the location of the newest Farm in the Dell. Photo by Jim Tracy
Farm...
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tana State University Extension Service figuring out what will grow best on the land, which was donated last January by Evan Smalley of Helena. He also paid to have a well drilled on the property. Farm in the Dell has teamed up with AWARE to operate another new Farm in the Dell in Great Falls, which broke ground last month. “The people who are behind this get things done,” Bartels said in introducing AWARE CEO Larry
Noonan, who was among the group of people who turned shovelfuls of dirt while the crowd applauded and cameras clicked. Also among the ground-breakers were Smalley, Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Paul Babb, and Mike Kerns, Denise Kelley, Dan Steele, Josh Cleveland and Pandi Highland, all advisory board members for the Buxton Farm in the Dell. The advisory board will lead fund-raising efforts in Butte and Silver Bow County. Stockman’s Bank is helping with additional financial support.
Farm in the Dell is calling on Highland, lead clinician director for AWARE in Butte, for her expertise in agriculture. Her family operates a sprawling cattle ranch near Jordan. “Our goal is to become selfsufficient,” Bartels said. “The idea of the farm is to benefit the developmentally disabled of our community by giving them a home and creating jobs for them. They in turn feel welcomed and part of our communities.” Additionally, the farm will create jobs for caregivers, contractors, farm hands and others, he said.
Organizers break ground for Great Falls Farm in the Dell The Board of Directors of Farm in the Dell Great Falls broke ground May 6 for the construction of a group home for adults with developmental disabilities at the Farm. The ceremony at 535 McIver Road included speakers Dana Darko, president of Farm in the Dell Great Falls; Mike Milburn, House Speaker for the Montana
Legislature; Jane Weber, Cascade County commissioner; and Richard Saravalli, AWARE Inc. development director. The ceremony ended with Pastor Martin Dreyer of Redeemer Lutheran Church asking God’s blessings on the construction of the group home and for the Farm to be a blessing to the community. “These past years have been 14
busy for us behind the scenes as we have inched forward to get to where we are now,” said Darko. “The infrastructure is in—thanks to the community’s generosity and support and a few small grants— and we have just partnered with AWARE, Inc. to manage the dayto-day operations at the group home as well as the vocational jobs program at the Farm.”
The Farm will have an economic impact for Cascade County and the City of Great Falls. Six adults with developmental disabilities will live in the first group home and work on the Farm. In addition, AWARE anticipates hiring up to 30 more people with developmental disabilities to work in the vocational jobs program related to agriculture as well as jobs in a workshop setting. Saravalli noted the non-profit corporation anticipates hiring up to 15 support staff to work at the Farm—giving an employment boost of up to 50 jobs for Great Falls and the surrounding area. Families and individuals interested in working at the Farm should contact Saravalli at AWARE at 406449-3120 for more information. The Great Falls facility will be similar to other Farms in the Dell already in operation in Helena and Kalispell. The Great Falls Farm will provide residential and vocational opportunities in a rural, farm-like setting for adults with developmental disabilities. It emphasizes work related to agriculture—something that in Great Falls is not currently offered —and provides important opportunities for community integration as the business side of the Farm connects with the community in selling its products and services at the Farm and the Farmers’ Market in Great Falls. Lowell Bartels, CEO of Farm in the Dell International, said the organization is looking forward to the success of the “Farm” in Great Falls in caring for and training people with developmental disabilities as well as the integration of the workforce into helping and being a part of the community in Great Falls.
Farm in the Dell partnership thriving By Richard Saravalli AWARE Development Director
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he Farm in the Dell concept originated in the early 1980s in Helena when a group of parents met with Lowell and Susan Bartels to discuss the idea of building a home in the country and having a farm/ranch style of work program for their children with developmental disabilities. Lowell and Susan had helped to start a similar program outside Somers, Mont., now called the Litehouse Farm in the Dell. After several years of fund raising by parents, community leaders and others, they were able to buy 34 acres in the Helena valley and build an eight-bedroom group home and opened the home in 1990. Since then, under the leadership of Lowell and Susan, Farm in the Dell International has helped to build Farms in the Dell in Saskatoon, Canada and Kyrgystan, formerly part of the Soviet Union and now Great Falls and Butte. Each Farm develops its own agricultural/horticultural programs. In Helena, they primarily raise vine-ripened tomatoes and sell flower vases to individuals and businesses. Kalispell raises miniature Herefords, vegetables and has fruit trees. All Farms in the Dell have a significant impact and presence within their communities. The community/family group in Great Falls, which has been diligently fundraising for the last 10 years to build their own Farm in the Dell, recently decided to turn the operations and ownership over to AWARE, once the home and vocational building are built later this summer. We are excited to receive this gift and our new partnership in Great Falls. The Farm, located on about 40 acres, is approximately eight miles outside of town at 535 McIver Rd. As some of you may already know, Evan Smalley, who lives in the Helena Valley, in partnership with Farm in the Dell International, has donated $160,000 needed to purchase 91 acres near Butte. This property will become AWARE’s second Farm in the Dell. Groundbreaking was June 24, and we hope to have the home built by December of this year. Both Farms will start with one six-bedroom home and some type of vocational building. In addition, we hope to raise naturally fed cattle at the Butte Farm that will supplement some of our meat costs in the group homes. We are also looking at and assessing the possibility of raising vine-ripened tomatoes, similar to the Farm in Helena. If you have any questions, or have parents, guardians or others calling you with questions, or would like to donate to the Farm in the Dell, please do not hesitate to have them contact me in the Helena office or email at rsaravalli@westmont.org.
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AWARE hosts Big Sky Psychiatry Conference By Tim Pray
access to quality learning without traveling too far from home,” he WARE continues to continued. develop a comprehenThe speakers brought in to speak sive model of psychion issues such as autism, strengthatric services through the recruitbased treatment planning and prement of more doctors, an inschool mood disorders hailed from crease in face-to-face time with Pittsburgh, Houston, St. Louis and children, adults and families and Billings. They were: the expansion of its telepsychiaDr. Tarif Bakdash with his pretry network. On February 11-13, sentation, “Drug-Induced Movethough, the ever-busy program ment Disorders in Child Psychiatook a moment to breathe and try.” Dr. Bakdash practices out of focus on peer support and educaBillings’ St. Vincent Healthcare and tion. is Montana’s only board-certified The second annual Big Sky pediatric neurologist. Psychiatry Conference, held Dr. Joan Luby with her two at the Big Sky Resort, brought presentations, “Mood Disorders together psychiatrists and other in Preschool Children” and “A mental health professionals from Psychotherapeutic Treatment for Eileen Mary Grealish, M.Ed., of Pittsburgh, Pa., around the state and nation for Preschool Mood Disorders.” Dr. discusses wraparound services and strengthtwo days of seminars and discus- based planning at the Big Sky Psychiatry Confer- Luby is the director and founder of sion regarding child psychiatry, the Early Emotional Development ence. Grealish also presented an all-day training at AWARE’s Anaconda office covering the same rural psychiatric peer support Program for the Department of subject. Photos by Tim Pray and autism. Psychiatry at the Washington UniThe conference, sponsored by AWARE, was open to versity School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. a widespread collection of psychiatrists from around Eileen Mary Grealish, M.Ed. with her presentation, the state and nation, and is yet another step toward de- “Individualized Strength-based Planning.” Grealish bunking a long-standing myth that quality psychiatry is the president of Community Partners Inc. in Pittsis not available in Montana. In addition to the peer burgh, Pa., a firm that provides training and technical support and education available at the conference, it assistance to providers and recipients of communityallowed for professionals to assess the successes and based services. She is recognized as a leader in wrapfailures of providing the unique practice model of psy- around services, which take into account all the offerchiatry in a rural setting. ings of a community in the treatment of children and “Many psychiatrists in families. Many psychiatrists in Montana are Montana are isolated from Finally, Dr. Alone another and may not ice Mao with two isolated from one another and may not have time or the coverage to presentations, “An take off a week from an alUnexpected Life: have time or the coverage to take off ready busy practice to go to Family Adjustment a national meeting,” said Dr. to Raising a Child a week from an already busy practice Len Lantz, AWARE medical with Autism through director. to go to a national meeting. — Dr. Len Adulthood” and “Being able to hear from “PsychopharmacoLantz, AWARE medical director top experts from around the logical Interventions U.S. right here in Montana alin Autism.” Dr. Mao lowed the physicians to have is Associate Professor
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of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She has published work in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Journal of Psychiatry. On the third day of the conference, the majority of the mental health professional attendees convened a meeting to revive the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), a group that has not met in Montana for more than 10 years. AACAP is a nonprofit organization established in 1953 and is composed of more than 7500 child and adolescent psychiatrists. Their charge is to, in addition to the duties of diagnostics and treatment of psychiatric disorders, keep abreast of new developments in the field and disseminate that information to other professionals and families. According to their website, AACAP distributes information “in an effort to promote an understanding of mental illnesses and remove the stigma associated with them and advance efforts in the prevention of mental illnesses and assure proper treatment and access to services for children and adolescents.” Response was overwhelmingly positive and, ac-
Dr. Joan Luby
Dr. Alice Mao
Dr. Tarif Bakdash
cording to attendees, the caliber of speakers equals that of what might be found at a national conference. It will be held again next winter in Big Sky. “AWARE has been a true leader and done a great deal to promote psychiatry in Montana,” said Dr. Lantz. “With our next conference we hope to expand further to invite all the psychiatrists in the state. It will be an excellent opportunity each year for Montana’s psychiatrists to take a break from their busy schedules and come together as a group for professional development, world-class learning and, perhaps, a little relaxation.” The center began as a group of concerned Helena residents including professionals from Child Protective Services, law enforcement and prosecution, pediatricians, mental health providers, domestic violence clinicians, a multi-disciplinary team coordinator and child advocates. Since that time, the network of support has grown to include the local FBI and hospitals. They use forensically sound protocols and procedures to increase prosecution and reduce the traumatization of children. The consultations, interviews and evaluations needed to secure the prosecution of an offender are done in a consolidated, efficient manner. The guest of honor at the open house was Attorney General Steve Bullock, who has focused significant energy on the issues surrounding child abuse. Also speaking was Dana Toole, who reflected on progress made by the center over the last five years. She wrapped up by handing the reigns of the program to Paula Samms, AWARE’s service administrator to Therapeutic Family Care and Community-based Rehabilitation and Support. She is the new director for the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock speaks at the CAC open house. Photo by Tim Pray
CAC Celebration On April 26, AWARE’s Children’s Advocacy Center held an open house in celebration of five years of operation. In that time, the center, under the direction of Dana Toole, has been offering help and hope to victims of abuse and their families. In 2008, they became accredited members of the National Children’s Alliance.
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Billings Office Renovation Last January AWARE completed a major renovation of its Billings office. The project allowed for a significant expansion of office space, modifications for both the Enterprise Learning Center and the Day Services and Work programs, a bright and welcoming reception area and a comfortable waiting area for parents of learning center students and other AWARE programs located in the building. Photos by Tim Pray
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AWARE, Incorporated
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID ANACONDA, MT PERMIT NO. 14
205 East Park Avenue Anaconda, Montana 59711 1-800-432-6145 www.aware-inc.org
Printed on recycled paper
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