SECOND PLACE
EXTRA LARGE COMPANY
THE RESOURCE EXCHANGE
This is the most ethically-sound job I have ever had. I also feel motivated to work hard and be challenged by members of my team. I feel incredibly supported and it makes me happy to do my job every day. — RESOURCE EXCHANGE EMPLOYEE, BEST WORKPLACES SURVEY
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CODY VAN HOOSER, THE GAZETTE
Nonprofit serves and inspires BY WAYNE HEILMAN
Special to The Gazette
If there was a hall of fame in The Gazette’s Best Workplaces program, The Resource Exchange would be in it — the Colorado Springs nonprofit has been honored six consecutive years by the program, including four times in the top three extra large employers, including first place last year. The organization employs more than 400 to support more than 9,000 residents of El Paso, Park and Teller counties with intellectual and physical disabilities. Physical, occupational and speech therapists, nutritionists, developmental interventionists, family and individual counselors and service coordinators provide services such as early intervention for children up to three years old, and information for older children, teens, adults seniors and their families on about available services and how to access them. The Resource Exchange will expand March 1, 2024 into Pueblo County, adding about 4,000 clients, replacing Colorado Blue Sky and the Pueblo County Department of Human Services as the contractor for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. The nonprofit will need to hire about 75 employees and up to 100 service providers to support the long-term care needs of its Pueblo clients, Resource Exchange CEO Colleen Batchelor said.
20 | THE GAZETTE | Sunday, December 10, 2023
“We will be providing case management for people with long-term care needs and will be connecting them with services in the community,” Batchelor said. “Pueblo is very different from the Colorado Springs area, so the challenge is hiring the workforce that meets the needs of Pueblo. We will need to provide residential and employment support and connections in the community to help those clients gain access to services they need.” Much of the work done by staff focuses on coordinating care for clients, including long-term care, residential and employment support, activities and transportation, and other help getting out in the community. All services are funded by Medicaid — The Resource Exchange administers all waivers for the federalstate program — and are designed to help disabled persons remain with their families and in the community. Batchelor said applicants want to work for The Resource Exchange not because of pay or benefits, but instead are drawn by clients and teamwork among their coworkers to meet the needs of those they serve. While pay has not kept up with inflation, benefits are comparable with many major employers, including health, dental and vision coverage, matching for employee contributions to a retirement account, flexible scheduling and a generous paid time off policy.
The Resource Exchange puts a lot of resources into reinforcing its workplace culture, including a weekly email Batchelor sends to all staff members that reinforces the organization’s mission of advocating for independence and inclusion and its values of putting clients first, having a collaborative spirit and holding themselves accountable. The agency also started a monthly leadership development program called “LevelUp” — with about 15 participants — to ready them for management roles. “People come to work here because they care about others. They have a passion of wanting to improve the lives of those we serve and that comes across in (employee) engagement and staff morale,” Batchelor said. The nonprofit recently sponsored a showing of the documentary “Unseen,” about a family with eight children, including one with profound disabilities. The showing was designed to help Resource Exchange staff better understand the challenges caregivers face in supporting people with long-term care needs. The Resource Exchange was started in 1964 and four years later was serving 85 children and adults with a $75,000 annual budget that supported a full-time coordinator, a secretary and two bus drivers. The nonprofit has grown to an annual budget of more than $25 million.