Page 5 - First Quarter News Letter - March 2018
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$148,060 to Help Fight the Opioid Overdose Crisis Polar Bear Golf Classic 2018
Our team will focus on raising awareness of all substance
abuse issues in the primary care setting, but with special Featured to the left, from left to
attention on the growing opioid crisis here in the North right:
Country. We recently hired Melissa Bouchey as our access Andy Hooper. House Man-
and care coordinator who will be based out of our Gouver- ager; Nickerson IRA, Kim Sco-
neur health center. She will be responsible for ensuring vil, House Manager; Pollock
patients and family members are referred for proper care. IRA Amber Bice, Erin Woodley,
House Manager; South Canton
We have partnered with Seaway Valley Prevention Coun- IRA, Bob Bice, Coordinator of
Hab Plans
cil; their team will enhance our providers’ training in the
identification process, and will also help us host a series of
community awareness and outreach events in 2018.
The funding is part of an expanded effort from the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services to fight the opioid
epidemic by:
Improving access to treatment and recovery services.
Targeting use of overdose-reversing drugs.
Strengthening our understanding of the epidemic
through better public health surveillance.
Providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and
addiction.
Featured above, from left to right: Dale Barker, Staff Development Coordinator, Kelly Clem-
Advancing better practices for pain management. mer, HR Generalist/Recruiter, Lindsay Sloan, HR Generalist/Recruiter and
Rob Boak, Facilities Manager
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES REORGANIZES
STAFFING
Over the past year we have made great strides in enhancing our de-
partment. We hired Nicole Belonge in August as our Director of Res-
idential Services and created an Assistant Director of
Residential Services position. To adequately describe the
positions of two of our Program Managers, we renamed them: Coor-
dinator of Operations and Coordinator of Habilitation Plans. We al-
so retitled our Assistant Residence Managers as House Managers.
Lastly, we have a Peer Mentor position to assists with training Di-
rect Support professionals. These changes have allowed us to
streamline paperwork and effectively meet regulations and dead-
lines. We hosted Malone Chamber of Commerce’s
Monthly “After Hours Party” in August as
The Community Friendship Volunteer Program part of our National Health Center Week
(CFVP) program provides services to elderly individu- celebration. Approximately 30-40 chamber
als in need of friendship, companionship, and much more. It members attended.
is made possible through compassionate volunteers who give
of their time to meet the needs of our senior population. 2017 Operational Site Visit/ Service Area
Competition Grant
Some volunteers work one-on-one
with individuals—building lasting One of the requirements for Community Health
relationships, while others provide Center of the North Country to remain eligible for
a one time much needed service. Federal funding is known as an Operational Site
That is the beauty of the program, Visit (OSV). This occurs every three years in line
volunteers are matched with a sen- with our Service Area Competition. A team from
ior based on the needs of the senior, the Health Resources and Services Administration
the hours they want to volunteer and (HRSA) come in to audit the major operations of
areas of interest. our FQHCs in Canton, Gouverneur, and Malone.
The primary focus is on Governance, Finance and
We have found that many elderly individuals often lose touch Health Center Operations. Our 2017 site visit took
with their community and, unfortunately, do not have the sup- place during August, and after months of prepara-
port they need to carry out daily activities. It is our goal to
change this, one person at a time. tion, our team received a PERFECT SCORE! Con-
gratulations on what the site visit team described
We are based out of the Malone health center site. as a “rare achievement”.
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