Direct Support Shine in Millinocket | People
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Millinocket Team Makes Things Shine in Maine
by Charlie Vail
WAY UP NORTH in Maine, seventy
miles above the Bangor office, is
the town of Millinocket. Living
Innovations has served many
children in this area over the years.
The staff from this town have been
numerous and, with a few, rare
exceptions, have been wonderful
employees. They are hard-working,
caring, and, most importantly for
me as a supervisor, dependable. I
chose to write an article about one
particular group of people who are
serving one consumer, but want to
send my thanks to all of my staff in
the Millinocket/Lincoln area.
About 11⁄2 years ago Living
Innovations was asked to serve
Tena. She is a sweet young
lady who lives with her mother in
an apartment in Millinocket. Tena’s
needs are many and her mother’s
arthritis had made it impossible
for her to care for Tena by herself.
Tena does not speak, is wheel chair
bound, and requires extensive care.
Initially, Living Innovations was
asked to provide some Community
Support services to Tena, which we
did with great success. However,
after a short period of time Tena
was approved for personal support
services to care for her all day,
every day, from morning to bedtime.
As many supervisors know,
these types of staffing programs
can cause a lot of stress. When
staffing this many hours per week,
it’s inevitable that a shift won’t be
covered. Well, not with this awesome
group of staff. They have
served Tena flawlessly for over a
year now. Not once has a shift been
missed. My staff work together to
cover for each other. They work
things out on their own and keep
me updated with swaps and
changes, anything that comes up
with Tena and most importantly,
her successes.
Tena, her mother and I,
couldn’t be happier with our
support staff. They go above and
beyond every day. Tena is healthy,
happy and thriving with her support.
Often times, Tena’s caseworker
praises me for Tena’s
success. I always remind her that
I don’t do anything; it is this wonderful
group of staff who do all
the work.
Living Innovations says thank
you very much to Trina Newbury,
Jennifer Farrar, and Jessica Marquis,
pictured above, as well as Donna
Duffy and Melissa Malone. You
ladies are awesome and we appreciate
what you do to make Tena
and Living Innovations shine.