A little bit of TLC

Something really special about ARC organizations is how dedicated they are to keeping their people up-to-date with the latest in the field.  We have entire Staff Development department (shout out to my shared officespace-mates), who coordinate hundreds -- if not thousands -- of trainings for CPR certifications, new employee orientations, First Aid, among others. 

Sometimes, our highly-respected staff have a chance to develop new curriculum to enhance staff understanding of our field.  Recently, Aging Services -- which is headed by Jody Thomas, the agency's coordinator of Aging Services -- developed a special training called, "Total Life Care."  The 36-hour course was written and taught by Thomas, along with Ontario ARC nurses Yvonne Conway, Elaine Hannigan, and Justine Zanghi.  The goal of this course is to give staff the tools to effectively and comfortably care for medically frail and aging participants. Staff were taught how to identify changes in health status at any age, proactive responses and reporting methods for these changes, and then to support and comfortably care for an individual.

Here's a picture of the first round of graduates from the "Total Life Care" course:

(back row, from left) Dee Stowell, Monica Whiteman, Julie Warner,

Robin Payne, Carol Mincher.

(front row, from left) Marchelle Wiggins, Alice Luffman, Connie Boatwright

Congrats, ladies!