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 September/October 2011  Sellersville Day Program Has Hauntingly Good Time at Annual Extravaganza The Sellersville Day Program held their 4th Annual Halloween Extravaganza on Monday, October 31st amidst the local power outages and crises associated with the snow storm from the previous weekend. Spirits (ghosts, perhaps?) were high and a great time was had by all!
A raffle prize was drawn from all of those who voted for our pumpkins. MIS administrator, Kim Sadler, was the lucky recipient of a bucket full of candy!
Staff didn’t want to be left out of the fun!
Staff and consumers worked diligently to decorate their rooms as well. Rooms 207, 227 and 203 and were each given a “Pumpkin Stone” to be molded and decorated for next year’s room decorating!
Lehigh Adult Day Program Hosts Halloween Spooktacular
LifePath Honors Employees at Annual Recognition Luncheon LifePath honored the following individuals for their dedication and years of service to the organization at its annual employee recognition luncheon September 30, 2011 at the Holiday Inn, Lansdale. Congratulations and thank you!
Senator Mensch Visits Day Program Pennsylvania State Senator, Bob Mensch of the 24th District made a visit to our Sellersville day program on September 15, 2011. The senator met staff and consumers, taking a tour of our laundry facility, communications clinic and respiratory classroom.
First CRU Resident Says Goodbye to LifePath On September 7, 2011 Ridge Crest hosted a going away party for a longtime resident and his family. The next day, Benjamin was successfully transferred from LifePath’s Ridge Crest pediatric care facility in Sellersville to Allegheny schools for placement. Naturally, there were many mixed emotions. Staff was saddened to see Ben move on but absolutely “thrilled” for him to be moving closer to his loving family. Ben’s family has always been of the utmost importance to him. Benjamin, “Mr. Ben” as Mom refers to him, was admitted to Ridge Crest on May 1, 2001. He was the first resident/consumer to be placed in the Children’s Residential Unit (CRU). Ridge Crest’s CRU is a ten-bed program for youngsters who are medically-fragile or technology-dependent, but do not necessarily have a developmental disability diagnosis. Mr. Ben did not arrive alone. Mom, Beverly; brother, “Mr. Tim” and Grandmom accompanied him and remained a constant in his life the entire 10 years he lived at Ridge Crest. Mr. Ben was only nine years old when he first arrived. His medical fragility was overshadowed by the huge smile he often wore, the secret orchestra he conducted daily with his rhythmic arm gestures and the cat and mouse game he would play with staff getting out of every position you would put him in. Mr. Ben was then and is now his own man beating to the tune of his own drum. Over the last 10 years Ben has grown in years, in size, in shape and in our hearts. He will be sorely missed as a daily part of our lives at Ridge Crest. His ongoing antics and his dedicated family will be fondly remembered. We wish him well in his new home and look to continue a relationship with his family as they transition into this new phase in their lives.
Penn State Student Enjoys Unique Opportunity at Ridge Crest
Penn State student Michael (Mike) Neel, a biology major from Schnecksville, PA recently spent his summer working as a nurse assistant at Ridge Crest. His experience at LifePath’s dedicated pediatric care facility for medically-fragile children has motivated him to pursue a career as a physician’s assistant upon graduation. Mike was introduced to LifePath by Michael Krajsa, a former LifePath staff member who is currently a business professor at the Penn State Lehigh Valley campus where Mike has been a student for the past two years. Mike is entering his junior year at the University Park campus this month. Mike comments, “I found the most rewarding part of working with the consumers at Ridge Crest to be the joy I was able to bring to their faces and the relationships I was able to build with them. Having someone to spend time and interact with, even if only for a few minutes, was obviously enjoyable for them. As my time at Ridge Crest progressed and I became more familiar and comfortable with the individual clients, it became very easy to make the consumers laugh and smile. One of the highlights of my time spent at Ridge Crest was being able to interact and learn about the individual consumers and their unique personalities, as they learned about mine as well. Individuals who I once thought ignored me would smile with a simple verbal greeting by the time I left. The consumers brought many smiles and laughs to my face as well, and I will miss their individual personalities.” Mike worked the 7:00 am to 3:00 pm shift at Ridge Crest, so his first responsibility everyday was to perform all morning care. This usually included showering, dressing, and applying topical medication for each individual. After the morning care was complete, he was responsible for making sure all consumers were changed, repositioned every two hours, and kept comfortable and busy throughout the day. Putting pulse-ox readers on, connecting food tubes, updating and entering information into the Care Tracker system and making sure the nurse did not need any assistance were also part of Mike’s responsibilities. “Out of all of these, safely feeding and making meals for the consumers was probably the hardest responsibility I had,” commented Mike. Mike further commented, “I will definitely miss my time spent at Ridge Crest because I feel like I have become a parent to many of the consumers who live there. In addition to helping me realize I want to pursue a career in the health care field, specifically becoming a physician assistant, the consumers have also taught me a great deal about myself. I plan to visit and return to Ridge Crest over school breaks, as I know I will miss the consumers and I think they’ll miss me!”
When: Thursday, October 6th — 2:00-6:00 pm Where: First Savings Bank — Glenwood Branch Come visit the Ridge Crest 2011 Christmas Shop featuring crafts for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and everyday! Purchase tickets for your chance to win a quilted wall hanging, Christmas basket or Ladie & Friends doll. For more information, email Helen at hlkcraftylady@verizon.net or Ann Marie at amsurovy@lifepath.org. Exciting LifeSharing Opportunity
NBA All-Star Bill Walton to Provide Keynote Address at Thanksgiving Event
NBA All-Star, Bill Walton will be the keynote speaker at the 14th annual LifePath & Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (PICPA) Thanksgiving benefit and awards luncheon Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, Fogelsville, PA. This annual event assists LifePath in raising awareness of the needs of individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. Last year’s luncheon was attended by 600 guests and raised more than $126,000 to support LifePath’s programs and services, which include residential and day programs, vocational training, respite care, life sharing and supported living, outpatient mental health services, early intervention and a dedicated pediatric care facility. Past event speakers include NFL great, Mike Ditka; Super Bowl championship-winning coach, Dick Vermeil; Phillies’ All-Star, John Kruk; Phillies’ Hall of Fame third baseman, Mike Schmidt; Buffalo Bills’ Hall of Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly; and Notre Dame football legend, Rudy Ruettiger. Click here for Bill Walton's full bio The cost to attend the luncheon is $90 per person or $900 per table of ten. Sponsorship opportunities are available. The event will also feature great networking opportunities, a silent auction and cocktail reception. For more information on how to be a part of this exciting event, please call LifePath Director of Development Ann Marie Surovy at 484-893-5539 or e-mail amsurovy@lifepath.org. Check back here or at our Facebook page to stay up to date on this and other LifePath news and events! top of page for all news
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Visit LifePath's Ridge Crest 2011 Christmas Shop!
LifePath has been given a fantastic opportunity to provide LifeSharing (Family Living) for a brother and sister in the Lehigh Valley Area. We are currently looking for a provider in either the Bethlehem or Allentown area, although Bethlehem is preferred. Since this is a brother and sister, they would each need their own bedroom per licensing regulations. LifeSharing is a great way to open your home to individuals with mild intellectual disabilities and provide them with a sincere, family-oriented atmosphere and dynamic. This opportunity is available to the whole community. If you know of any family or friends who may be interested in exploring LifeSharing please contact Ann Marie Surovy at 