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The Beacon Published
by: Bethesda Day Treatment
Center,
Inc. ...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 April
2007
Vol.
11
Issue #4
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From the President’s Desk… |
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Armed with the Strength |
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Board
of
Directors Joseph
Pugliese Chairman Jerilyn
Keen President Timothy
Gage Director Fred
Martin Director Mary Tiffin Director Chris Bingaman Director Collette
Benner Secretary Gene
McCarty Treasurer
Advisory Committee Jerilyn Keen Scott Constantini Stephen Gaito Robert Vanderwall Jennifer Napp Don Coleman William Rossnock Joseph Talarico Dr. Elizabth Ciaravino Thomas Bell Agent William Weber Larry Weidman John Gigunto Matt Yonkin
Consultants Dr.
Vikas
Passi D&A Medical Director Dr. Frederick Maue Mental Health Director | |
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No matter what we
are facing, or what we may be going through, we are called to have a
right attitude in spite of difficult circumstances.
In order to do this we have to get rid of any hint of Weakness
mentality and replace it with Warrior mentality.
God has given every one of us the ability to rise up in strength
(Psalm 94:13) against any foe. In
a sense, we become “Armed and Dangerous” to our enemies when we
activate His power by believing and staying positive and hopeful.
In 2 Samuel |
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whatever we come up
against! We are to keep a
positive attitude even when it appears that a challenge is
insurmountable. The outcome
of a situation is often determined by our Attitude and Approach.
He has equipped us with everything that we need for battle.
But we must remember to tap into the Power that comes from The
Almighty. People with victim
mentality find it difficult to rise above the negative image that they
have of themselves or the situation they are facing.
Do you see yourself as God sees you, a victor?
We need to power up each morning in order to rise above our
circumstances! We need to
approach each day with boldness, confidence and with our shoulders back,
full speed ahead…Now that’s Warrior mentality. Complaining about
our circumstances simply drains us of our strength.
We must tell ourselves that we are able, that God always causes
us to triumph, and He has armed us with whatever we need to go through
the battles, challenges, and obstacles of life.
We were not designed to retreat or run away from problems.
How do I know this? Because
in Ephesians A strong warrior would never go into battle with the mindset that he is
going to be defeated and we mustn’t have that kind of attitude either.
Nothing is too difficult for us!
No matter what happened yesterday we must get up and attack the
day! Be determined to
conquer whatever obstacles we face.
Colossians |
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you believe you have
the right to be negative but isn’t it true that there is always
someone else who has it worse? How
we handle our circumstances is always our choice.
We don’t grow nearly as much when things are pleasant as we do
when they are tough. Situations defeat us only when we let them! God has us in the palm of His hand. He knows every difficulty that we face on our path. Be a Warrior not a Whiner. Don’t allow yourself to focus on the negative. It’s not going to change things and you’ll end up dragging those around you down also. Negativity and defeatist attitudes are contagious. So are positive ones. Which do you choose to spread? Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we have been empowered to do whatever God has called us to do, no obstacle is too difficult, God has infused His can do power in each of us. We are a part of His mighty army, called and equipped to face each day with a positive Warrior mentality! From my heart to yours, Jerilyn Jerilyn A. Keen, M.A.President |
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News
from
our
Administrative
Office… |
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We
continue to move forward with the MA process and with training our staff.
We have revised our modalities and client billing in order to
accommodate the flip to a Medical Assistance Provider.
We thank President Keen, Corporate Business Manager Stacey Kifolo,
Executive Assistant Erica Frey, Regional Manager Jenn Napp and Clinical
Supervisor Jennifer Sheptock and others for working together to make these
changes and to train our staff on the necessary procedures. |
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We are proud to report that we now have two staff
certified as Sexual Offender trainers. As
mentioned in last month’s edition, Milton Day Treatment Supervisor Jon
Sharpe and East Stroudsburg Family Systems Specialist Dwight Evans
attended a training course at |
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Bethesda Highlights |
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This
is “What’s Happening” at Our Centers… |
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Bloomsburg: The Day Treatment clients are assisting the Columbia County Chapter of the Trout Unlimited with collecting trash along the waterways. The Bloomsburg staff welcome two new members to their team - Teacher Julie Klinger and Caseworker Josh Swisher. The AEP staff and students are taking advantage of the warm weather and enjoying their lunch breaks outside. Congratulations to Casework Trainee Denny Dietterick on his wedding May 5th. Best wishes! |
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East Stroudsburg: We thank Teacher's Aide Lenny Cimino for his efforts in promoting our services to the Pocono Mountain School District. The AEP students are looking forward to a basketball competition with this district's alternative education program. We welcome Caseworker Hillary Zilber to the East Stroudsburg Center. We also thank Caseworkers Anthony Ross and Shaun Crump for their efforts while Samantha Varkanis is out on maternity leave. Congratulations to Samantha and her husband Manny on the birth of their son, John David on April 12th! |
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Honesdale: The AEP students continue with their group on creeationism. Wayne County continues to express an interest in our Mental Health Program and we look forward to accommodating them in the future. The Day Treatment clients participated in the Clean-Up Pennsylvania Project on April 21st in Hawley. Lunch was provided for all the volunteers. We congratulate Caseworker Tracy Greco for completing her final classes towards her Master's Degree in Social Work. Congratulations are also in order for Drug & Alcohol Counselor Gina Mavromatis on passing her Licensed Clinical Social Worker examination in April. Great job to both of these staff! |
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Lehighton: Day Treatment Supervisor Megan Goff has been diligently promoting our Foster Care program. The Day Treatment clients have raised nearly $140 in pennies so far in their efforts to support the American Cancer Association. The Community Service Program is once again in session with referrals continuing to come from Carbon County. Clients have been doing a great job with cleaning up garbage from the roadways. The staff congratulate Michele Conley on being selected as Employee of the Quarter for the Lehighton Center and thank her for her hard work and dedication to the Lehighton Center. |
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Middleburg Group Home: We welcome Kathy Klose as the newest Support Staff at the Group Home. As you may remember, Kathy was interning at the Lewidtown Center as part of her studies at Penn State University. We extend our appreciation to Dennis and Clara Kuhns for their continued generosity to the Group Home during the Easter Holiday. The boys have been busy cleaning up the orchard on the Group Home property. They have also assisted staff with the installation of the new office door. The residents continue to assist the Snyder County Recycling Centers with their spring clean-up. The Group Home staff are preparing for the graduation of two of their residents at the end of May! |
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Milton: The AEP students raised over $1,000 in their Pennies for Patients fundraiser. We thank the staff and students for their efforts in raising money for their very worthy cause. Great job! The Day Treatment clients assisted the Hand-Up Foundation picking up shingles at one of their work sites. Welcome to Amy Seamon, the new Drug and Alcohol Counselor, and Angela Bastian-Witter, the new Caseworker at the Milton Center. These two ladies have jumped right in and have grasped our program dynamics. We look forward to working with both of you! The staff congratulate Caseworker Heather Heiny as their Employee of the Quarter. |
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Montoursville: The Community Service Program was recognized and awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for their efforts at the Loyalsock Little League fields. Way to go! The Day Treatment staff are busy learning the MA process and wish to thank the Milton Center's Clinical Supervisor Jennifer Sheptock for her assistance. Well, Bob "Bubbles" Vanderwall's run for the National Rock, Paper, Scissors Champion fell short as he was disqualified at the Regional level. That's okay, Bob, you're still a champion in our eyes! |
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South Montrose: The South Montrose positive-rated students enjoyed their trip to the Scranton Center. Caseworker Dan Beesley supervised a clean-up with the Day Treatment clients for Earth Day. The anti-tobacco posters will soon be displayed on billboards throughout Susquehanna County. The AEP students continue working through their studies to finish up the year. As part of their Science classes, they have been learning about food content and nutrients and preparing healthy snacks to enjoy during class. |
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Each
month we are featuring a member of our Management Team as a way to honor
their dedication and commitment to make |
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Stacey
earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with a
concentration in Marketing, from the |
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| Stacey is a supporter of the efforts of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and has raised money to help the worthy cause. It was for this reason that she completed her first of two marathons. Stacey is, as she will tell you, addicted to exercise. She is up before the sun on most mornings to engage in an exercise routine to heal the body and clear the mind. | ||||||
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She is an avid reader and is always
willing to share her thoughts on good books to read and is always open to
suggested readings. When you
can’t find Stacey working, exercising or reading, you will most likely
find her spending time with and taking pictures of her family, especially
her nephews and nieces. She
also enjoys traveling and makes it a point every year to visit at least
one place that she has never seen. |
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Before
her interview with our President, Jerilyn Keen, in August of 1999, Stacey
admits that she didn’t even know that |
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We
congratulate MA Specialist/Drug & Alcohol Clinical Supervisor Michele
Barrows on receiving the Administrative Leadership Award and Executive
Assistant Erica Frey for receiving the Manager’s Quarterly Award for the
First Quarter of 2007. We
thank these ladies for their commitment to our Agency! |
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Congratulations to Milton Foster Parents,
Toni and Lester Miller, for receiving the Foster Family Award for the
First Quarter of 2007. It is
our privilege to recognize Toni and Lester for being a very valuable asset
to the mission of our Agency. Their
love and compassion for the foster youth truly exhibits their desire to
make a difference! |
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| We extend our appreciation to Ken Pappachia from the ABC Market in Montrose, PA for his generous donation of 15 dozen eggs to the South Montrose Center in preparation of celebrating the Easter Holiday! Thank you! | ||||||
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Congratulations
to our Caught in the Act of Caring Award recipient for the First Quarter
of 2007 - Milton Teacher and Foster Parent Kurt Eck.
Kurt was selected to receive this award for his efforts and
participation in |
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We
commend the Employees of the Quarter for the First Quarter of 2007.
Those staff include: v
Gary O’Neal, Dean of
Students at the v
Dwight Evans, Family Systems Specialist at the v
Lee Viola, Head Community Monitor at the v
Michele Conley, Teacher at the v
Rich Hoffman, Support Staff at the Middleburg Group Home; v
Heather Heiny, Caseworker at the v
Gary Shipman, Day Treatment Supervisor at the v
Tara Gillick, Caseworker at the v
Doreen Armitage, Teacher at the Congratulations to these outstanding staff members! |
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Our Therapeutic Touch! |
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This
month our focus is on the “therapeutic touch” at the |
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Program Manager Jon Gamble has implemented
the Victim Offender Awareness and Restitution (VOAR) Program with the
residents at the Group Home with a therapeutic emphasis being given to all
of the assignments. Jon and
the residents are going through the curriculum step-by-step with Jon
adding hands-on activities as a way for the concepts of the program to
make a lasting impact. The
boys are currently journaling and doing self-assessments to focus on their
personal thoughts and experiences about victimization.
The daily journals are handed in to staff for review.
The boys are also required to produce a daily gratitude list as a
way to focus on the positive. Jon states, "So many of the
residents have become trapped in the cycle of negative thoughts and
emotions which result in acting out behaviors." Jon believes
that negative thoughts quickly become negative learned behaviors.
By participating in such activities, the residents are retraining
their minds to focus on more positive thoughts, which will produce more
positive emotions and more positive behaviors.
In addition, if they are helped to feel the pain from their own
victimization, they will become more empathetic toward their victims.
As part of the program and as a way to give back, the boys are
being required to perform three positive things for others each day.
Each resident is required to list the three things he did that day
to turn in with their daily journal. |
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| The boys have become really invested in the program and are making positive strides to give back for the offenses that they have committed. | ||||||
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EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH…. |
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The following staff were also nominated for Employee of the Month for April: v
Dwight
Evans, Family Systems
Specialist at the v
Lee Viola, Head
Community Monitor at the v Rich Hoffman, Support Staff at the Middleburg Group Home v Brenda Darrow, Teacher's Aide at the South Montrose Center We thank these staff for their hard work and dedication! |
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Welcome to our family… Joshua
Swisher, Caseworker, Amy
Seamon, Drug & Alcohol Counselor, Milton Angela
Bastian-Witter, Caseworker, Meghan Starr, Community Monitor, Montoursville |
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