A Publication by PA Treatment & Healing

www.pathtochange.org

 December 2009, Volume 2, Issue 6

From the President’s Desk...

As we begin 2010 let us be inspired and encouraged by these words of wisdom from Angela Thomas:

I Believe

Maybe you woke up this morning to your everyday, not-so-groovy life. And the same kids you had yesterday. And your regular problems with regular bills. And the overwhelming feeling that there’s no way out.   Maybe it’s even worse than usual, and evil met you for breakfast with another attack that makes you feel desperate and alone.  Maybe you wonder what in the world God can do with an ordinary person like you.  I believe for both of us that the Bible is true.

I Believe God will restore to you what has been taken 

I Believe He will bring good from all the difficult things that have come to you.

I Believe he has a hope and a future for you that is beyond anything that you can dream of for yourself.

I Believe God’s love can heal you, better than new.

I Believe He can cover every place that you feel is inadequate and make you enough.

I Believe doing all you can is all that God requires

I Believe wayward kids can come home, and broken hearts can be mended.

I Believe His forgiveness really forgives.

I Believe God’s grace to parents is lavish and gentle.

I Believe it’s time to dream again. And laugh more. And be silly for a change.

I Believe there will be more disappointment, but you are stronger and wiser and more prepared to act like a grown up.

I Believe an ordinary person becomes extraordinary in the arms of God.

I Believe your soul can rest. You live inside the kingdom of God, and He totally knows what to do.

I Believe the God who knows you truly, loves you still.

  And that kind of love will always have the final say.

From My Heart to yours~ May 2010 be the year you Believe too.

All my best,

Jerilyn

Jerilyn A. Keen

President

Board of Directors

Timothy Gage

Chairman  

Jerilyn Keen

President  

Fred Martin

Director

Mary Tiffin

Director  

Chris Bingaman

Director

Dr. Chris Boyatzis

Director  

Ted Hancock

Director

Gene McCarty

Treasurer

Erica Frey

Secretary

Advisory Committee

Jerilyn Keen

Scott Constantini

Stephen Gaito

Robert Vanderwall

William Rossnock

Joseph Talarico

Dr. Liz Ciaravino

Thomas Bell

William Weber

Larry Weidman

John Gigunto

Matthew Yonkin

Mental Health Director- Dr. Frederick Maue

Medical Director- 

Dr. Vikas Passi

Psychological Consultants

Dr. Matthew Emery & Associates

Dr. Antoinette Hamidian

Roger Smothers & Twin Tier Psych Services

Dr. Sara Camaerei

Lycoming Therapuetic Wrap Around Services, Inc.

Pamela McCloskey

Dr. Hugh Smith & Associates

Karen Livingood

Dr. Elizabeth Ciaravino

Dr. Jennifer Hartey

Dr. Kenneth Kindya

News from our Corporate Office…

We would like to welcome Ted Hancock to our Board of Directors. Ted is the  CFO/Treasurer of the Furmano Companies (Furman Foods and related companies).  He is married and lives in Danville, he has 3 children.  He earned his MBA from Penn State and BS from Shippensburg University in Business/Accounting.  Ted is also a Pennsylvania Licensed Certified Public Accountant. He attends 1st Baptist Church of Danville and is also a board member of the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC).

The Central Region, which includes the Corporate office, Milton, Bloomsburg, Williamsport, Middleburg, and State College, had their annual DPW inspection in November. We would like to thank all of the staff for coming together and making the inspection go as smoothly as possible. The centers in the central region will have their DPW inspections beginning in mid-December.

The safety Committee is looking to close out 2009 on a positive note with no incidents or accidents as we head into the heart of the winter season. The committee is pleased to report that there were no accidents or incidents in the month of November.  This is a great attribute to PATH's overall commitment to safety, especially in the hazardous weather months in the winter.  The safety committee has recommitted themselves to making 2010 a year with even less safety issues than in 2009! 

We would like to remind everyone that while traveling in the winter months to always have a charged cell phone with you in case of an emergency.  It is a great way to keep communication between you and your loved ones in the event of an emergency or inclement weather.  Be proactive not reactive on this topic.

PATH – East Stroudsburg: We want to congratulate Yvonne Clay, who was recently promoted to Day Treatment Supervisor. Yvonne has been working for PATH for over 9 years and is truly committed to PATH’s mission and helping our clients and their families. The Day Treatment & IA clients celebrated Thanksgiving with a special meal and time of sharing. Thank you to Cynquetta Rabb, Head Community Monitor, who helped obtain several gift card donations to make this event possible. Several of the Day Treatment staff attended the Relationship-Based CBT training at the Corporate Office and continue to utilize the Path of Life Model. The AEP students have been busy. Mrs. Standiford’s biology class is learning about viruses and bacteria. They are completing a project that will soon decorate our Christmas tree. Dean of Students, Pete Charney’s history class completed a project on Native Americans and a project on The Constitution. Mrs. Johnson & Mrs. Standiford’s students are also making wreaths out of poinsettias as an art project.

PATH – Honesdale:  The AEP students took an educational field trip to the Lackawanna Coal Mine located in McDade Park, Scranton. Students boarded a mine car that descended approximately 300 feet into the coal mine. Students were amazed to learn about the harsh working conditions faced by the miners, who were mostly immigrants that worked the mine in the early part of the twentieth century. “Fun but cold”, “I could never work here!” and “Scary” were some of the phrases used by the students to describe their experience. We would like to thank Suzanne Madden, Teacher, for arranging the trip. We had an inaugural Casserole Cook-Off. The clients were divided into two teams, with Community Monitors, Lee Viola & Frank Swartwout supervising. Team Swartwout won the “Client’s Choice Award” as well as the “Staff Award”. The dessert award was split with Team Viola winning for “Best Tasting” and Team Swartwout for “Most Creative Award”. Both Frank and Lee did a tremendous job.

PATH – Scranton:   The Scranton center prepared for Thanksgiving by decorating the center with Fall foliage decorations. The AEP participated in numerous groups throughout the month such as, anger management, drug and alcohol, job & life skills. Many clients who were in need of community service hours obtained them through extra chores around the center. They engaged in several Relationship-based CBT groups. The IA program had 2 positive discharges. We would like to congratulate them both of making great progress and wish them luck in their futures. The Drug & Alcohol Program remains busy with referrals from Civigenics, Inc.

PATH – South Montrose:   The AEP keeps plugging along and recently received 6 new referrals. Second quarter mid-marking reports have gone out and meetings with school districts are being set up to discuss positive discharges at the end of the semester. Day Treatment is currently going through some changes in clients. We have had 3 discharges and have 4 pending clients as well as upcoming referrals. The Day Treatment Harvest Supper went well. In addition to our own clients and staff, we had the Director of Children and Youth Services, Susquehanna County Children & Youth Services Supervisor, as well as officers from probation, parents and siblings attend the dinner. AEP students are participating in different projects for the holidays. The science room has been transformed into a rainforest while the students study different ecosystems. Day Treatment & ASE clients participated in a local food drive for Thanksgiving. Thank you to all who donated items.

PATH – State College:  The AEP staff continue to work towards meeting each student’s educational goals by continuing to further their educational knowledge via online trainings, continued education, and private trainings. An increase in clients and students along with acknowledgements at Centre County CASSP meetings have created an additional motivation for those of us working long, difficult hours. We have also recently received 2 Civigenics referrals. Life is good at State College PATH. The AEP and IA clients have come together and started a food drive. Their goal is to collect 2000 lbs of food. We are calling this food drive, “Eating a Ton this Holiday Season.” The AEP students donated their time to the local food bank. The students helped unpack large quantities of food and redistribute into smaller bags for the families to receive. This proved to be a rewarding experience for all students and staff involved. The IA clients have been more focused on reaching their personal goals and becoming and/or remaining positive role models.

PATH – Williamsport:   The Williamsport PATH AEP celebrated Thanksgiving with a turkey dinner during school.  All staff helped with all the fixings and with serving the students.  Our center staff meetings continue to be informative and helpful for staff, it gives staff an opportunity to air any concerns and to ask for help when needed.  The Day Treatment, AEP, Be Challenged and Community Service programs continue to grow.  There have been some changes in staff with Brenna Schemery coming on board as community monitor.  The Intensive Adolescent program has been busy with referrals and evaluation scheduling.  A Christmas dinner is being planned for the Day Treatment client’s in December. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH….

The following staff were also nominated for Employee of the Month for December:

Ø   Tara Gillick, Social Worker, Scranton

            Courtney Lange, Social Worker, South Montrose

We thank these staff for their dedication to our Agency!

The following is a list of the 2009 Employees of the month. President Keen and the entire Management Team would like to thank and congratulate these 12 outstanding staff members on a job well done!!!

2009 Employees of the Month

January - Dan Beesley, South Montrose
February - Dana Williams, Williamsport
March - Carrie Haney, Milton
April - Rose Standiford, East Stroudsburg
May - Doreen Armitage, South Montrose
June - Dave Munson, Bloomsburg
July - Mike DiMattia, Scranton
August - Gene McCarty, Corporate
September - A my Baxter, State College
October - Tara Watkins, Honesdale
November - Ferdinand Bistocchi, South Montrose
December - Diane Levan, Bloomsburg

Welcome to our family...

Larry Miller, Community Monitor, East Stroudsburg

Claudia Henrick, Case Worker, Honesdale

Eric Perry, Clinical Supervisor, Honesdale

The beginning of October marked the start of PATH’s involvement in the Box Tops for Education program.  The PATH centers have started participating in a friendly competition to see who can collect the most as each Box Top that is submitted earns $0.10 towards our fund to purchase equipment, supplies, and other necessities for our Alternative Education Programs!  So far… the Corporate Office has brought in a total of 50 tops, the Williamsport Center has collected 138, the South Montrose Center has a whopping total of 300; and finally, the East Stroudsburg Center has the lead with 398 Box Tops already!  Way to go East!  We are looking forward to seeing how many the centers come up with as the competition continues!  

  January 13, 2010 - Clinical Supervisors/D&A Meeting - E. Frey & M. Barrows

January 20, 2010 – Manager’s Meeting – J. Keen

January 27, 2010 - Management Training - J. Keen

February 3, 2010 - Normative Systems - S. Constantini & S. Gaito

February 10, 2010 - Suicide & Self Injury - J. Keen  *PCB APPROVED*

Mary Alice Coyle, South Montrose, January 3^rd     Wayne Currie, Scranton, January 8^th  

Heather McCormick, Scranton, January 9^th           Marisa Anderson-Riolo, Lehighton, Jan. 9^th      

Livio Viola, Honesdale, January 15^th                       Walt Gieski, South Montrose, January 16^th

Dan Beesley, South Montrose, January 17^th           Jeffrey Hontz, East Stroudsburg, January 18^th

Steve Anderson, Middleburg, January 19^th            Gail Pearson, Scranton, January 24^th

Tiffany Benedict, South Montrose, January 25^th   Bonnie Stoltz, Corporate, January 25^th

2009 DONATORS ROSTER

Path would like to take time to thank all the generous individuals and businesses that have given to our centers and to the children we serve.  These are the people that make up the foundation that makes our agency strong and allow us to continue to serve the children and the communities in which they live. Thank you from the PATH family and the children we serve.