Good News Friday!

Jun-26-2020

Employees

MITC Software is awarding $5,000 in September and another $5,000 in December to Direct Support Professionals (DSP) who stand out and go above and beyond to provide exemplary service during the current emergency. We nominated several Imagine! employees for this award, and their stories are so impressive we thought we’d share them with you as well! For the next few weeks, we’re going to occasionally be sharing information from our nominations, using the question and answer format from the MITC nomination form. We don’t know if any of our nominees will be selected as winners, but we already know Imagine! is a winner just for having them on our team – and that they are our Health Care Heroes!

Today, we highlight Ashley Deluhery!

 

How did Ashley demonstrate outstanding commitment during the emergency?

Ashley was only a sub at the house, a consistent sub but never the less immediately made herself available with utter flexibility. Ashley pulled overnights and odd shifts beginning at 2am to help shorten shifts for others. She ensured that she was behaving responsibly outside of work and arranged her childcare needs around drop-of-a-hat shift changes in the group home. She has been nothing but committed during this time.

 

How did Ashley champion the individual(s) she supports and assist them in meeting goals during the emergency?

Ashley worked very closely with an individual that really values routine and socialization. Not having Day Program or getting to go home could have been a huge disruption to their life in the most negative way, but with Ashley’s support they are thriving. Ashley followed behavior plans to a ‘T’ and ensured all ISSP goals were being offered, even if in a new and unique way. Specifically, Ashley assisted in making a drawn, laminated zoo for an individual (who would give anything to be at the zoo right now.) They were thrilled to have these zoo animals in their home, and Ashley & that individual have been making new animals together every week. This is all on top of her crazy-busy 12-hour direct care shifts.
 

How did Ashley support the individuals in creating and maintaining friendships and relationships during the emergency?

Ashley reached out to other sub staff that weren’t working in the house and helped facilitate video chats between those staff and the residents of the house. She has also helped facilitate any other virtual form of communication for all of the residents in the house on a daily basis.
 

How does Ashley stand out from everyone else?

Ashley is such a personable individual—she is kind and assists in training without questions. When she sees a need, it gets met. Ashley makes both staff and residents feel heard. She advocates for what needs to be done, no matter how inconvenient it may be for her.

 

Include a description of the effect of Ashley’s activities on the lives of the individual(s) being served.

SO MUCH JOY. Ashley has bent over backwards to make sure everyone’s needs are being met, and not just basic needs. She attempted to find normalcy in all of this and better yet something new and exciting during something that felt pretty miserable for a lot of the residents in the group homes. She values all of the residents as whole people, more than just the role that she fills in their lives; she has a rapport with them that allows them to feel comfortable voicing anything to her.

 

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