Good News Friday!

Jul-10-2020

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 Caitlyn Phillips!

 

How did the Cait demonstrate outstanding commitment during the emergency?

 

From the beginning, Cait is an all-around rockstar! In her regular position, Cait works as an Independent Job Coach, helping people find work within the community, along with all that entails: learning about employment, building a resume, applying for positions, interviewing, and training. Even under the current circumstances, Cait continues to provide all these supports, as well as in-person training, slowly fading her presence out and then visiting employment sites weekly.

 

Since the emergency began, Cait has gone above & beyond, specifically by assisting long-term clients with finding new supported employment during the crisis--impressive, as the job market is kind of crazy out there! Furthermore, she took it upon herself to learn the ropes of applying for and maintaining Unemployment Insurance (UI); she has since assisted two clients in successfully accessing that resource. Cait has also assisted other clients during this time with accessing their SSDI benefits: she championed getting answers for them amidst much confusion brought by the pandemic.

 

Going well beyond “job coach,” Cait is a steadfast part of each client’s Interdisciplinary Team (IDT.) She has helped countless clients who have stayed employed to navigate the changes brought by COVID-19, both by supporting supervisors within Imagine! and serving clients working in the community.

 

 

How did the Cait champion the individual(s) they support and assist them in meeting goals during the emergency?

 

Cait assists two clients who work at a local egg farm (Fair Farms) washing and packaging eggs; during the emergency, she has facilitated close contact between the business partners & those employees. As soon as safety measures were identified by health organizations, she found ways for the clients to return to work: proposing safer work schedules and universal precautions to the managers at Fair Farms. Those clients have been successfully working again for some time now. This relationship Cait built had the additional effect of inspiring Fair Farms to donate eggs to many of Imagine!’s Group Homes. This met an additional goal of residents who had previously benefited from their eggs, and had expressed a desire to access them again.

 

The aforementioned clients who requested assistance from Cait with filing for UI found great support in her. After learning the system, she worked 1:1 with them through the application process, as well as on requesting payments & navigating the program. Cait continues to provide ongoing support with this, utilizing conference calling (and every available resource) to make sure they have access to all possible support. Cait undertakes this follow-up as an addition to her regular job duties, rather than passing these tasks off to a team-member.

 

One of Cait’s clients is employed as Day Porter at one of Imagine!’s Group Homes. They had a goal to return to work, so Cait coordinated a schedule which would work for the individual, honor all safety considerations, and wouldn’t add undue stress to the house supervisor. This was an immense help to that supervisor, and allowed the Day Porter to return to work much sooner!

 

 

How did Cait support the individual in creating and maintaining friendships and relationships during the emergency?

 

Even for clients who aren’t working, Cait is able to provide relationship-fostering support for coworkers over technology such as Zoom. Rather than leaving clients with a simple “I’ll let you know when you can return to work,” she spends a lot of time checking in with clients, identifying ways to support them, and undertaking the follow-up to do so. This has become such a huge support for clients that Cait is even bringing another coworker up in that role. She’s helping to coordinate a schedule for and train the new person to make sure that each client receives the kind of support they desire & deserve.

 

 

If Cait has done something else that does not quite fit into these categories, let us know.

 

Cait is a very calming individual: for everyone she interacts with, talking with her is peaceful and comforting, which brings a wonderful flavor to the team dynamic. She has insightful ideas, driven by finding the best way to support her clients and team. These actions reverberate throughout the team: meetings become brainstorms, and Cait is a consistent instigator for creative collaborations. She’s consistently asking “How can we best support this individual? In order to put the proper time in, is there a way we can make this a billable service? Is it okay if I support them even if it’s not billable?” Cait shows a true dedication to each and every one of her clients.

 

 

How does Cait stand out from everyone else?

 

Cait works hard to find out how each member of the IDT likes to be supported, and then tailors her efforts to best support each individual. She adapts herself readily to the needs of each interaction. Above all, Cait is caring, genuine, and dedicated to each moment & every support situation.

 

 

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

 

At the beginning of the emergency, the Fair Farms egg clients were put out of work for about 6 weeks. Since Cait proposed safe guidelines for their return, they’ve enjoyed a productive & socially engaging period of time. They’ve been back to work for a few weeks now, and report immense benefits to their mental health.

 

At an Imagine!’s Group Home, the client working as a Day Porter reports that getting back into their role helped them to feel safer by empowering them.

 

For one recently unemployed client, finding stable work during this time proved crucial. He had been at his previous job for 15 years, has little funding for supported employment, and really wanted a steady work situation. Cait utilized every resource available to her to find him more funding, as well as a supportive work environment. When they’ve encountered hiccups in that process, Cait has shown ingenuity and compassion. For example, during his training for a night shift job at Safeway, Cait was helping this individual to clock-out when they inadvertently got locked in the store. She helped him keep calm, using the situation as an opportunity to model accessing resources in the community, such as calling dispatch. The two of them worked through that snare and look back on it fondly today. He’s still successful in that job, and has held it for two months so far.

 

In every instance, Cait utilizes the unique needs of the moment to inspire her work. She works tirelessly to find new, innovative ways of supporting every individual she serves. We’re so lucky to have her on the team!

 

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