Category: Dale Rogers Training Center

It’s easy to overlook the hard work that food service requires on a day to day basis, but no one could overlook the dedication of Tinker’s and Altus’s food service employees over the holidays. With a blizzard descending on Oklahoma on Christmas Eve and barracks full of US service men and women who would need to be fed, employees started making plans to sleep in the building overnight.

“They slept overnight and some of them volunteered to work double shifts,” said Deborah Copeland, HR Manager. “They really came through for the people who needed them.” As a result, Tinker Food Services prepared a traditional Christmas feast for over 500 customers.

Altus Solar Dining Facility not only served the military men and women on base, but also families from the Altus community who had no way to prepare themselves meals. “Employees continued to come to work even after days of no power in their own homes and provided excellent service to our customers,” said Copeland.

Not only do the individuals at Dale Rogers Training Center know how to work hard and do a good job, they also know how to have fun doing it!  Staff at DRTC encourages this through FISH! Philosophy: a workplace philosophy and practice that focuses on having a good attitude, engaging people, and making the work you do more fun. Sometimes, while moving from one project to the next, individuals in the workshop will do a little dance to music on the radio.  Or, in Special Needs, individuals enjoy making music during the down-time of waiting for their cooking class projects to finish baking.

Nothing gets in the way of a job well done at DRTC, but that doesn’t count out the fun!

Not only do the individuals at Dale Rogers Training Center know how to work hard and do a good job, they also know how to have fun doing it!  Staff at DRTC encourages this through FISH! Philosophy: a workplace philosophy and practice that focuses on having a good attitude, engaging people, and making the work you do more fun. Sometimes, while moving from one project to the next, individuals in the workshop will do a little dance to music on the radio.  Or, in Special Needs, individuals enjoy making music during the down-time of waiting for their cooking class projects to finish baking.

Nothing gets in the way of a job well done at DRTC, but that doesn’t count out the fun!

Another informative post from Deborah, our Special Needs Coordinator and LPN.  Even medical professionals make mistakes sometimes, so use these tips to help ensure you are taking the right medication.

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Mistakes are a part of life but, when it comes to medical care, they can be a matter of life and death.  One of the most common types of medical care errors involves medication.  It is estimated that medication errors injure one million Americans every year.  Fortunately, there are ways you can decrease the odds of this happening to you.
When you pick up your medication from the pharmacy, double-check the label for these things:

• Medication name–There are many names that sound or look similar. For example:  Clonidine (for high blood pressure) can be mistaken for Klonopin (an antiseizure med). Check the spelling.
• Appearance–If you’ve been taking a thin white pill but your refill is fat and pink, check with the pharmacist.
• Correct dosage–1 tsp can easily look like 1 tblsp when the doctor writes it…Make sure the label the pharmacist types up matches what your physician discussed with you.
• Directions–2 tablets once/day isn’t the same as 1 tablet twice/day. Make sure the label matches exactly what your physician had in mind.
• Expiration dates–Expiration dates may not be on the label if the amount dispensed is likely to be taken within a month’s time. However, with samples, this can be very important.  Doctors sometimes receive large amounts of samples from drug companies but don’t give them out often.  This means what you have been given may have been sitting in his office for a while, so always check the expiration date.  Sometimes expired medicine’s active ingredient isn’t effective any more.  Or, worse, an expired medication may be dangerous.

You should also know your lingo! A print out of medication information should come with your medication (you know, all that paper you haven’t been reading). It will include these important terms:

• Side effects (also known as adverse effects)–these are things that may or may not happen to you, but have happened to other people.
• Contraindications–these are reasons you should not take the medication.  For example, certain medical diagnoses.  Read this part carefully.  If you see more than one doctor, there is a chance she may not be taking all of your diagnoses into consideration.
• Interactions–these are other drugs or food that may affect your medication.  Some meds cannot be taken with other meds, some need food to be taken with it, and some should be taken on an empty stomach.  You might not think about some interactions; green teas, grapefruit juice, or green leafy vegetables can alter some medication’s effectiveness!

Take an active role!  Double-check your physician and pharmacist (yes, even though they are educated, competent professionals… because they are human, too).  If you have a concern, bring it to their attention.
If your concerns aren’t addressed, take it to the next person.  This might be the pharmacist’s supervisor or manager.  If you don’t get a resolution, if the error is especially concerning for you, or if you see an ongoing pattern, you might want to report it to the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy (or your local equivelant).  It has a system for filing complaints.  Nobody likes to tattle, but knowing what kind of mistakes are occurring helps the Board take action to prevent them. Remember, you know your medication and your physical state better than anyone.  If something doesn’t feel right, it might not be!  Don’t be afraid to ask questions. 

Remember: You are your own best advocate!!!

Especially when working with people who have special needs, it’s important to have a plan for weather emergencies.  Dale Rogers Training Center is prepared to keep clients, staff, and visitors safe during severe weather. “Our folks’ safety is our highest priority at this agency,” said Connie Thrash McGoodwin, M.Ed, Executive Director. “We have policies, systems, back-up plans, and drills for just about any contingency you can think of, from fires to ice storms.” But the emergency system Connie is most proud of is the tornado procedure.

Parents of DRTC workers can rest assured that the Grounds and Building Department is well prepared and on the job. From the moment bad weather is predicted, DRTC’s weather contingency system goes into play. There is a central control area with a map, battery powered TV, and access to radar on the computer. The Operations Supervisor and Assistent Director work in tandem to prepare the staff, clients, and visitors. With a well organized plan involving phases designated safe zones, DRTC’s weather men insure everyone on site, at satellites, and on buses as are safe as possible.

To learn more about tornado safety and what you can do to prepare your own household for sever weather, visit the FEMA tornado pages.

By: Deborah McGrath, SNP Coordinator

Have you ever heard the theory that if you say something enough times you’ll start believing it? I think it holds true for things you hear, too. If you hear something over and over it must be true, right? Wrong.

How many of you have been told and believe the following:
“If you pull a gray hair out, two will grow in its place.”
“If you read in poor lighting it will ‘ruin’ your eyes.”
“You must drink 8 glasses of water to remain healthy.”

According to snopes.com, all of the above are either untrue or unproven. But how many of us have heard and believed them?! I, personally, think my mother invented the second one.

What is snopes.com? It is a website dedicated to dispelling “urban myths,” stories that circulate throughout the community that aren’t necessarily true.

For example, I recently received a rather lengthy, seemingly well-researched article via email on the negative effects of a sugar substitute. I had heard some of it before and even read some of it in my nursing journals… but some of it was brand new to me! Much of it was quite serious, the type of medical advice you’d want to pay attention to. The question was: Was any of this new information valid? Not according to snopes.com!

You can search Snopes to see if the reports you hear are true. I especially urge you all to consider doing this when you receive advice or articles of a medical nature, and be sure to talk to your family doctor soon after. You might be allowing yourself to become alarmed for no reason.

There are legitimate sources of medical advice you can rely on instead, like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at www.cdc.gov and American Medical Association (AMA) at www.ama-assn.org.

So before you panic and start to change everything in your life based on the advice in these reports, remember this old saying: “Don’t believe everything you hear!”

By: Deborah McGrath, SNP Coordinator

Have you ever heard the theory that if you say something enough times you’ll start believing it? I think it holds true for things you hear, too. If you hear something over and over it must be true, right? Wrong.

How many of you have been told and believe the following:
“If you pull a gray hair out, two will grow in its place.”
“If you read in poor lighting it will ‘ruin’ your eyes.”
“You must drink 8 glasses of water to remain healthy.”

According to snopes.com, all of the above are either untrue or unproven. But how many of us have heard and believed them?! I, personally, think my mother invented the second one.

What is snopes.com? It is a website dedicated to dispelling “urban myths,” stories that circulate throughout the community that aren’t necessarily true.

For example, I recently received a rather lengthy, seemingly well-researched article via email on the negative effects of a sugar substitute. I had heard some of it before and even read some of it in my nursing journals… but some of it was brand new to me! Much of it was quite serious, the type of medical advice you’d want to pay attention to. The question was: Was any of this new information valid? Not according to snopes.com!

You can search Snopes to see if the reports you hear are true. I especially urge you all to consider doing this when you receive advice or articles of a medical nature, and be sure to talk to your family doctor soon after. You might be allowing yourself to become alarmed for no reason.

There are legitimate sources of medical advice you can rely on instead, like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at www.cdc.gov and American Medical Association (AMA) at www.ama-assn.org.

So before you panic and start to change everything in your life based on the advice in these reports, remember this old saying: “Don’t believe everything you hear!”

 

Walking into the Special Needs Program room on a Wednesday afternoon is a special treat, because this is when several of DRTC’s individuals gather for a Talkers Club meeting where they practice communicating with their “talkers.”

The Special Needs Program has always had individuals who used talkers, or augmentative communication devices, but using them consistently can be a challenge since they require a fair amount of upkeep and practice. Some people who use talkers also worry that they’ll stand out in a crowd. The Talkers Club was developed to give these people an opportunity to practice using their talkers in a fun, supportive environment.

“We decided if we could promote talkers as cool and exciting,” said Deborah, DRTC’s Special Needs Program Coordinator, “more people would be willing to use them… especially among a supportive group of friends.”

The club is also an opportunity to update and maintain the talkers, which can be quite complicated. “One of the memebers didn’t have anything on his talker, which is why he didn’t use it,” said Shannon, a SNP Tech who has been teaching the club since the beginning. “So we made a list of everything he wanted on it. The next week he opened it and he had all this new stuff and he was so excited!”

The talkers, which can look like anything from keyboards to picture pages and which are specially designed for each person’s physical needs, let individuals advocate for themselves and prepare them to interact with new people.

The club, which has been meeting since January, has made a huge difference. Some individuals are bringing their talkers to work for the first time in years, and they are becoming more proficient in using them. “The progress they are making is incredible!” said Deborah.

 You can learn more about Augmentative and alternative communication through the following links:

Augmentative and alternative communication Wiki page

ISAAC – International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

USSAAC – United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

AAC Institute

 

Walking into the Special Needs Program room on a Wednesday afternoon is a special treat, because this is when several of DRTC’s individuals gather for a Talkers Club meeting where they practice communicating with their “talkers.”

The Special Needs Program has always had individuals who used talkers, or augmentative communication devices, but using them consistently can be a challenge since they require a fair amount of upkeep and practice. Some people who use talkers also worry that they’ll stand out in a crowd. The Talkers Club was developed to give these people an opportunity to practice using their talkers in a fun, supportive environment.

“We decided if we could promote talkers as cool and exciting,” said Deborah, DRTC’s Special Needs Program Coordinator, “more people would be willing to use them… especially among a supportive group of friends.”

The club is also an opportunity to update and maintain the talkers, which can be quite complicated. “One of the memebers didn’t have anything on his talker, which is why he didn’t use it,” said Shannon, a SNP Tech who has been teaching the club since the beginning. “So we made a list of everything he wanted on it. The next week he opened it and he had all this new stuff and he was so excited!”

The talkers, which can look like anything from keyboards to picture pages and which are specially designed for each person’s physical needs, let individuals advocate for themselves and prepare them to interact with new people.

The club, which has been meeting since January, has made a huge difference. Some individuals are bringing their talkers to work for the first time in years, and they are becoming more proficient in using them. “The progress they are making is incredible!” said Deborah.

 You can learn more about Augmentative and alternative communication through the following links:

Augmentative and alternative communication Wiki page

ISAAC – International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

USSAAC – United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

AAC Institute

As we enter the holiday season, for many people, backs can begin to ache and necks begin to stiffen with the stress. 

Everyone handles stress differently, but I want to share what I was recently roped into. Walking around the mall lost–like I usually am when I’m there–a small, unassuming man running a kiosk for massages asked me if I needed one.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I don’t even hug puppies. I have a strict “please don’t touch me” policy. But this particular day, I was a little edgy… and I was outnumbered. He was gently persuasive and my family member was tired of my grouchiness, so they ganged up on me. Before I knew it, I was face down on a massage table, pocketed valuables in a dish like the ones at the airport checkpoint. Did I relax? He had to wake me up to tell me it was time to go!!!

For generations, we’ve known that people don’t thrive without human touch. Babies who aren’t cuddled have delayed development, isolated elderly people’s health declines, and healing after surgery is slowed if enough human contact is not made.

People with disabilities often have less human contact than other people, and most of their physical contact consists of personal care like dressing, bathing, etc. That may not be enough. Some disabilities, like cerebral palsy, cause a person’s muscles to be “hyper” toned. This causes tightness and sometimes discomfort. Spending all day in a wheelchair can make a person very stiff and fatigued.

I’m not recommending everyone rush out to the mall for a massage (although, I am now a believer and may be next to you in line). Some disabilities make human touch uncomfortable, making a massage out of the question. But perhaps a conversation with a physician is warranted. There are many ways to reduce stress, so I encourage you to explore stress relief for your family member even if massage is not feasible. They may not be rushing around shopping, but your stress may rub off on them. Think about it… and find time to RELAX!