by Nancy Hunt
Morning begins with the first handful of folks, coffee in hand, good morning greetings. In the reception area things begin to buzz. The Trainer quickly pulls together tools and handouts for today’s daylong training session. The HR Director is preparing for a day of interviews for a current job vacancy, four 1 ½ hour periods will fill up the day. The Director and the Program Manager from the Early Intervention program join her for the interview process. The Receptionist greets everyone with a smile and checks in both trainees and interviewees as they arrive. While all of this is happening, a family arrives for therapy and Family Living, Substitute Care and Respite Providers are arriving to drop off their monthly paperwork.
In the midst of this hive, Early Intervention Staff prepare for a day of evaluations, home visits and paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. It is the beginning of the month, so hand written documentation for every visit and contact with families is due to the Data Specialist. Early Intervention services are based on face to face contact, so every contact must be documented precisely. Thousands of bits of data will be entered into the computer system by the 8th of each month to eventually result in payment to contractors, billing to the state system, and eventually payment to keep the whole thing going. After it is processed, each piece of this handwritten data will be filed by the File Clerk in each individual child’s file.
The Translator has requests lined up for forms and service plans to be translated to accommodate our Spanish-speaking families. She works diligently to ensure families can clearly understand everything they will need to know about their child’s services.
Over in another building, Family Support Services staff members arrive and begin preparing for a staff meeting. New regulations from the state need to be presented so that everyone is clear on the changes. An entire process will need to be reviewed, to determine any effects these changes will have. After the meeting, Service Coordinators will scramble to head out on home visits or get to their computers to complete reports. The Administrative Assistant begins to assemble paperwork which now needs to be changed and replaced in the many areas in which it appears, all the while assisting others with a multitude of tasks. The Nursing staff meets briefly to review consumer needs and the home visit schedule before taking off to begin their visits.
Up in the Fiscal offices things are heating up. The Fiscal Assistant and the Billing Specialist are speedily processing hundreds of Respite, Substitute Care and Family Living vouchers which have all just arrived. These vouchers must be organized, reviewed for accuracy and availability of hours. They will then be entered into the computer by the 10th of the month, in time for provider paychecks to be processed and sent to the state and other funding sources for payment. Meanwhile the Comptroller begins processing staff paychecks, due out by the end of the week. This month’s race is on.
The Development Director is beginning her day with phone calls in an attempt to acquire donations, sponsorships and golfers for the upcoming golf tournament. In a difficult economy every phone call is a new challenge. The Executive Director prepares to leave the office for an all day meeting with state officials and other provider agency representatives to discuss how to meet the ever increasing needs of families with a less than adequate state budget. The Systems Director monitors a new server upgrade, which the entire billing process currently in progress, is dependent upon. At the same time, he is researching phone systems as the aged system now in place is showing signs of serious illness. The Maintenance Specialist begins his day by moving a staff member from one office to another. Afterward, he will paint the office that has been vacated.
At the Respite Home, the Staff is busy assisting the two participants who stayed overnight through their morning routine and out the door to their daily activities. The housekeeper arrives and begins to clean and freshen up the house, ready to be a home away from home when the next short-term residents arrive.
Staff members representing both Early Intervention and Family Support Services, stop in to the office in Estancia to prepare for the day. The Administrative Assistant makes sure they have everything they need before taking off in all directions for home visits all over Torrance County. It’s a large and spread out area, but a small community. Families who receive services are often already familiar, maybe friends or distant family to staff members.
The work continues day after busy day. Each and every day an individual who is challenged is encouraged to get over the next obstacle and move forward. A mom or dad takes some time to renew themselves while a competent provider spends time with their loved one. A friend is made, a new skill is learned, hope is renewed over and over again in a day in the life at Alta Mira.
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