A Publication by PA Treatment & Healing

www.pathtochange.org

February 2009, Volume 1, Issue 16

Board of Directors

Timothy Gage

Chairman  

Jerilyn Keen

President  

Joseph Pugliese

Director  

Fred Martin

Director

Mary Tiffin-McGarrity

Director  

Chris Bingaman

Director

Dr. Chris Boyatzis

Director  

Erica Frey

Secretary

Gene McCarty

Treasurer

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

 What’s in your Relationship Bank Account?

It’s a well known fact or at least it should be that you can only withdraw up to the amount that you invest into your bank account. We all know that if you fail to make regular deposits and keep making trips to the ATM to make withdrawals, you will soon find yourself with insufficient funds in your account. Logically this makes sense to us. Right?

We shouldn’t be surprised then to find that when we fail to put anything substantial into our Relationship Bank Accounts, the day will surely come when there is nothing left to withdraw from them either?

In order to avoid this happening with the most important people in  our lives, we need to be continually investing in them. In our busy lives we sometimes take for granted those we love the most and expect them to understand. If we are honest even the busiest people find ways to prioritize what or who is really important to them.  When it comes to our children we especially can’t afford not to.  

In order to build healthy and rich Relationship Accounts, we need to remember to do things like work on keeping promises, do small acts of kindness, be loyal, say we’re sorry, seek win/win situations, listen, show concern, and give unconditional acceptance.  

Withdrawals naturally drain our account when we do things like break promises, withdraw our affection, time and attention, gossip or talk behind someone’s back, never admit we’re wrong, only think of ourselves, do only what we choose, and act judgmental. So we need to avoid these behaviors at all costs.   

Start investing and building your accounts today! There will likely come a time when you will need to make a withdrawal from the account and you don’t want to find yourself with insufficient funds.     

All my very best to you,

 Jerilyn

Jerilyn A. Keen, M.A.

President

News from our Corporate Office…

President Keen would like to welcome our New Administrative Assistant Sarah Foster. Sarah joined the team on February 9, 2009. Her upbeat personality and attitude is contagious. Welcome to the Corporate Office Team Sarah.  

You may have also seen the new fresh face of Alissa Hinkal around. Alissa is serving as our new D&A counselor, splitting her week between Milton and State College and taking overflow private counseling sessions to assist Michele Barrows at the Corporate Office.  

During the Month of February, several very captivating training sessions were held at the Corporate Office. On February 4^th, Regional Directors Steve Gaito and Scott Constantini taught a roomful of PATH Staff about Normative Systems.  The feedback from the training was excellent. Stay tuned or the next one on this topic.  

On February 11^th , President Keen enlightened and informed approximately15 staff, (three people from outside of the agency) for several hours on the topics of Suicide Intervention and the Treatment of  Self Injurious Behavior. There was an overwhelming positive response on the importance of this training and encouragement from the participants to other staff in all divisions of treatment within the agency to attend this training in the future. Thanks Jeri!  

President Keen also held an all day training for 20 plus PATH staff on the PATH of Life Relationship-based CBT Model.   It is mandatory that All staff receive this training so if you have not had this please make sure that you are signed up for the next one! Feedback indicates that It will surely help you to be cohesive with the team and explain, motivate and evoke passion about your purpose and mission of leading people on the PATH to change.

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier."~ Mother Teresa

Risk Management News….

 At the last safety committee meeting we were reminded to practice safe driving habits by using caution, staying alert, watching for changing road conditions and temperatures, anticipating trouble and driving defensively.

We also talked about how to keep people safe by not hurting others with the words we use.  When we think of safety, most of us think about "how not to get physically hurt."  But, watching what we say and how we say it is just as important to keep people safe emotionally.   High moral, unity in the workplace and a high level of mutual respect are developed and maintained as we use care in making our voices heard as we work with clients and co-workers.  So, affirm, encourage, acknowledge each other and keep your workplace on constant comfort in this way as well.

“The future depends on what we do in the present.”

~ Mahatama Gandhi

This is “What’s Happening” at our Centers…

PATH – East Stroudsburg: Dave, Lisa and Dwight met with representatives from an In-Patient Drug and Alcohol program promoting our outpatient services to their newly released clients who may be in need of our services. Pete and Lisa met with representatives from local districts. Recently we have implemented “The Star Student” and Day treatment client of the week.  The client or students names are displayed on designated boards in our main group. The various incentives and rewards along with the recognition seem to be great incentive and motivation for our clients. They are actively engaging in positive interactions and competitions to achieve this recognition. Sadly, we will begin to bid farewell to Doug Luisi who announced he will be resigning at the end of March. Doug has been our Drug and Alcohol counselor for the last 15 years and will be greatly missed.   

PATH – Honesdale:  CONGRATULATIONS, to one of our AEP students who graduated early from her home school district.  She was a strong leader who was devoted towards obtaining her school diploma. Three other students are working on completing their senior projects and presenting them in the upcoming months. We wish them best of luck as they prepare and present. Two of our AEP students completed a mural in our Student Union portraying a positive message to other students and clients. The mural was done in chalk and will have a protective coating to try and preserve it for the year. Great job guys! We are so proud of our students and how hard they have been working. Two of the centers IA clients were successfully discharged from their treatment programs at the end of January. We wish them the best of luck and many successes into the future. 

PATH - Middleburg:     Spring is in the air and we can tell as we look out the Halfway House balcony and see all the snow gone from the mountains.  If you haven’t ever seen the view from the Halfway House you need to come and check it out some time.  The staff are trucking along in treatment and the house is staying full.This past month we are pleased to announce that three of our clients that attend Midd-West have combined for 12-A’s, 7-B’s, 6-C’s and only one D.  This is amazing compared to this time last year when we had a combined 5-F’s. We too have one client that finished his GED and is working fulltime for a local Borough. With the increase of a positive recognition in the community, we should know if we have secured jobs for all our clients this summer.  Through the Career link we are in talks with the local borough that one of clients works for about a work crew this coming summer.  At the Halfway House we continue to upgrade our facility.  This month we had to add in a new clothes washer and secured more lighting for the outside in our staff parking lot.

PATH - Milton: The Milton center continues to operate at a high level.  The After School Evening and Intensive Adolescent programs have been working hard to provide services to the clients placed in each of these programs.  Staff in both programs have done an exceptional job working with clients both individually and as a community despite being under staffed.  Supervisors would like to extend its appreciation to teachers Carrie Haney and Kurt Eck.  They have rendered invaluable assistance to the Day Treatment programs by facilitating groups and helping to supervise the community in a time of great need.  Carrie and Kurt have continued to help the Day Treatment Programs on top of all their responsibilities in the Alternative Education Program.  The Alternative Education Program continues to function at a high level.  The AEP staff have been providing students with exceptional lessons while maintaining the normative structure of the classes.  The Milton Center would like to thank State College Dean of Students Michael Young.  Mike was gracious enough to devote his valuable time to give a presentation on the Vietnam War to our high school students.  The students and staff thoroughly enjoyed the information presented.  Clients have been helping to set up for the weekly community dinner that is held there for all in the area who like to attend.  They are responsible for the setting up all the resources for the meal.  They have also helped to breakdown the events at night after the event.  The Milton Center has been assisting the Milton area Chamber of Commerce with the monthly newsletter mailing. 

PATH - Scranton: The Scranton Center would like to welcome two new teachers to the team this month, Tim and Shawn!  The IA/Afterschool clients have been working hard on our various group topics such as Path Relational based CBT.  Coping with anger, male or female issues, grief and loss.  The clients also had an opportunity to work on some Art Therapy projects using clay. The clients also got to work on their projects and take them home when completed.  Clients were rewarded this month for working hard in group and they treated them by going for Chinese food.  The AEP program  students have been working hard in all subjects and have been making an effort to increase the amount of high level students this month.  Due to the crazy northeast weather several community service events have been placed on hold, until we get a warm spell. 

PATH - South Montrose:       The South Montrose AEP students endured a week of PSSA testing. Our staff did a great job of making sure everything ran smoothly. AEP would like to welcome our new Science teacher Ferdinand Bistocchi. Ferdinand brought in various objects for the students to study from. He has brought a new vigor to the Science classes. We are now up to 10 IA clients in our After School Program for Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties. Thank you Gina Constantini, from Honesdale, for helping out in our time of need after Cindy resigned. South Montrose is anxiously awaiting the start of our new Clinical Supervisor, Tiffany Benedict. We also like to welcome Maryalice Coyle to our staff as our new D&A Counselor. Haley, our other D&A Counselor has been extremely busy at the jail with her client numbers remaining high.

Did you know?

Mardi Gras represents when the Catholic Churches brought the celebration to the Christians as a pre-lent feast.  The celebration grew and now it is the day before lent begins.

PATH - State College:          Over the past month the AEP has continued to work with researchers from Penn State University to enhance individual student's reading ability. Mike Young and his staff have completed the PSSA's for Writing with the kids and they are now working towards doing so in Reading and Math. The Normative Systems has helped several students reform their behaviors to the extent that it has been recommended they return to their home school. The AEP is really working towards excellence in all aspects of school and behavior with the majority of the students earning Honor Club, Positive, or Neutral status. The Day Treatment Program had been equally successful in fostering improvement in client behavior. The clients have created a group goal for everyone to be positive with in the next two weeks and at this point, they are on track to reach this goal. The clients have formed a cohesive group environment that is really enabling each client to share and have their feelings validated in a safe, supportive environment. Local magician Richard Benninghoff is attending day treatment to entertain the clients who have recently taken an interest in the topic. Richard promises to make all of the negative behaviors..disappear! So far, the clients seem to be doing a good job of this without magic.

PATH - Williamsport:          The Intensive Adolescent program as well as Drug and Alcohol are getting new referral agencies.  Day Treatment has made some changes in staff with the addition of Jeremy Sennett and Janelle Miller, who come to us with experience in the social worker field.  We would like to welcome back Karen Poust as a community monitor.  Day Treatment Supervisor, Shannon Tagliaferri has been able to reward Day Treatment clients with outing for their positive leadership skills in the community. Be Challenged and Community Service programs has been expanding with many clients referred to us.  PSSA writing exams have ended, but the pencils at the Williamsport AEP are busier than ever. Students in the journalism classes are in the beginning process of a new project for the 2008-2009 school year. Students will be learning the writing processes of a journalist and then will produce monthly newspapers for the student body.  Students are also starting to work on the yearbooks for the end of the year.  As the second marking period has come to a close, twenty-five percent of the students in the AEP have achieved honor roll status. Twenty-five percent of the student body has also achieved perfect attendance for the month of January. Overall, the AEP has maintained an eighty-nine percent attendance rate for the school year.

Client’s Corner…

          Pa Treatment & Healing’s after school program and Alternative Education Program has helped me in a lot of different ways. All for the good!!!! My life was as hard as life could be for a young lady.  I faced more hard things then anybody I knew. Since I have been at PATH I see that I am not alone in this journey of change. To be honest with you, all it’s a blessing because if I did not go through what I been through, I would not be the wonderful person that I am today. I love my friends, family, PATH, and everyone that has helped me get through the things I have been through, and I thank them with all of my heart.  This is for the kids my age or even older, I’m here to tell you that everything will be alright as long as you have a great family and other people that want to actually help you and not let you down, or even make you feel low, because that’s not the friends that you need. You need to surround yourself with the people that will help you get through your tough times and be there when you need them the most. That’s if you don’t have the family to help you or even if you do, the more people that you let care about you, the more you will start to change your life and want the help. Thank you!!!

D.M.

Scranton Center

PATH Client/Student

OUr Management Team

Each month we feature a member of our Management Team as a way to honor their dedication and commitment to making our Agency the very best it can be!  This month we highlight

Keith Bingaman, Corporate Business Manager

Corporate Office

Keith has been working with PA Treatment & Healing since July 2008 as the Corporate Business Manager. Keith and his wife Nicole have 3 boys; Taylor, Avery, and Tanner.

Keith graduated from Valley Forge Christian College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pastoral Ministries. Over the years Keith has been a Pastor for churches in Hazleton, Hamburg, and Mifflinburg, PA. He is currently a member of the Buffalo Valley Sportsman’s Association.

In his free time Keith enjoys fishing, hunting, all sports and most of all, spending time with his family. 

Keith’s thoughts on PATH’s mission and purpose is; “making a difference in people’s lives is perhaps one of the most satisfying feelings that the human heart can feel. Doing your job and treating people with respect, courtesy, and affirmation while providing directives can be both rewarding and satisfying. Doing the nuts and bolts details of the business office helps support the rest of the PATH staff who provide direct client care. Building a cohesive teamwork must be out constant focus, and from that comes a united team effort to focus on company goals and values

Accolades

The Milton AEP team deserves recognition for their handling of a situation that erupted at their center this month! Unfortunately instead of just dealing with a difficult student, they also had to deal with an irate and assaultive parent – yes parent!  Teachers Kurt Eck and  Matt Keener, Dean Tiffany Hessek and Program Manager Jon Sharpe did an excellent job dealing with a very dangerous and physically assaultive parent. Way to support each other and stand firm for what is right! We are very proud of you!  

We would also like to recognize the outstanding work of Michele Barrows, Erica Frey, Esther Zeager and Gene McCarty for their diligence and hard work each month, under deadlines and timeframes yet efficiently processing all of the MA billing on time! You guys are AMAZING!  

Since receiving their D&A Halfway House license and becoming Medical Assistance approved, the Group Home under the direction of D&A Facility Director Michele Barrows and Residential Program Manager Michael Burns has been doing extremely well! The number of residents has averaged 7.5 for months and the systems of communication and treatment have continually improved! Way to go Team! Keep up the great work! Lives are being impacted positively through your efforts!!!!  

Congratualtions to all of the Teachers and Staff at our Nine Alternative Education Program locations for making it passed the 100^th out of 180 days of instruction! The Good news is Spring is here and the students will soon be getting a healthy dose of Spring fever! Oh my Gang! Get ready for our busiest time of the year!       

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH….

The following staff were also nominated for Employees of the Month for January:

Ø  Rose Standiford, Teacher, East Stroudsburg

Ø  Georgia Kile, Secretary, Bloomsburg

Ø  Gary Shipman, Program Manager, Williamsport

Ø  Amy Baxter, Teacher, State College

We thank these staff for their dedication to our Agency!

Welcome to our family….

Sarah Foster, Admin Assistant, Corporate                    Kevin Ransom, Program Manager, State College

Alyssa Hinkal, D&A Counselor,  Corporate                   Megan Coatman, Secretary, State College

Ferdinand Bistocchi, Teacher, South Montrose             Janelle Miller, Social Worker, Williamsport

Jeremy Sennett, Social Worker, Williamsport                Suzanne Madden, Teacher, Honesdale

Timothy Munley, Teacher, Scranton                              Sean McCormick, Teacher, Scranton

MaryAlice Coyle, D&A Counselor, South Montrose