A Publication by PA Treatment & Healing

www.pathtochange.org

 October 2009, Volume 2, Issue 4

From the President’s Desk...

Don’t Let Problems Be Your Problem

No matter what line of work you are in, there will be problems.  We all have them and we all face them!  Problems are an inevitable part of life!  At PATH, helping others solve their problems is what we have the opportunity to do each and every day!  

Like with most things, having a determined attitude about handling problems is crucial to solving them quickly.  Research demonstrates that people actually get better at solving problems with practice.  So even if it seems that your problems never end…the good news is that practice makes perfect!  Expect them!  Practice finding and solving problems quickly; nipping little ones in the bud as soon as you detect them!  Be determined to face them head on and be committed to resolving whatever obstacle or hurdle is placed in your path! It’s what separates winners from whiners!  Doing nothing or avoiding problems doesn’t make them go away!  Some people avoid problems in hopes that they will magically disappear or that someone else will handle them.  This is rarely the case though.  Remember - doing nothing is actually doing something!  

I heard this story about a missionary who was located in a very desolate part of Africa.  The village where he was located was very remote and extremely difficult to get to.  His days were long and arduous but he was winning souls for Christ.  He realized more could be done if a few additional helpers could be sent to join him.  So he contacted the missionary organization and asked them to send him some additional workers as soon as possible.  The Mission Organization wrote back to him and said we have some good men wanting to come and assist you but they are wondering if you have found a good road so they can get to where you are?  The missionary replied – “If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them.  I want men that will come even if there is no road at all.”

 People tend to respond to problems either by refusing to accept them, tolerating them but doing nothing to solve them, or tackling them and trying to solve them.  A true leader faces the situation, and formulates a plan to resolve the problem.  Losers avoid problems until they absolutely have to become involved, whine about them, or hope that they will blow over.  Are you determined to solve problems or are you waiting, like the helpers, for a good road?

 We often learn important problem solving skills from those who modeled the behavior for us growing up.  Even if the example set for you was a poor one, you can learn to implement effective problem solving skills today!  Every problem introduces you to yourself – It reveals how you think and what you are made of. Don’t let your problems become your problem! 

All my best,

Jerilyn

Jerilyn A. Keen

President

Board of Directors

Timothy Gage

Chairman  

Jerilyn Keen

President  

Fred Martin

Director

Mary Tiffin-McGarrity

Director  

Chris Bingaman

Director

Dr. Chris Boyatzis

Director  

Gene McCarty

Treasurer

Erica Frey

Secretary

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

Mental Health Director- Dr. Frederick Maue

Medical Director- 

Dr. Vikas Passi

Psychological Consultants

Dr. Matthew Emery & Associates

Dr. Antoinette Hamidian

Roger Smothers & Twin Tier Psych Services

Dr. Sara Camaerei

Lycoming Therapuetic Wrap Around Services, Inc.

Pamela McCloskey

Dr. Hugh Smith & Associates

Karen Livingood

Dr. Elizabeth Ciaravino

Dr. Jennifer Hartey

Dr. Kenneth Kindya

News from our Corporate Office…

On October 12th the Deans of all of our Alternative Education Programs, led by PATH Educational Director, Pete Charney, met to share ideas, review AEDY data reporting procedures, progress reports, PSSA procedures and to finalize the development of the AEP Mission and Vision Statements. Thank you to each Dean who gave input. Below are the statements that were approved by President Keen.

Mission:  The PA Treatment & Healing Alternative Education Program’s goal is to facilitate the development of self-confidence, responsibility and maturity.  We are committed to providing a safe, therapeutic environment where students can develop the academic and social skills necessary to re-enter their school community.  This will be accomplished through cooperation between school, community, parents and students.  

Vision:  Empowering students with the tools they need to function successfully in a global society.

On October 14^th, Program Manager, Jon Sharpe, and Clinical Supervisor, Dwight Evans, conducted a training on Treating Juvenile Sex Offenders that received great reviews from those who attended it! They expressed how useful the information was and that they will use what they learned when working with their clients.  Great job Jon & Dwight!

D&A Program Update: On October 23^rd, the Halfway House had the pleasure of hosting Debbie Newman and Jarvis Brown from Gaudenzia Inc.  We are 3/4 of the way through our agency's annual Department of Health, Division of Drug and Alcohol Program Licensing, site inspections.  We are happy to share that, so far, the results have been very positive!  Kathy Macrovich, Licensing Representative, reported that she is very pleased with our uniformity, detailed documentation and the professionalism of our staff! Way to go guys!

Clinical Director, Denise Scott conducted a training on Co-Occurring Disorders on October 28^th.  Those who attended the training made it clear that Denise presented a lot of valuable information on the symptoms of these disorders and how to effectively treat them.  Denise does a great job of including real examples from her experience and making her trainings interactive!  

PA Treatment & Healing’s safety committee would like to thank everyone at each of our centers for their efforts in helping keep the spread of germs and flu viruses at a minimal as we enter the flu season.  During the last safety committee meeting, it was reported that all center’s had the posters up around the centers reminding everyone of ways to assure good proper hygiene and ways to avoid spreading germs. It was also mentioned that all centers have alcohol free hand sanitizer and everyone has been informed on the data collected concerning the H1N1 virus.

The safety committee would also like to wish all those affiliated with the PATH organization, to have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Please take time to reflect on the blessing that you have been given and enjoy the time you have with your friends and family!  PATH looks forward to finishing out the year with a strong safety performance and bringing in 2010 as an incident free year. 

PATH would like to thank the Susquehanna County Drug & Alcohol Commission for their recent donation of several office items to the South Montrose office! 

Thanks to Teacher Kurt Eck, who also functions as our IT administrator, all PATH employees now have a PATH gmail address available to them. We currently have about 75 active users and approximately 50 users who have not become activated yet. Kurt has been an amazing help with administering the set up, and switch over to gmail! Please see the PATH Staff site to check out the many new options that are now available such as training calendars, video chat options, posting of important news, resource sharing and more! We appreciate this new and improved communication option which is certain to unify and enhance our PATH team even more!

Many have already heard the amazing news! Bucknell University students under the direction of Professor Chris Boyatzis are conducting a research study of our outcomes information using the results of the Ohio Scales assessment materials which we have been collecting.  Finally all of the hard work, organization and diligence of the staff will pay off as these very committed psychology students tabulate and synthesize the information we have been gathering for more than a year. Keep up the good work staff and do your best to keep gathering the data as this is going to be an ongoing and very beneficial study for both Bucknell, and our agency. We will keep you posted as results unfold.  

Safe Crisis Management Instructors, Bob Vanderwall, Walt Gieski, Eric Roberts, and Michael Burns, recently met to revise and update the SCM worksheets and exams which all PATH staff must pass in order to be approved annually. Thanks for getting together to take out the old materials and replace them with the most updated and accurate information. We are so thankful to have four very committed individuals willing to keep us trained and doing things in accordance with the changing laws!

PATH – East Stroudsburg:  Our center would like to welcome the Harts to our Foster Parent program!  They recently opened their home to their 1^st client! Regional Director, Steve Gaito, and Program Manager, Lisa Alfieri, recently met with the probation department in Monroe County to present the Drug & Alcohol program.  We are very proud of C.J., one of our Day Treatment clients, who has been working very hard on completing his Honor Club packet!  C.J. recently helped facilitate a group for his peers on victimization, which his adoptive mother sat in on.  Our Alternative Education Program students recently completed an awesome art project with teacher, Robin Johnson, entitled 3D Dimensional Expressionism!  The project involved having the students sculpt clay into objects that represent themselves.  They also had a chance to be artistic in teacher, Rose Standiford’s class as they also recently created models of the earth using paper maché. 

PATH - Honesdale: The past month was a fairly quiet month at The Honesdale Center!   School is in full swing and many of the students have been moving up through the levels quickly.  Our new staff and client transitions have occurred and both our After-school Evening and Intensive Adolescent programs are running smoothly!  In October, our center is having its first Casserole Cook-Off.  The clients have been divided into two teams, each also consisting of one community monitor, who will be competing for the best tasting casserole! The judging will be done by Day Treatment Staff in a blind taste-test and the winning team will get to pick the menu for the following week.  

PATH - Milton: The Milton center has recently experienced an increase in referrals to both our Day Treatment and Specialized Foster Care Programs!  In these difficult economic times, we understand that each referral that is made to our center, regardless of which program, is a blessing, and a testament to the quality of the services provided by all of our staff members!  The Supervisors from the Milton center have begun to visit all of the surrounding school districts in order to highlight the wonderful work that is being done in our Alternative Education Program and the significant successes being made by our clients!                                                                                                                    

PATH - Scranton: The staff and clients of our Intensive Adolescent (IA) program have been busy working on creating CBT PATH model workbooks for new clients entering the program.  The booklets include activities and assignments put into sequential order to follow each step of the PATH model of healing.  The team is integrating the youth’s input to design the flow of the workbook to match how the youth believe it should be presented in order to make the most impact.  President Keen is excited to see what the kids have come up with and is looking forward to reviewing the new youth designed workbooks!

PATH - South Montrose: Our center is off to a good start with the school year! We have had a smooth transition to our new four classroom setting and the students have been enjoying the more specialized instruction this allows!  Our clients have been busy participating in a number of activities and projects during their elective classes, including: making paper maché pumpkins, and playing croquette, kickball, volleyball, and football.  We have also begun several new effective therapeutic groups which have been running smoothly and have helped our clients and staff work to identify core issues that need to be discussed.  Our Day Treatment clients and staff members have also started planning the annual Harvest Supper which has been held around Thanksgiving for last 5 years.  Probation Officers, C&Y workers, and other County agency workers will also be invited to this event!

PATH - State College: The State College Center has been continuing to work hard at giving our clients the best treatment possible and marketing our programs!  We are excited to see our Drug and Alcohol services picking up as a result of recently starting a relationship with the Judicial Affairs Office at Penn State University!  Our After-school Evening program (AEP) was excited to receive good reviews from the school districts that we service after the first half of the 1^st marking period!  Our center is also busy working on planning a Holiday Food Drive this year!  The food collected will be given to a local agency who will distribute it.  It is the goal of the State College Office to collect 1000 pounds of food!  We are also continuing to participate in community service.  Our clients have been cleaning up trash at local parks and some of the educational/therapeutic locations we visited over the summer as a way of showing our appreciation for the services they offered us during our summer events.  These locations included the Boalsburg Community and Millbrook Marsh.

PATH - Williamsport: The temperature may be dropping, but not the enrollment in both our Day Treatment and Alternative Education (AEP) Programs!  We have been happy to see new referrals continue to roll in.  Our Day Treatment clients recently got the opportunity to make candles!  The supplies for the candle making were donated to us by Chairman Gage’s wife, Mary Gage.  She has donated lots of craft items being used in therapeutic, recreational, and art classes and we truly appreciate it!  The clients really enjoyed learning how the candle making process works!  Our center would like to say thank you to our Day Treatment Supervisor and Caseworkers who manned the PATH station at the CBHNP Provider Fair.  On the AEP side of the house, the first marking period is coming to a close and the students are still working hard to create a positive community! The Be Challenged Program continues to have successful weekends! The clients have been cooperative even though the weather has not been!  Our community service program has been busy completing local park maintenance during the leaf season.  We would also like to thank Gary Shipman, our Program Manager, for recently conducting another successful all-center meeting, which has helped to improve center morale and communication!  Our center would also like to extend a special thanks to our secretary, Sally Edler, for her tireless dedication and all that she does to keep the Williamsport Center running smoothly!

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

Joshua Weisen, Corporate Business Manager

Corporate Business Manager, Joshua Weisen is the proud father of his recently arrived son, Gage, who was born on August 11^th!   Josh graduated from Shikellamy High school in 1999 and then joined the United States Army where he graduated from Military Intelligence School in 2000.  Josh then went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Management, as well as an Associate’s degree in Accounting from the Pennsylvania College of Technology.  After graduating from Penn Tech in 2006, he began working for Sprint-Nextel in Selinsgrove where he stayed until 2007, when he took the position of Store Manager of FYE at the Columbia and Lycoming Malls.  Josh then left FYE to work as our Corporate Business Manager here at PATH.  

Josh is a member of the Sunbury Social Club and the Shamokin Dam United Methodist Church.  In his free time, he enjoys playing bass guitar, working out, watching UFC, studying different periods of music and movies, walking his dogs: Hope & Roxy, fishing, and being a new Dad!  Josh also loves watching college football and is a fan of Penn State and Notre Dame, as well as the Oakland Raiders on Sundays!

Josh’s thoughts on PATH’s mission and purpose: “It is not very often that you hear that a person loves going to work.  However, not everyone works for an organization that is as positive and caring as PATH.  I believe that our mission is one of great value and honor!  I am proud to work for an organization that is giving the youth and clients we serve an opportunity to achieve and overcome. The foundation that this organization is built on is one that will not crumble or shatter.  I believe in this mission and I am proud to be a member of this family.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH….

The following staff were also nominated for Employee of the Month for September:

• James Shoemaker, D&A Counselor, East Stroudsburg  

We thank these staff for their dedication to our Agency!  

             Welcome to our family...

Elizabeth Wehr, Case Worker, Lehighton

Brian Serfass, Teacher, Lehighton

The beginning of October marked the start of PATH’s involvement in the Box Tops for Education program.  The PATH centers have started participating in a friendly competition to see who can collect the most as each Box Top that is submitted earns $0.10 towards our fund to purchase equipment, supplies, and other necessities for our Alternative Education Programs!  So far… the Corporate Office has brought in a total of 45 tops, the East Stroudsburg Center has collected 87; and the South Montrose Center has the lead with 150 Box Tops already!  Way to go South Montrose!  We are looking forward to seeing how many the centers come up with as the competition continues!

November 4, 2009 – Clinical Supervisor/D&A Counselor Meeting – E. Frey & M. Barrows

November 11, 2009 - Van Driver Education Training - J. Weisen

November 18, 2009 - Manager’s Meeting - J. Keen

December 2, 2009 - Path of Life Model (Relationship-based CBT) - J. Keen