Family Support Program

We are extremely proud that we have again been awarded the Family Support Program in our area for the next three year grant period.  We coordinate the program in our seven county area of Maury, Hickman, Perry, Wayne, Lewis, Lawrence, and Giles counties.  New service plans will be going out soon for families  involved in the program.  During this past fiscal year, the Division of Mental Retardation Services conducted a Family Satisfaction Survey of the program.  This information was compiled and sent back to the agency and local council to look at responses and issues such as effectiveness, ease of access to the program,  availability of services, and responsiveness of family needs and preferences.  The feedback from families was very positive and the results document what a wonderful program it is.  We wanted to share some of the comments  from families, about the program, with you. Families, thank you so much for the wonderful comments!  We are so pleased that the program works so well for you.  Thanks too for responding to this survey.  Your comments mean so much to us. 

“I cannot imagine my life without the help I receive from you.  I can barely keep my daughter at home now.  Respite care is a life saver.  I thank God for someone to help me with my child, so that I can get some mental and physical rest.  God Bless you all!”

“I would like to say that the coordinator has always been caring and helpful.  I certainly commend her.”

“I want to thank the Tennessee legislators for approving funding and for helping me.  If it were not for them and the Family Support program I couldn’t leave the house for anything.  I really appreciate and thank you guys a lot and may God continually bless this service.”

“Family Support is such a wonderful program.  Many family members would be unable to attend community events if they did not have the respite care this program provides.  There are others who need help with medical bills and equipment for their physical handicaps.  Many others would have to be removed from their home and placed in a strange environment.  Please continue the Family Support program.” 

“The coordinator has been outstanding when it comes to assistance when problems arise.  Don’t know what we would do without her”

If you know someone who might need some assistance from Family Support, please refer them to Mary Staggs, Coordinator, at 931-762-3381. 

At Buffalo River Services, we strive to obtain and create the best person centered focus on the individual’s that we serve. In efforts to continue successful services, we have developed a new Management Plan.  We now have what is known as an Internal Quality Assurance Plan that will be represented in a Quarterly Report Summary and reviewed by our Guidance Team members. The plan will allow us to tract and find resolution to all systemic issues at the provider level.  The report is set up into domains such as, Individual Planning & Implementation, Safety and Security, Health, and Relationships and Community Participation.  Information for the report is obtained in many ways such as our home & community visits that are completed continuously by administrative/program staff or designee.  When completing a home or community visit, we check for overall satisfaction in each area of the domains and report all issues found.  The Internal Quality Assurance Plan is a means to confirm that these issues are reported in the appropriate manner and follow up for resolution has been made. 

In attempts to better inform families, guardians, conservators, and other related persons on our progress, we have provided a graph below to represent our percentage of action steps addressed toward the service recipient’s outcomes. Each service recipient has personal outcomes and action steps that our trained Direct Support Professionals focus and incorporate into the service recipient’s daily routine.  The service recipient has control and determines their personal desired outcomes with support from the individual’s Circle of Support Team and is implemented into their Individual Support Plan.  Outcomes may be changed or added as the service recipient wishes. Each month our Program Director or designee completes a report which provides us with the service recipient’s number of outcomes and the number of action steps present for that month.  It also gives us the number of action step’s that were attempted and/or achieved during the month.  Each program location is reported separately and then combined for a complete total percentage as an agency as a whole and will be reported internally each quarter.

With this plan in action, we have confidence that our agency will continue to provide the best possible service for all of our individuals.  Our focus is on the service recipients needs by putting them in charge of defining the direction for their lives in terms of who they are, what they want in life, and how their desired outcomes may be accomplished.  Our primary purpose is to advise and support our service recipients so that they can accomplish personal life goals and become active members in the community. 

Thank you all for your continued support to our agency and we will continue to keep you informed on successes, changes, and important issues that occur throughout the years at Buffalo River Services, Inc.

BRS will be working with the Council on Quality Leadership during the next three years on improving our programs.  We will be working on becoming an accredited  agency in our field. 

We will continue to keep you informed on our successes as always. 

Thank you Donors for giving to the William Thomas Helton Foundation. We will continue listing those who make contributions along with those they are honoring or memorializing.  Several people have given a contribution to the Foundation in lieu of flowers in memory of a loved one.  Thank you for your support!

BRS to sponsor Relay For Life Events for American Cancer Society

Buffalo River Services is scouting for employees to play in the Relay for Life Softball games on August 11, 2006. The softball game entry fee will be donated to the Relay for Life (The American Cancer Society) and BRS has agreed to sponsor a team.   If you are interested in participating on our BRS softball team, please contact Teresa Folger, Angie Pigg, or Kelly Ray to sign up. Teresa is in the process of getting the team T-shirts with our BRS name printed on them, so we need to know as soon as possible if you are playing and what size you will be needing.  The deadline for registration will be Monday, July 24th, 2006, no later than 1:00 PM. Staff will be responsible for the purchase of their T-shirts & if you are interested in purchasing T-shirts for your family members that are non participants.  Each T-shirt cost $10. You must contact Teresa Folger so that she can reserve your shirt ASAP. The soft-ball players will get their shirts first, but any shirts after that will be FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.

Sizes available are: 

Youth: X-Small and X-Large

(the youth XL are almost identical to the adult medium shirts, so you will need to request a youth XL if you normally wear a medium)

Adult:  Large, X-Large, 2XL and 3XL

On Saturday, July 15, 06, BRS sponsored a Road Block for the American Cancer Society for Wayne County.  A whopping $1725.14 was raised that day!  Volunteers were: Angie Pigg, Theresa Pope, Kelly Ray, Robyn Rich, Jerdy Ayers, Tammy Folger , and Teresa Folger.  Great Job Folks!

We will be selling Hamburger plates next Friday, July 28th.  They are $5.00 at BRS in Waynesboro.  We will deliver in town– just call 722-5401 –ask for Teresa.

There will be a concert scheduled for August 5th at the Waynesboro City Park with the Travis Womack band starting at 6pm.  BRS will be providing concessions for the event. Come on out and enjoy the evening!

The night of August 11th the actual Relay for Life night.  Events are planned starting at 6pm at the Waynesboro Sportsplex on Hwy 13 South.  BRS will have a concession stand.  Other events include a Womenless Beauty Pageant at 8:30pm and the softball tournaments.  The lighting ceremony begins at 9pm.  There will be other activities and events happening all night long!   For further info call Teresa at 931-722-5401. 

Special Olympics!

Dale Isbell	Brent Hagerman	Sherry Staggs

People First Yard Sale

We are planning a yard sale to help raise funds for the Waynesboro Chapter.  The yard sale is planned for August 10-11th.  The deadline for bringing in items for the sale is August 1st.  Anyone interested in donating anything for our fundraiser, please see Joann Dixon or Jerdi Ayers.  All donations will be greatly appreciated. 

ADA 16th anniversary - July 26th! 

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law on July 26, 1990.  Improvements continue to be made for access to people with disabilities at this date, with much more needed all over the country! 

Heaven’s very special child

This was written by a mother of a daughter with Down’s Syndrome, many years ago.  She wrote the poem to emphasize that every creation is for a purpose. I thought it was very touching and had to share. 

 “A meeting was held quite far from Earth.  It was time again for another birth.  Said the Angels to the Lord above”-”This special child will need much love.  Her progress may be very slow.  Accomplishment she may not show.  And she’ll require extra care. From folks she meets down there.  She may not run or laugh or play.  Her thoughts may seem quite far away.  So many times she will be labeled different, helpless, and disabled.  So, let’s be careful where she’s sent.  We want her life to be content.  Please, Lord, find the parents who will do a special job for you.  They will not realize right away, the leading role they are asked to play.  But with this child sent from above, comes stronger faith, and richer love.  And soon they’ll know the privilege given, in caring for their gift from heaven.  Their precious charge, so meek and mild, is heaven’s very special child.”

Buffalo River Services, Inc.

P.0. Box 847

Waynesboro, TN 38485