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ViaQuest Nursing Services has a professional, dedicated nursing team to assist in meeting your training needs.  We have a number of long term nurses that have dedicated their professional lives to individuals with developmental disabilities.  The wealth of knowledge the ViaQuest Nursing Services team possess is of great value in providing day to day services as well as educating staff of the various medical issues. The trainings that ViaQuest offers to the staff and other providers assists everyone in knowing how best to understand and gain knowledge in working with individuals with developmental disabilities.  We offer the listed trainings on a routine basis and will customize trainings to meet your needs:

•  DODD Certified Medication Administration 1, 2, and 3, both initial and renewal classes;

•  CPR and First Aid classes;

•  DODD RN Train the Trainer classes;

•  DODD Train the Trainer for County Boards, providers, Program Administrators, LPN’s, and other non-nurses;

•  RN Trainer Conferences; and

•  Customized training to meet your needs.

We partner with approximately 50 Providers throughout Ohio in serving individuals with developmental disabilities by providing frontline training and oversight of unlicensed personnel who are administering medications.  We provide Health Services Coordination by reviewing medical appointments, follow up physician visits, hospitalizations, lab-work and more.  We collaborate with the Provider to ensure measures are taken to provide quality services.  We provide training to the provider and will tailor training to meet the needs of the Individual and/or Provider.

We have also initiated a partnership with Heritage Pharmacy to further assist in meeting the training needs of providers/individuals with developmental disabilities.  We can provide training on a variety of commonly observed syndromes, medications and a number of topics to assist you in optimizing your learning and in turn further improve your service delivery to those you serve.   We have the ability to provide training throughout the State as we travel to all Regions of Ohio offering Train the Trainer, Medication Administration Classes and new in 2014 we will be taking our RN Trainer Conference on the road as well.

We have a dedicated team of approximately 25 nurses serving providers all throughout Ohio.  To learn more about the services offered by ViaQuest Nursing Services, please visit ViaQuestNursingServices.com.

Hamilton County Department of Developmental Disabilities Services Multi-System Team had their first annual recognition party on December the 13^th. The Multi System team works with those Individuals identified as needing additional behavioral and clinical supports due to dual diagnosis.

Erica Watson, Program Director for ViaQuest Residential Services in the South Region was nominated for the award for her hard work and dedication to Individuals served by the Hamilton County Department of Developmental Disabilities Services Multi-System Team.  Erica was one of the first recipients to be recognized for her efforts.  Two Individuals who are provided services by VRS were also recognized as well.  These two Individuals were inducted into the first class of the Hamilton County DDS Hall of Fame.  Both of these individuals have been extremely successful within the community, largely due to the Circle of Care facilitated by ViaQuest Residential Services.  We are all proud of Erica, for her hard work!

Behavioral and mental health supports are in high need but yet hard to find, which is why one of ViaQuest Clinical Services’ main focuses is helping individuals in need find the correct support. ViaQuest Clinical Services (VPBS) provides unique and individualized treatment services to children, adolescents and adults in the community. Our staff help children, teens and adults deal with issues such as abuse, adoption, anxiety, depression, anger, social issues, self-image, addictions and more. Our clinical service team partners not only with other ViaQuest business lines but also with schools and other businesses in the community to provide the best support possible.

UTILIZING INTERNAL SERVICES

VPBS works with the other ViaQuest business lines (Day, Residential, and Employment Services) to provide supports to individuals with mental and behavioral health concerns. By working together with Day Services and Residential Services, we are able to not only provide mental health services on-site to the individuals, but also provide training for staff related to mental health issues and how these issues affect specific individuals who also have developmental disabilities. These services help the individuals directly and improve the quality of services provided by the Day and Residential staff. In addition, we work with Employment Services to provide vocational assessments and collaborate on providing the vocational supports that individuals need to be successful in their employment opportunities. 

PARTNERING UP

ViaQuest Clinical Services also partners with various organizations throughout the community. We understand that schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities and other organizations have a need for behavioral and mental health supports, but do not always have the ability to provide these services themselves. We have developed such partnerships in order to increase access to behavioral and mental health services, but have also provided training to the organizations to increase employees’ awareness and skills to manage these issues. We partner with schools such as Summit Academy and Richard Allen Schools, to provide on-site services to their students. We also work in long-term care facilities, such as Garden Park Health Care, Diplomat Healthcare, Aristocrat West, and West Park Neurology, to provide services to their residents. In addition, VPBS has developed partnerships with Dublin Springs Hospital, Molina Healthcare of Ohio and North Coast Behavioral Health to provide transitional support and aftercare services for individuals discharging from hospitals.

COMMUNITY BASED APPROACH

Utilizing community-based programs has been shown to decrease behavioral and mental health issues, and increase daily functioning for individuals. We have found that our clients experience the most success when we work with them in their own home, school or workshop setting, where they have the most difficulties. Because of this, our therapists and mental health case managers are truly “community-based” and spend the majority of their time in the field working with individuals. By taking this approach, our clinical staff are able to see the environments and relationships that our clients struggle with, and can help them to learn skills to manage challenges “in the moment.” For example, when we work with children in their school and home settings, we can help to improve the interactions between them and their teachers, parents, peers, and siblings.

ViaQuest Clinical Services offers a variety of outpatient services, including assessment, therapy, CPST/case management, psychiatry, behavior modification, sexual offender/risk assessments and skill building groups. Our goal is to always provide the highest quality of services in the way that meets what each individual needs. If you have questions about our services, are interested in making a referral or developing a partnership, please feel free to contact Colin Fowler, VPBS Executive Director, Colin.Fowler@ViaQuestInc.com. 

The annual ‘Dancing For Our Stars’ Event hosted by the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities raised more than $20,000.

The fundraising event is modeled after the hit TV show, Dancing With The Stars. It was held on November 16th in Fairfield, OH and showcases 10 local ‘celebrity’ couples as they dance and compete.

Julian Robb, Director for ViaQuest Residential Services and Watoiya Williams, Operations Director of ViaQuest Day Services won the competition and took home the coveted Mirror Ball trophy. In total the winning duo raised more than $7,000.

The money raised goes to the Friends of Citizens with Disabilities’ Political Action Committee serving the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities, based in Hamilton, OH. Friends of Citizens with Disabilities’ Political Action Committee is responsible for raising all funds needed to run a successful ballot initiative for the Butler County Board of DD. 

The money raised from the event will go toward the Butler County Board of DD levy. The levy is set to take place in the near future with plans for paying for early intervention services for children from birth to age 3, residential services for people living in the community, nursing and day habilitation services for people in the community and transportation for those served in the adult center.

Julian and Watoiya would like to dedicate their win to all the people served through ViaQuest and Butler County Board of DD.

“This special group of individuals gives us the inspiration to do our best in all we do.  And while we were preparing our dance program they gave us the confidence to look past our faults and focus on our attitude. That was the key for us to rise to the occasion and give our best dance performance when we need it. We are truly grateful for our ViaQuest Family.” -Julian and Watoiya

The event debuted in 2011 and has since raised almost $45,000 for the PAC.

For more information on the Butler County of Developmental Disabilities, please see the links below:

www.butlerdd.org

www.facebook.com/ButlerCountyDD

For more information and details on our ViaQuest Employment Services, please click HERE.

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Partnership Development.  Changing the Employment Culture.  Advancing the Employment of Diverse Workers.

ViaQuest Employment Services (VES) is an exclusive employment agency for veterans, transition students and people with disabilities.  VES has local, statewide and national reach when it comes to furthering diverse and inclusive employment opportunities.  Many companies, large and small, are seeking the services of VES to assist with their diversity employment goals.

One of our most excited partners is OfficeMax (actually now Office Depot Max, as their merger was effective November 5, 2013.)  OfficeMax is partnering with ViaQuest Employment Services to create employment opportunities within their Southwest Columbus distribution center and their Westerville retail store.  These opportunities include: hiring veterans and people with disabilities directly into these locations, hiring people with disabilities through “temp-to-hire” opportunities and through graduating from a ViaQuest operated pre-hire training program that allows for additional time and opportunities to gain experience prior to being hired by OfficeMax.

The direct hiring and “temp-to-hire” processes have already begun.  Initially, OfficeMax is seeking VES’s assistance with placing up to eight people into permanent jobs at their distribution center.  Job postings have been sent to all of our referral sources (OOD, County Boards, Veterans groups).

The pre-hire training program is currently in the development stage.  Meetings are being held in Columbus, as well as Chicago (OfficeMax’s headquarters), to create the final plan for the program.  The general vision is to create a mirror image of what a person will experience within the Columbus distribution center…just on a much smaller scale.  Additionally, each trainee will have the opportunity to apply what they learned through a paid internship at the end of the training program.   This will determine the next steps toward employment at OfficeMax.

This is a tremendous partnership with aspirations beyond the Columbus program.  OfficeMax has expressed their interest to continue expanding their employment programs throughout Ohio and beyond.  Together, OfficeMax and ViaQuest Employment Services will reach a greater number of diverse workers and provide them a real opportunity for meaningful employment.  At the end of the day, this is the mission of our VES Employment Agency.

If you have additional questions about the OfficeMax partnership or any other VES employment partnership, please feel free to contact Larry Worth, VES Executive Director, Larry.Worth@ViaQuestInc.com

ViaQuest proves service excellence through earning the highest level of accreditation awarded by CARF- A 3 Year Accreditation

ViaQuest maintains CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) accreditation within CARF’s Behavioral Health, as well as Employment and Community Services Standards. CARF accreditation is a sign to the public of ViaQuest’s commitment to continually improve services, encouraging feedback and serving the community.

Why does accreditation matter?

Consumers face a variety of options when deciding what services to use and who should provide them. Accreditation is a sign of quality and is an important consideration in their decision making. By meeting CARF accreditation standards, ViaQuest is demonstrating our commitment to being the best service provider available.

How is accreditation achieved?

Achieving accreditation requires a service provider to commit to quality improvement, focus on the unique needs of each person the provider serves and monitor the results of services.

A service provider begins the accreditation process with an internal examination of its program and business practices. Then the provider requests an on-site survey that will be conducted by a team of expert practitioners selected by CARF. During the survey, the provider must demonstrate that it conforms to a series of rigorous and internationally recognized CARF standards.

Based on the results of the survey, CARF prepares a written report of the provider’s strengths and areas for improvement. If a provider has sufficiently demonstrated its conformance to the standards, it earns CARF accreditation.

Benefits of being CARF Accredited for the consumer–

CARF accreditation helps ViaQuest achieve quality outcomes for the people we serve. Specific CARF accreditation benefits include:

• Assurance that we have demonstrated conformance to internationally accepted standards
• Improved communication
• We have person-focused standards that emphasize an integrated and individualized approach to services and outcomes
• Accountability to funding sources, referral agencies, and the community

 

Through compliance with CARF accreditation standards, ViaQuest is able to improve the quality of our services, through the implementation Risk Management, Process Improvement and Outcomes based systems that demonstrate being in compliance with a large number of internationally recognized organizational and program standards.

To learn more about ViaQuest and our Quality Assurance programs visit: www.ViaQuestInc.com

To learn more about CARF visit: www.carf.org