Milestone HCQU West Blog

October 16, 2024

Do Good and Positively Impact Your Bottom Line!

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month Employment offers many benefits beyond financial compensation. It keeps us busy, challenges us, and adds value and structure to our lives. It gives us a sense of pride, purpose, and personal achievement. This is equally important for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and/or autism. We have witnessed the positive impact of employment on many...

Community/Employment/Everyday Life/General

October 9, 2024

Trauma and Direct Care Professionals: The Forgotten Sacrifice

Modified from August 2019. Having worked in our system for a number of years now, I have heard many horrible stories of what people have had to endure in their lifetime. We truly work with some of the strongest survivors I have had the privilege of knowing. According to a report completed by NPR in 2018, people with intellectual disabilities...

Everyday Life/General

July 17, 2024

Breaking News: Milestone HCQU West is on Facebook!

What is a HCQU? Do you know what HCQU stands for? What services do they offer? Back in January of this year, I had the privilege of attending the Everyday Lives conference in Hershey, PA. Some of my colleagues and I shared a vendor table with the other Health Care Quality Units (HCQUs) across the state and had an opportunity...

Community/Everyday Life/General/Resources

November 13, 2023

FACT: People with Intellectual Disabilities & Autism Can Be Outstanding Employees

In a world where there’s a Help Wanted sign in the window of every other business, it should be easy for a job seeker with an intellectual disability (ID) or Autism to find work. But business owners and hiring managers are often reluctant to even grant an interview. At Milestone HCQU West, we wanted to lend our support to all...

Community/Employment/Everyday Life/General

December 22, 2021

The Present

Many different traditions and celebrations are being remembered this time of year. As you remember the past, far distant or the recent months, I hope you also cherish the value of being present. Sometimes that means being a listening ear as someone meanders down memory lane. They just need a tender heart willing to glimpse at what they are sharing....

Everyday Life/General

October 20, 2021

Down Syndrome Association of the Valley

I recently had the pleasure to meet Michele Jones, the President of Down Syndrome Association of the Valley (DSAV). DSAV serves Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania as a regional support group. She was excited to share some of the opportunities that DSAV has to offer people with Down Syndrome and their families. Down Syndrome Association of the Valley provides everything...

Community/General/Resources

February 12, 2020

For the Love of Horses

I recently had the opportunity to experience Elliott Acres Therapeutic Riding Center in Butler, PA. The Center offers therapeutic riding opportunities to adults and children with physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities. The owner, Deb Campbell, was nothing but delightful. She and her staff were patient in offering instructions on how to groom the horses. Riding will be offered again beginning...

Community/General/Resources

October 16, 2019

Could the Person You Support Benefit from Physical or Occupational Therapy? It’s Not a Far Stretch.

As HCQU staff, we are often times asked to come in and provide insight as to how best to support an individual and their team that may be struggling with medical, behavioral, emotional, and physical complications. These are called Intensive Technical Assists or ITAs. As we try to sleuth our way through medical and psychiatric records along with input from...

General/Resources

September 4, 2019

September: National Suicide Prevention Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Recently, I was at a meeting and overheard people talking about the increased rate of suicide in people on the autism spectrum. It was not a statistic I was aware of and it peaked my interest. As a system we know that those we support have a higher rate of psychiatric disorders than the...

General

July 17, 2019

Jack

Jack. Jack. Jack. My dog has given me 17 amazingly fun and often chaotic years of life. As of this writing she is still chugging along. It probably won’t be much longer. She is showing all the signs of being near the end of life. Vomiting, as her digestive system shuts down, slow breathing, as her heart and lungs begin...

Community/General

Tag: support