Jan White, traumatic brain injury coordinator with the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services was recently recognized with the 2013 Katie Cash Award by the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA).
The award recognizes the contributions of an individual or organization whose tireless efforts directly and significantly contribute to the association’s achievements and growth.
“Jan is an excellent choice for this award,” said Dave Richard, director of DMH/DD/SAS. “Her devotion to improving the lives of people with traumatic brain injuries is impressive. I congratulate her for this achievement.”
The Katie Cash Award is based upon a recipient’s accomplishments, ability to see opportunities, communicate possibilities, and foster innovative thinking. The award also acknowledges a person’s ability to lead others, work through difficulties and gain cooperation.
The Marketing Association of Rehabilitation Centers (MARC) honored DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos on Oct. 8 with its Chairman’s Award for her commitment to people with disabilities and her positive impact on provider organizations in western North Carolina.
“Secretary Wos met with MARC in February and explained her commitment to people with disabilities along with her approach to making decisions,” said Michael Maybee, president and CEO of Watauga Opportunities and a member of MARC. “Since then, we have watched her words become actions. We especially like the way she values vocational services and includes providers as business partners in her decisions.”
MARC is a nonprofit that serves people with disabilities throughout western North Carolina. MARC develops and implements collaborative programs that provide vocational education and life skills training, job coaching and supported employment services to people with disabilities and socio-economic disadvantages. Programs are located throughout the service area. MARC was founded in 1978.
Evelyn Foust, director of the Communicable Disease Branch in the division of Public Health, and State Epidemiologist Dr. Megan Davies, center, and Sue Lynn Ledford, director of the Public Health Division of Wake County Human Services, far right, find some interesting history at a display during the Vital Records 100th at the State Library.
Three retirees from Vital Records enjoyed the celebration: (left to right) Annette Renn, retired in 2004 after 45 years (corrections and amendments); Donald Bridges, retired in 1999 after 41 years (computer operations/statistics); Jeanette James, retired 2002 after 30.5 years (corrections/amendments/adoptions).
Gustavo Fernandez (left), retired former director of the State Center for Health Statistics, and Delton Atkinson, acting director of the Division of Vital Statistics at the National Center for Health Statistics, joined the celebration.
Participants in the celebration included (left to right) DHHS Deputy Secretary for Health Dr. Robin Cummings, Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Susan W. Kluttz; Sarah Koontz, director of the Division of Archives and Records; and Karen Knight, director, State Center for Health Statistics.
Ruth Petersen, chief of the Chronic Disease and Injury Section of the Division of Public Health, shared a statistical overview with fellow celebrants.
Lobby display traces some of the documents used in the collection of vital record including cohabitation certificates and Bible records in the 1700s and 1800s.
In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Department of Health and Human Services is highlighting five stories of personal accomplishment and success during the week of Oct. 21-25, 2013 that demonstrate how Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is making a difference in communities across North Carolina.
Meet Tanya Rivera
In November of 2011, Tanya Rivera visited the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services’ (VR) office in Asheboro, meeting with a mental health and substance abuse counselor.When she completed her evaluation, she received a recommendation to enter work adjustment training.
Part of Tanya’s evaluation was completing work duties, which included cleaning the break room and restrooms. Her job coach agreed that a housekeeping position would be an appropriate job match, and contacted Leach Janitorial. The company has supported VR since 2009 when it hired its first of many employees through VR.
Tanya interviewed and was hired. She started her new job in June 2012. Her work skills and her conscientious efforts to keep the break rooms and restrooms in sanitary condition received high marks from employees and staff. Tanya requested more work hours, and, in June of 2013, Leach Janitorial had a position open at a local hosiery factory for eight hours a day. The company offered the job to Tanya, and she gratefully accepted.
The company’s human resources director stated that they are thrilled to have Tanya working in their plant. Before Tanya, they received complaints from the employees that the plant wasn’t kept as clean or sanitary as needed. But since hiring Tanya, the company hasn’t received any complaints.
Vital Records, the agency that collects records that track the joys and sorrows of millions of North Carolina’s residents – past and present – celebrates 100 years of service this month. The state vital records law was enacted in 1913, recording its first official birth certificate for a baby girl born in Alamance County.
The agency, part of the State Center for Health Statistics in the Division of Public Health, operates from the Cooper Building, at the intersection of North McDowell and West Lane streets in downtown Raleigh.
Customer service is the focus of the operations carried out every work day in the building that was erected in the mid ‘50s and named for Dr. George M. Cooper, a pioneer in laying the groundwork for public health in North Carolina.
Each workday, employees stationed in this concrete and brick building process hundreds of incoming documents – birth, death, marriage, divorce and adoption records (under seal). Millions of vital records from 1914 forward are stored in the Cooper Building in fire proof vaults that keep them secure. Vital records staff process thousands of customer requests for certified copies of these records every year.
Requests for records are rooted in diverse needs such as kindergarten enrollment, a driver’s license, a passport, wedding license, insurance claim, or even to register a child for Little League baseball.
The records accumulated by the staff at Vital Records form the foundation of health statistics in North Carolina. Vital Records information is analyzed and disseminated by the Vital Statistics group in the State Center for Health Statistics to measure the overall health status of our state.
The analysis of vital statistics data helps North Carolina public health professionals identify areas with poor health outcomes in order to tailor public health interventions to the areas of greatest need. As a result of public health efforts, North Carolina has experienced significant reductions in infant and maternal death rates, as well as deaths related to some infections and chronic diseases since the state’s vital registration law went into effect in 1914.
Karen Knight (above), director of the State Center for Health Statistics, speaks of the value of good record keeping and its application for keeping North Carolina healthy. “Who uses vital statistics most? Public Health,” she says. “That’s why the law was created, to understand what people were dying from – infant mortality trends, other deaths – we can tell a lot about the public’s health,” she said. “Women’s and Children’s Health uses that data the most. We wouldn’t have a birth defects registry without it. We wouldn’t know the changes that are occurring in cancer and heart disease in our state.”
Listening to Knight describe the value of the statistics, her interest in the discipline shines through. “That’s where all the passion comes from,” she said. Back in the days before data were captured and recorded, “people were dying in counties and they didn’t know why. They didn’t know how to allocate resources. They didn’t’ have details on where to put the few doctors they had to treat infectious diseases.”
And there is the true value of health statistics: an awareness of a problem through monitoring, and the knowledge of where to focuses resources to resolve it. Communicable diseases were the primary problems back then,” she said. “The leading causes of death are different now than they used to be. We don’t have TB like they had back then, and you can see all this in the statistics. These data continue to be critical for understanding our population’s health. Everybody uses them: demographers, the public, researchers.”
She summed up the purpose of Vital Records and Vital Statistics: “Our primary purpose is to help those developing and evaluating public health programs.”
Acting State Registrar Vickie Pearce (above) has worked 35 years with Vital Records. She and Technology Support Analyst Rick Tucker (below) agree that the records are the backbone of the operation. If there were no records, there could be no statistics.
Spend a little time with them and the two provide a glimpse into the significance of all the record keeping accomplished by their agency and the importance of customer service in their work.
Pearce has many stories of the people who have visited the Cooper Building looking for help; and Tucker holds to a strong historical perspective of the agency and its storied leaders.
“We had a family come in one day and you could tell they were upset,” said Pearce. “The mother was fussing at her husband saying she thought he’d ‘taken care of it.’” The husband had not ‘take care of it’ and now the mother’s 16-year-old daughter needed a copy of her birth certificate in order to get a driver’s license. What’s the problem? Well the daughter might learn that the man she grew up believing was her father was not listed on her birth certificate. “I told her parents, “We can fix that with an amendment,” Pearce said. “It really does make you feel good with a family like that comes in all upset and leaves with a smile.”
Tucker cites another example: “it was an icy winter day and Vickie and I were the only ones who made it into work that day. We were surprised when a 93-year-old lady showed up at our door with her adult children. She needed a copy of her birth certificate. Her children were taking her abroad for her birthday and she needed the birth certificate to get a passport. We were able to help her on the spot, and they left happy.”
“One of the things about vital records, they cover all of the life events,” Tucker said. “They’re living documents. As our citizens’ lives change and evolve, those documents, too, evolve and change, through the amendment process. We provide these documents for our citizens as needed. Many people refer to them as the bookkeepers of humanity.”
In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Department of Health and Human Services is highlighting five stories of personal accomplishment and success during October 2013 that demonstrate how Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is making a difference in communities across North Carolina.
Meet Ernest Moore
When an employer in need of an employee can be introduced to a job seeker who is a great match for the business and the position needed, that’s a ‘good deal.’ Such a deal took place in Atlantic Beach when Randy Hingson and Ernest Moore met through an employment counselor with the North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR).
Ernest had been out of work for a while and had recently moved to the Atlantic Beach area. He had worked in the restaurant industry. At the same time, Randy, owner of The White Swan barbecue restaurant and catering business, needed assistance. VR brought them together, with Randy finding Ernest to have the skills and experience necessary to fulfill his employee needs.
“Today Ernest looks forward to coming to work and has pride in playing a part in satisfied customer’s smile when they leave or return for more. This is his reward,” Randy stated. “When Ernest has got it, I don’t have to worry about it, whatever it is.” Their ability to work well together shines through in all of their tasks: cooking, catering, prepping, cleaning, delivery and more.
According to Ernest, “Vocational Rehabilitation gave me the necessary tools that I needed to be where I am today. I thought I had the tools to search for and get a job, but I did not. They gave me encouragement, built stronger communication skills and how to apply for jobs. I didn’t take no for an answer, and I did not give up.”
In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Department of Health and Human Services is highlighting five stories of personal accomplishment and success during October 2013 that demonstrate how Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is making a difference in communities across North Carolina.
Meet Brandon Johnson
Nineteen-year-old Brandon Johnson, a Fayetteville resident and 2013 graduate of E.E. Smith High School, has been diagnosed with high myopia, an eye condition that causes nearsightedness and can lead to other vision problems. He also has a developmental delay.
In high school, Brandon enrolled in E.E. Smith’s Occupational Course of Study (OCS) program and received services from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services transition program, which is administered by the Division of Services for the Blind (DSB).
Beginning his freshman year, Brandon’s DSB counselor and community employment specialist met with him and his mother to discuss Brandon’s long-term employment goals. Through the OCS program, Brandon completed several work experiences, which allowed him to gain valuable skills that have transferred over into competitive employment.
In May 2013, DSB developed a relationship with the local Dunkin’ Donuts establishment and arranged a work experience with stipend opportunity for Brandon. During his first three weeks, DSB’s transition program provided Brandon with job coaching. Some of Brandon’s job duties included emptying the trash cans throughout the store, taking trash and boxes to the dumpster, washing dishes, maintaining the cleanliness of the store, folding coffee boxes, making bags for coffee supplies, and restocking the condiment area at the front of the store.
Brandon applied himself during his DSB work experience, receiving accolades from the store’s managers. They shared with DSB’s transition staff about how impressed they were with Brandon’s work ethic and his friendly demeanor with staff and customers. They believed that their business could benefit from hiring Brandon as an employee. They discussed the Work Opportunity Tax Credit with DSB’s transition program. They hired Brandon with a start date of July 15th, 2013. Since becoming employed, Brandon has learned how to make coffee and has requested to learn how to make doughnuts.
In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Department of Health and Human Services is highlighting five stories of personal accomplishment and success during the week of Oct. 21-25, 2013 that demonstrate how Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is making a difference in communities across North Carolina.
Meet Adam Lawler
Adam Lawler started receiving services from the Division of Services for the Blind (DSB) in 2008. In 2011 he returned to part-time employment with West Jefferson Chevrolet Buick GMC, which allowed him to supplement his Social Security Disability Insurance.
He was initially hired to perform auto sales, but quickly realized that his vision had worsened. He was no longer able to read the price list or other details on car labels. He struggled to locate the correct vehicle on the lot when assisting potential customers. In order to find a way to make sales, Adam quickly grabbed the telephone and started making cold calls.
A consultant visiting the dealership noticed Adam and suggested to the manager that they use his telephone sales skills. The manager created a position for Adam to work as a customer service representative for 30 hours a week, making outgoing calls to previous customers to conduct customer satisfaction surveys and determine whether they are in the market for a new vehicle.
Adam also greets repeat walk-in customers who stop by to see him and matches them with a salesperson who can assist them. In addition, he writes radio and print advertising copy and remains responsible for Internet sales.
Adam has received several services through DSB; include job development and job placement, orientation and mobility training, low vision assessment and devices, assistive technology equipment, job accommodations at his job site, and guidance and counseling related to career options.
The dealership recently won an award as Customer Satisfaction Leader in Sales and Service in the Greensboro and Raleigh Districts for the second quarter of 2013, for which Adam can take partial credit along with his team members. Adam has stated, “It’s just simply good to feel like I’m making a difference in the dealership.”
The Department of Health and Human Services is proud of Adam’s persistence and initiative.
