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2019 First Quarter Meeting
Four times a year, the entire Team at Cabaniss Consultants gets together and syncs up about what has been going on the past few months. Team members have a chance to sit and chat with others who they don’t see due to working different shifts or working at different houses. The energy is always great! Each team member is greeted as they come in the door by supervisors and their fellow team members. Quite a bit has happened over the in the past 3 months at Cabaniss; here’s a quick glance at what was said:
Emergency Preparedness
With the winter season came some weather issues. When a powerful ice storm hit Central Virginia, two of our group homes were without power. Our staff met the challenge and exceeded the expectations of their supervisors. There were issues with the hotel dropping our reservation, which caused some stress, but we were impressed that the staff didn’t pass this stress on to the individuals. Even though this was a big change from the normal routines for the individuals and team members, everyone was calm, occupied and relaxed. Our staff was so attentive to the needs of the individuals; they made sure to bring the small things that would alleviate stress and make a hotel room feel more like home. We awarded our staff involved in this a certificate of appreciation as well as a bonus check.
Another incident that occurred was a dehumidifier had a short which set off a fire alarm in our homes. We were impressed by the professionalism our staff displayed and how they followed our fire safety protocol perfectly. Cabaniss was also thankful of the quick response of local fire and safety officials. There was no damage caused by the dehumidifier, but we were once again impressed by the actions of our staff.
Changes to Medication Systems
Cabaniss Consultants is proud of our ongoing commitment to using new technology to serve our individuals. Part of that technology is our electronic medication administration system. The new pharmacy service provider system that we use to keep track of our administrations of the medications to our individuals. This includes a courier service to deliver medications for us and same day delivery on some items. We are excited to see how this will help our individuals and staff in the coming months.
Reminders
We try to always have a health and safety take away from our meetings that our staff can apply immediately to their day-to-day work. This quarter we wanted to emphasize cleaning the dryer lint filter after each use. Undisposed of lint is one of the leading causes of house fires, we believe this is a great practice not only at work but in their own homes as well!
Cabaniss Loves Respite Care
If you or someone you know are taking care of someone with a developmental disability, you know it can be incredibly taxing. It is truly a full-time job and can take a toll on you mentally, physically, and emotionally. We tip our hats to the hard working individuals out there; it’s not easy. Because we know how much work full-time care for someone is because of our group homes, we know the importance of breaks to combat burnout. For that reason, one of our core offerings at Cabaniss Consultants is respite care.
What is Respite Care?
Respite Care is short-term, temporary relief for those that care for someone who would otherwise need permanent placement in a group home or other facility. The most important thing that you can look for in respite care services is that the individual will enjoy their time in a safe environment and that you can rest easy knowing that they are well taken care of. The positive effects of respite care allow caretakers to avoid burnout, delay out-of-home placements and even lessen the chances of neglect or abuse.
How Long Can You Use Respite Care?
The amount of time needed for this short-term care can be anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. Whether you and your significant other need a week of vacation to recharge, a date night, or you just need to run a day’s worth of errands, respite care can be a great tool for your short-term care needs. While the individual is in our care they will feel loved, a part of our group home family, and will have wonderful home-cooked meals!
Who Can Use This Service?
There are an estimated 50 million people who look after a family member whether it’s the elderly, their spouses, or individuals with disabilities. Cabaniss Consultants offers services specifically for those who look after an individual with developmental disabilities. When you are taking care of someone, you also need to practice self-care.
We often see people who have put off respite care for too long. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to give yourself a break. Everyone needs a vacation from time to time and those who take care of someone need it more than most because it is an around the clock calling. At Cabaniss, we have people who use us on a monthly basis to a once a year basis for respite care. Our staff enjoys getting to know our individuals and give them the best care possible whether they are with us for an hour or for a month.
Give us a call today for your respite care needs!
We’re Excited for Summer Camp
Our individuals love going to summer camp every year. It is by far, the highlight to their year and all they talk about through fall, winter, and spring. They get to participate in fun activities, make new friends, and build their self-confidence. What makes camp such an amazing experience is that effort is celebrated. Camp counselors know that it may be the first time people have tried a task and really encourage those they see trying their hardest no matter their skill level. The environment creates an atmosphere of broad horizons with fun new tasks and challenges each day.
Michael
Three big tenants of self-esteem are belonging, learning and contributing. This is a big aspect of our group homes, where we help our individuals live in community with one another. This means showing them how to do household chores, working together to complete tasks and setting expectations based on their individual capabilities. Camp really drives these types of ideals home and in a really fun way! Through team games, shared sleeping and dining areas, and wonderful conversations with each other as well as their camp counselors they become more well-rounded individuals.
Every year, Cabaniss Consultants tries to send as many individuals to camp as possible. This year, we would like to send 15 of our individuals to camp, but this will cost a lot of money to make happen. But because we believe that the cause is very important for our individuals, we want to make it happen. To send these individuals to camp for two weeks, it will cost a total of $30,000. The cost per individual is roughly $2,000 because of the $200 application fee and $800 per week of camp.
You can play a huge part in our individuals’ lives by helping them go to summer camp, the highlight of their year. This is only possible because of your generosity! You can help give our individuals some of the best memories of their life by donating to our non-profit Cabaniss Caring.
Cabaniss Cares About Security and Safety
In the medical industry, security is a crucial part of what we do. It is an important part of what we do, just like being careful, clean, and thorough. There are lots of rules and guidelines that we follow to make sure that our individuals can thrive in a comfortable and safe environment. We are proud to be licensed by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services since 2001. Cabaniss is also approved to be a provider of the Medicaid Community Living Waiver Services. To be approved for these licenses, there are certain guidelines we need to abide by.
In 1996, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress. HIPAA combats waste in the healthcare system as well as helps prevent fraud and abuse in healthcare and health insurance. This law sets the standard for sensitive patient data protection by holding companies that deal with protected health information (PHI) accountable. To keep compliance, Cabaniss must have physical, network, and process security measures in place to make sure that the information on our individuals is secure.
Cabaniss accomplishes HIPAA compliance through many different systems. One system that we use for this is a security system with encrypted cameras. When companies install cameras, they often don’t think about them being encrypted, but this is something that we have to do to keep our individuals’ information private. These cameras not only help keep us compliant and accountable, but they also allow our staff to be able to check on our individuals in any common area such as the kitchen, living room, or dining room. Another example is that with the glance of a screen, our staff can see if an individual is putting themselves in a situation that could cause them harm and get to the individual to prevent it.
Another system that Cabaniss uses is a barcode scanning system for medications. The last thing we would ever want to do is give the wrong dosage or prescription to our individuals. With our barcode system, we are able to scan the prescription, see who the medication is for and how much to give. This keeps us accountable with technology so that we have electronic records on their prescriptions. This is also done under the watch of our cameras to add another layer of accountability.
At Cabaniss, safety and security are an important part of what we do. We not only meet HIPAA standards, but we aim to go above and beyond to provide the best environment for our individuals. Cabaniss embraces current and cutting-edge technology to give our individuals the best care in Lynchburg and surrounding areas.
Gracie & Scotty’s Story
When Cabaniss Consultants first started, it was run by a small team, out of the Cabaniss family home, with a simple mission to create harmony for individuals with developmental disabilities. We went from these humble beginnings to 4 group homes, including a custom-built home for our individuals, and dozens of fantastic, hard-working, employees. When starting our first group home, we didn’t foresee the scale that our company would grow and the number of individuals we would have the privilege to create harmony and balance for.
One of our first individuals to come into our care was Scotty about 18 years ago. His very sweet mother, Gracie, was looking for a group home for her son and made the long drive up to our Candler’s Mountain home from Danville. After a few different group homes, she had expectations that Cabaniss would be just like the rest. Gracie was surprised as we were able to assess Scotty prior to him coming and discover that he had autism that was undiagnosed. She was surprised to hear this, but when telling her about how the spectrum works, things started to make more sense. We then went into what our goals in teaching Scotty would be, how we would care for him, and areas that we think we can make a big impact. For Gracie, this was a different experience than she was used to, as others would simply show her where her son would eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom.
Cabaniss Consultants understands that when you are looking for a home for your loved one, you are looking for more than a place for them to sleep, but a place to grow, learn, build relationships and feel loved. When we are taking care of an individual, we feed them, help them with their hygiene, make sure that they are happy and healthy just like other care providers. Where we differ is the level of care and attention to detail that we provide to each individual, as well as their family. Our individuals work with us to set goals and we help them achieve them and feel empowered! At Cabaniss, each individual’s path to harmony and balance is our priority.
Samuel Nnorom
Cabaniss Consultants has the best employees! Samuel Nnorom is a great example of what Cabaniss seeks to exemplify as a company. His merit, integrity, hard work, and warm heart serves our individuals in the highest level. Samuel grew up in Nigeria and came to Lynchburg to get his Masters at Liberty University in Public Health. He told us about how a lot of companies didn’t want to hire him solely out of the fact that he is not a U.S. citizen. We saw that he was a great fit for us not only in person, but in person his smile and positivity was infectious.
Through the years he has worked with us he has continually proven to be an amazing person as he serves our individuals in a loving way. He describes working in our group homes as a frat house because there’s such a strong bond, they watch their favorite shows together, play games, joke around, and have a great time. Samuel jokingly brought up how they make fun of his cooking, to which he shrugged.
Samuel, has made a lot of great memories working for Cabaniss over the years. He has loved getting to learn about our individuals and what their favorite activities are. One of our individual’s favorite activities is getting the mail, especially when there is a letter in there for him. Samuel, going above and beyond, would occasionally drop a letter in the mailbox just to make his day.
Another part of working at Cabaniss that he could not emphasize enough was the quality in the leadership. Samuel said that there was a great balance of teaching and preparation as well as execution. Among the many qualities that he loved was the constant support from his supervisors making sure that he was doing well and asking how they can help him. However, when you have a capable team leader like Samuel, the job of leadership becomes easier.
In February of 2017, we sent Samuel to a medical conference in Denver. While there, he gave a presentation to a large group of people, something out of his comfort zone, but very important for his growth. One of the people attending that conference was in leadership at the University of Denver and offered Samuel a full scholarship to get his PhD in Psychology, full funding for his research, and a job teaching at the university. Surprisingly, he initially declined this amazing offer.
As stated earlier, immigration laws can be incredibly complex. A difficult situation came up where Samuel needed to be accepted to a university to continue his education or he would be forced to leave the country. Danny Cabaniss helped Samuel by going to local colleges and writing letters to get him accepted, not knowing about the initial offer from the University of Denver. When things weren’t working out locally, Samuel then revealed the offer from the previous year to Danny. He didn’t want to leave Cabaniss, which is why he was reluctant to bring up or accept this generous offer. Danny, knowing how big of an opportunity this would be for Samuel, pushed him to accept this.
Cabaniss threw a party for him as he starts this next chapter of his life. Saying goodbye isn’t easy when you have a team member like Samuel, but we are proud of him and very excited to see where this new opportunity takes him!
Kendra & Sarah
Kendra shares why she loves Cabaniss.
Sarah shares why she loves Cabaniss.
We wouldn’t be able to create harmony for individuals with developmental disabilities without our amazing staff! Are you interesting in becoming a part of our family?
New Group Home Opens
We are proud to announce the grand opening Old Forest Road Two Group Home. This house It is a 3 bedroom, 2 ½ bath, 2400 square feet ranch on one acre in the city of Lynchburg. The common area boasts a wide open floor plan, hard wood floors, concrete countertops, a beautiful kitchen back splash, and a screened in porch. Each of the bedrooms is incredibly spacious and provides ample natural light. This home is currently open to male residents.