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Its Where I Am focuses on the various mental health struggles that people all around the world face every day. Each episode covers a different facet of mental health with a new special guest. It's Where I Am airs on 91.5 Jazz & More every second Saturday of the month.
Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a k, U, N, V studios, original program. You are listening to special programming brought to you by its where I am.com the content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. You
Zandra Polard 0:43
Good morning Las Vegas. It's Sandra Pollard, and the show is it's where I am, right here on 91.5 jazz and more. Today we are talking about Educare. We have someone here from that agency or facility to talk to us about the way they support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We also have my mother in the house. Hope. Smith, thank you for being here. Thank you. Hey, Mom, Kelly and Sandra, yes, and Kelly, Kelly, who was my previous supervisor. And yes, I'm always gonna say it, because after you, you know, I have to use you for a reference, sometimes, all
Unknown Speaker 1:37
the time. Yeah, I could just say it now Wonderful. So
Zandra Polard 1:42
thank you for being here. We're going to talk about what you do in your role as director, Executive Director, yes, Executive Director at Educare, yes. Educare supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Correct? Yes. Okay, so what is the age limit? Like? What age do you take individuals for that type of service?
Unknown Speaker 2:06
For our services, we start at 18, and we we go up to any level. We don't any any age. It doesn't happen through the lifespan. Yeah. Okay,
Zandra Polard 2:16
so you don't help children? No, okay, but does a part of your agency do that? Because I thought I read something on the website about children, no, we used
Unknown Speaker 2:24
to, and we might branch back out into that, but it's such a very difficult thing right now, just because they're getting services everywhere else, with other state entities. So possibly one day, we might revisit that. Okay, but it's a lot of different, of course, red tape with everything. So yes,
Zandra Polard 2:39
so you guys are located, obviously, here in Las Vegas, Nevada, and you have residential homes, yes, so you provide the living space for these folks. And how many homes do you guys have?
Unknown Speaker 2:53
I'm currently, we just have five homes right now. But because of our our specifics with what we deal with in the home, that's, that's, that's the limit. Right now, we'll
Zandra Polard 3:02
get into that. Yes,
Unknown Speaker 3:05
and we are probably the only one the ICF community in the state of Nevada. There's only one other one. What is ICF intermittent community facilities? So this would take other individuals that have higher health needs, that have greater behavioral problems. It's not the same as other providers that you might see across the Nevada. The State of Nevada is just higher medical needs. We take g tubes, we take colostomy bags, we take trachs, all of that. So so others, other homes, don't take that. They don't have the type of personnel that we do.
Zandra Polard 3:39
Yeah. And then also, you know, I was reading that there's like, a foster like, you have a foster home to help people who have these type of needs as well.
Unknown Speaker 3:47
Well, we actually do some type of training in case families do end up taking their individuals back home with them. Okay, so that's like the training component. But we are also going into having them take some of them home just because of high how high their medical needs are. It's, it's, it takes a great deal of training for that to happen. So
Zandra Polard 4:06
when you hire people for Educare, they go through extensive training. Yes, yeah. So how many hours of training do they get? We
Unknown Speaker 4:15
initially it's probably about 40 hours of extensive training on the individuals, and then they have to do on the job training as well, which is, like, probably another week, depending on the home that they're going into. We don't allow the staff to kind of take care of the medical needs. We do have licensed medical staff, which is another different factor, okay? So we have, like, we have LPNs that pass medications. We have an aria on staff, which is different from other facilities that would have to send individuals out for care.
Zandra Polard 4:47
Oh, okay, so the homes also, they have, you take three to four per home, correct?
Unknown Speaker 4:52
We take six. Oh, wow, then we have six,
Zandra Polard 4:56
all right. Well, that's wonderful. And there are 24 they're running 24 Hours with staff Correct? Yes. Okay. And so how does the staff support individuals who get into the home? We
Unknown Speaker 5:07
try to build on the independence model. Meet them where they are. We want to make sure that they're engaged with every aspect of the home. We want them to help clean. We want them to help cook. Some sort of independence, yeah. So we just want them to, like I said, is just meet them where they are and build on their strengths and their abilities. Is to kind of build on the abilities that they currently have, if they're able to use their hands rather well. We want them to help with the kitchen duties. We want them to help cook and the verb when they're verbal. We want them to help participate in making the menus and things and activities. We do get them out often, probably a couple times a week. The staff is absolutely phenomenal with that. They go to the zoo, they go to the park. One they just had picnics in the park for lunch. We had a movie day where we had all the other houses come over and engage and have a lot of socialization with the other individuals. So we, the staff is amazing at that. I will say that. So
Zandra Polard 6:01
how does one get into the home? Do are they? Do they leave like their family, like the family can't support them anymore, or, like, where do you get them? How do you apply to get in there?
Unknown Speaker 6:13
We have gotten quite a few referrals from hospitals. Okay, we talked about that before we've because individuals end up in the hospital setting, and they don't belong there because they don't have those medical needs that need that round the cat around the clock care. So the last few we've gotten from rehabs. We've gotten them from nursing homes. They've just
Zandra Polard 6:33
been so they contact Educare and say, Hey, we have an individual for you that
Unknown Speaker 6:36
every day. Oh, wow, yes, it's so many that need placement, and unfortunately, we have accept them all now, but it's horrible.
Zandra Polard 6:43
Wow. And so how many places do we have like this, other than Educare, like, just
Unknown Speaker 6:48
one, and they're not taking anyone else either at this point. So, like, so
Zandra Polard 6:51
what happens to the other population as they wait?
Unknown Speaker 6:54
They wait where they are. Unfortunately, if you visit hospitals, you'll see they're everywhere. And you know that they don't belong there, because they can start getting their independence, but they're in a hospital setting where they're not getting outside, they're not getting activities, they're not getting engaged, they're not doing much for themselves at all. No, not, not at all, no. And so they will also lose the skills, yeah, if
Zandra Polard 7:16
you don't use it, you lose it, and that's with everything. Oh yeah, yeah, because I've forgotten how to cook. Well, that's coming, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 7:23
and they will, they will lose the capacity to even eat. And that's unfortunate, because that's happened oftentimes before. We've had some people that have gone to the hospital, and because they have been so short staffed, they're not able to understand what they need to do to get them to eat. So the individuals will refuse, and they're non verbal. So then you have another con, another component of them not being able to tell you, like, I can't eat. This, this is not going to make me want to eat. So then they will put a G tube in them, and five months later, six months later, they've lost the ability to swallow. So now we're stuck with the G tube, which also brings on behaviors, because they're used to eating and they want to eat. So
Zandra Polard 8:05
how do Wow. So your staff gets trained on how to deal with using people who have G tubes. I mean, I'm trying to put my mind around this. Well, we
Unknown Speaker 8:15
have nurses in those houses that have G tubes. We have round o'clock nurses, yeah, and
Zandra Polard 8:19
you mentioned that, so only the nurses like feed them, yes? Oh, because it's all
Unknown Speaker 8:23
the time, you know, they'll get fed at six, okay, and then they'll perform well. When I was working with you, we didn't have we didn't have it. Yeah, that's other providers. So this is so different. It's a different world. Yeah, it's different. Wow, Mom, do
Zandra Polard 8:34
you have anything you want to chime in on? Any questions?
Unknown Speaker 8:37
I'm chiming in with some of the things that you Okay,
Zandra Polard 8:40
well, she's just nodding, but she she might give us a few words later. All right, so now you mentioned the behaviors, yes. So I've mentioned in my story a couple of times that I had a surgery right shortly after we met. I'm laughing, yes,
Unknown Speaker 8:56
and then never been the same.
Zandra Polard 9:01
It's not funny, but my vocal cords, the muscles, got paralyzed, right? And so the way I speak changed, yes, and my voice used to be very soft, yes, yeah, I remember that. And just not being able to laugh or speak in a tone where everyone can hear me, right, that gave me behaviors, yes, yeah, you become more violent. Can you imagine? Yes, you become I became more violent. I started hitting the wall, like, don't, don't do to me. Yeah, yes. I'm trying to tell you something, yeah, how dare you not understand what I'm saying exactly. So just imagine taking away everything, my voice completely, and then what if I can't write express myself in that way, right? So I'm sure you're seeing a lot of behaviors. Yes. What is that like? So what is that training like? Because everyone has to know how to protect themselves,
Unknown Speaker 9:53
yes. So similar to what we dealt with back then was we have behavior plans so that. Staff are trained in what to do to see what the triggers are. So we want to pay attention to what the triggers are, like you said, if they're nonverbal, we want to notice that there's any pain, any pain like faces, if there's any type of like pulling away from a staff member, or something like that, if their arm or or something like that, we want to really pay attention to those types of body changes and behaviors and things like that expression.
Unknown Speaker 10:23
Most of the individuals they are, they have a diagnosis of autism. We know that autism often comes along with that affinity towards not wanting to hear loud noises and be in chaotic situations. So if they're in a chaotic situation and they start fidgeting, we know, let's move them to a quiet location where they're alone and to calm down. So the staff are trained to do that in the ICF world, we do not do restraints. So they are trained just in the de escalation techniques, okay, and you're safe, I'm safe, which is the kind of guiding them into a safer location, because sometimes they're very resistant and they don't want to leave, and they're just, you know, you get into that power struggle with them also, and they don't want to go there, like, No, you're not going to tell me where I'm going to go. You get into that situation which is difficult, but they're trained to get out of that situation. And we want to keep everybody safe. So I want to state that more than anything, we want to keep the other individuals safe. We want to keep our staff safe and the individual individual themselves.
Zandra Polard 11:19
Yeah, so I remember the back away, back away. Yeah, the scooting, the scooting. Yeah. So what type of services do you have for your employees? Because I'm sure there's a high turnover with staff, because it's a lot to deal with someone else's stuff we can barely deal with our own.
Unknown Speaker 11:37
You would be honestly surprised, and I've worked in a lot of provider groups that do a phenomenal job. Also, my staff have been here for 1520, years. Some of them have been they've been here for a very long time. I think we do a good job of tapping in with them and saying, and I'm a proponent of if you need a break, you let me know you need a break, and we will figure that out. I don't want you to get stressed out. I, like you said, we all have our own things going on at home. I don't want you to bring that here, because this can also agitate that right? Just be real communicative with me and be real transparent with me as much as you can, because what you're dealing with is something that is stressful depending. You can walk into something every day, and it's different. So we have health groups that they can call if they have we out for that free to free services to them. We have benefits, a lot of benefit packages, a lot of our health insurance is good. Honestly, it's pretty good. We encourage them to tap into those resources also, because, you know, we're all getting older, that doesn't stop for anyone, and we want them to make sure that they're healthy. So we really kind of make sure that they understand we don't just care about the individual. We care about you too. Yes, I love that. So yeah, we do a lot of tapping in and resources in that nature, which is what I'm happy about. So
Zandra Polard 12:56
it sounds like a great working environment. So if anyone is looking for employment, do we love it? Yeah, you so you have openings.
Unknown Speaker 13:03
We do have a few openings that, you know, LPNs, we pass meds, so we're always looking for that. And our end situations, we always welcome those type of staff. We also do a lot of tuition reimbursement. We pay for annual certification. We pay for your nursing certifications every year. If you're a nurse that wants to go on and get their RN, we do tuition reimbursement for that. So we do a lot of things. And then we have a nursing home. If we have direct support staff that are looking to be in the nursing field, we will try to put you into our nursing home with the g2 so you can be around the medical staff and kind of get your hands wet with that. Oh, that's
Zandra Polard 13:39
wonderful. So if people want I know you're booked up, but there might be some listeners who are looking for employment. Do you want to give us some information to find Educare? What is the website? Phone number?
Unknown Speaker 13:52
They can give the office a call, because the actual application would probably need to be sent to you, and then you'd have to fill out that application before you came in, and the phone number is 702-880-0961
Zandra Polard 14:08
all right, give it to us one more time. 702-880-0961
Unknown Speaker 14:13
and that's for employment, yes, or any questions at all, okay, you know, well, what
Zandra Polard 14:17
if someone wanted to have their individual put on the wait list. I know you said you get a lot of people from nursing homes hospitals, but I'm sure there's some families that can sure get on the wait list.
Unknown Speaker 14:30
They can also call that same number. Okay, they do have to have a diagnosis of autism. They have to have that underlying and it has to have been diagnosed prior to their 18th birthday. In addition to that, it has to have a doctor sign off to say that they are in need of ICF services. So that's different than other providers, because we have specifics, like I said, with the nursing That's not typical of the other providers. So your doctor would have to say they need ICF services, and a lot of doctors will sign off on that. Then. Amazing enough, yeah, and that's that's it, and we take Medicaid. So then that would be another thing. We have to have Medicaid. Okay, and
Zandra Polard 15:06
then how do you do with their their food, like the groceries and things like that, for the home? Do you guys provide that? Yes,
Unknown Speaker 15:13
we provide. Another difference is we provide most everything for the individual. We provide the food, we provide the furniture, we provide incontinence supplies for them. We personal hygiene things. We supply all of those things so that's not an out of pocket expense. It doesn't have to come from you. That is something that we provide if, if there's a bed that needs to be updated, or something like that, then the staff will just let me know, and then we just get it.
Zandra Polard 15:40
Well, this is wonderful for those who can get, you know, a bed or a room. Yeah, there, yeah. So how often, long do the individuals usually stay,
Unknown Speaker 15:50
just as long as they can.
Zandra Polard 15:53
So are we talking like years? Is it sometimes weeks? Is what is it?
Unknown Speaker 15:57
It's not really ever weeks. Thank goodness they're there until they're devised, or if they get enough independent skills that they can go to other providers who take them, that's like, the next level up, right? Um, and that will be called What, um, you know, like, Where were you? Like, I
Zandra Polard 16:13
came from, IFC services, and I have gotten OT and, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 16:18
if there would be that type of services, like, however, we used to work at waiver based programs. Oh, it would be there. We're not that. Okay.
Zandra Polard 16:26
So waiver based programs, yes, okay, so what is the difference between what you do and waiver based programs?
Unknown Speaker 16:34
We do everything in house because it's Medicaid based, yes, and we are not. The individuals aren't as independent as they are in waiver based services. So they would move from if they're able to if they gain those those skills and Lower, lower the behaviors, and we can get a handle on those types of things, then they can move to that. And then do you refer them over? Well, right now actually, right? We are in communications with the state with that, because now they're going to start doing a lot more hands on, and checking in with the individuals to see, like, What were their independence level, and then checking in with the families to see if they would like that for them to take that next step, step up. So it
Zandra Polard 17:11
sounds like you guys have to have some very serious data, some charting, and always like that, yeah, so you can see the progress. Yes, yes, we do. Yeah. We
Unknown Speaker 17:19
have behavior plans that we chart, and we're all computer based, which is great. So we're able to just kind of all be able to check in on the what's going on with them. We don't have to wait and wait for it to be faxed. So we've kind of stepped into that arena, and hopefully a lot of other others have also.
Zandra Polard 17:34
So I think this is wonderful, what you're able to do, and I'm hoping that you guys can expand and that there will be other programs that can provide, not programs, but agencies, that can provide services for individuals in need, because I'm sure there's hundreds, 1000s. It's
Unknown Speaker 17:53
there alone. It's very sad. It is. It's if you visit a hospital at any time, you'll see that, and the hospitals are giving getting overwhelmed because they're still there and they can open up beds if these individuals would go where they're supposed to go to a home environment. This is not a home environment. Hospitals are not meant for people who have that skill or that ability to be in that space all this time. You're taking up a spot for someone who needs surgeries and everything else like that. So there's nowhere else for them to know. There's nowhere for them to go. And they're they are extremely frustrated, which I can totally understand. Yes,
Zandra Polard 18:30
wow. You know, we've never talked about this type of situation on the show, and so I thank you for coming on and explaining it to us. Yeah. So what are some other things you all do? We didn't talk about the mental health piece. So do you all provide psychiatrists psychologists? What does that look like?
Unknown Speaker 18:50
We have psychiatrists on hand, obviously,
Zandra Polard 18:53
to pass meds. Well, I mean, well, to prescribe
Unknown Speaker 18:58
meds. Yeah. So we meet with him, the individuals, they meet with him every every quarter, and he goes over their medications to make sure they're reacting well to the medication. And it's just like anybody else with medication. When we get older, when our bodies have a lot of changes going on, we gain weight, we lose weight, the medication has to change as well. You can't take a 10 milligram pill and you're still you lost 50 pounds. It's going to make you sick. It's going to give you type of all type of adverse reactions to it. So they do touch base with that. And we experience a lot of different behaviors around this time of the year. They have seasonal behaviors, which is something I'm learning as well, is to learn that these are triggers also, here comes the holidays. They know that these are the holidays they don't get to see their family. So it's a lot of acting out that kind of comes along with this type of year also, well,
Zandra Polard 19:49
and then so a lot of the diagnosis are like, What? What is your staff seeing? What are you getting in there?
Unknown Speaker 19:56
Um, we have, like, physical aggression a lot of times. Um. Um, we have a lot of verbal aggressions, a lot of acting out, a lot of there's not really any low elopements like I anticipated so far, which is great. They know they have nowhere to go, yeah? I think they're like, waiting to get all the way through the door. And they're like, Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Here I come from the back. Yeah, not eating. You know, I think they have a lot of So, a lot of depression, a lot of depression. So we try to up the ante on, like the activities and getting them out of the house and getting their mind off of things. And you have to also consider their families pass away, and it happens,
Zandra Polard 20:37
and all of them don't come from a loving background. No, no. True also, and that there is trigger, yeah, and there's, you know, we know statistically that there is a large sexual abuse that, too, you know, going on, and that because they can't speak Yes, right? Unfortunately, that's
Unknown Speaker 20:55
the target, yeah, and they can't tell us. Sometimes we know about it, because, you know they come with a great social assessment, but sometimes you just kind of figure it out. If they're newer, like you said, they kind of get a little bit antsy when they see an other family members coming. If it's a male or something like that, then it's a it's a trigger, right?
Zandra Polard 21:16
So imagine these, there's six individuals in the home, there's a staff of 10
Unknown Speaker 21:24
overall, usually, like, about three or four people, yeah,
Zandra Polard 21:27
okay, so that's extra people. Then you have the nurses coming in and out, the dieticians, the psychologists. There's a lot of traffic, yes,
Unknown Speaker 21:38
and we try to limit that, because we've seen behaviors, and I've been in a home, and I'm like, we have some of us have to go. We have to leave because there's too many people here, and I know that that's the trigger, so let's go. I know that certain individuals, their families, have just passed away, and we had to actually come up with a game plan to let them know that their parent just passed away. Wow, and that was a whole nother issue. You know, we had to bring in an extra psychiatrist for that so they can talk to him about that, because they don't have that type of training or experience to know. How do I respond to bam, she's not anymore. But
Zandra Polard 22:13
is it just psychiatrists? Do you also have a psychologist? No,
Unknown Speaker 22:16
we don't. Okay, just a second, we
Zandra Polard 22:18
know meds are going to be needed, yes, okay, yes, okay,
Unknown Speaker 22:21
we're not just talking about it. No, okay, no, because they're all medication.
Zandra Polard 22:25
Okay, all right. So there's, like we said, there's a, you know, several people in the home. You're dealing with different things from each individual. So you have to have some kind of respite. Is it called respite? Like some help, where they're going out and working somewhere. You said they do activities,
Unknown Speaker 22:42
they do activities, but they also do go to job development training centers. That's what I'm looking they do the same thing. Yeah. Okay, so they do go to those programs during the day, those who can do and we kind of tether that towards their abilities. Also, some of them don't want to go all day, so they go half day. Some of them don't want to go every day, and so we'll kind of force them to now. We meet them where they are. That's one of the ICF services. We want them to be independent where they are. You know, yes, it's where I am. There we go. I did that.
Zandra Polard 23:14
All right. So give us that information once again, for anyone who may be interested in this field or continuing their education. Yes, you can give
Unknown Speaker 23:23
us a call at area code, 702-880-0961 once again, 702-880-0961
Zandra Polard 23:33
you know, and with this, I'm
Unknown Speaker 23:34
hoping you know when we think about the children and the parents that may need help with their child, a service like would someone come into their home? Or would a family move into one of your homes? No, then you teach the whole family. No. We just provide services for them if they have, like questions, if they want to learn something. But generally speaking, when they come to our home, the parents have kind of figured out we're not able to take care of this. We're getting older. We might want them to come home during the weekend, so we'll help with that. Oh, but they're not moving back home. That's just and that's why I encourage people, if they're looking for services, they kind of want to get it going sooner, rather than later, get the paperwork.
Zandra Polard 24:14
When do you say so a parent should start thinking about this, because there are parents who have children with these issues conditions, and they know they won't be able to do it for the rest of their lives. Yes, they'll have to place them somewhere. Yes, well, they'll have excellent care. Yes, when should they start that process? 16 years old? No,
Unknown Speaker 24:35
I would say probably about the age where they age out of school, like 22 because when they're 22 they do move on to job development training programs. Okay, I just encourage that, just because I've seen a lot of families and Dave have had some type of mental stuff go on too, because of the separation and of the guilt, oh, wow, yeah, and they're not able to check in on them like they want to when they have the they're able to. So. So if you're going to put them in a program and you're in your later stages of life, you're not able to advocate for them as much as you would want to, to visit as much as you would want to. So it kind of comes across to the individual, like they're just dropping me off, and they're not visiting me. I don't get to see them like I used to my I always kind of encouraged to say, let's think about long term. Let's think about 10 years from now and how you'll feel. They're going to need your advocacy wherever they are. So let's, let's do that now, when you're able to, well,
Zandra Polard 25:29
you mentioned 22 I was thinking because I said two different things, and I'm glad what you said, what you said, but I was asking, When should the parents begin the process? You said 22 Yes. In my mind, I'm thinking 16, because there's going to be a wait list. Or 17, well, if you don't take them till 18, right?
Unknown Speaker 25:47
But I'm just thinking about the age of the parent also. So I'm thinking like, if 22 it would take like, a couple of years with the paperwork and the fine location, okay, that's yeah. So I would say like 22 just because they're done with the school system, okay? And then you're transitioning. So it is almost like the transitioning is all kind of happening at the same time. You do want to go visit the providers that are available and see where you're going to be placed. You want to make sure that the house is, is where you want your your loved one, to be, right? We want to make sure that that house is, that it's the a good fit. Good Faith. May not like it, and their individual might not like it exactly. Your individual might be, you know, their their skills might regress, because the other individuals are bed bound, they have G tube. So they might, you know, you kind of acclimate to your surroundings. And I've seen that happen too, so we do kind of take that on also. I want to make sure that the placements are good for the home also.
Zandra Polard 26:37
And then, before then, I was saying, like in a fairy not fairy tale, because you guys don't do this at the moment. Take children in the past when you have or in the future when you do what does that look like in support of the parent and the individual? Usually,
Unknown Speaker 26:53
they come from another program. They're not a lot of times they would not generally come from Okay, they're coming from trauma, and they've been pulled from the home. They have autistic and schizophrenia going on, so it's a lot of behaviors in there. So that takes a whole nother, the aggression, the elopement, it's it's a lot more. So the skill level that it would take to do that and do that well is something that would take a great deal of time, and I don't want to go into anything that I'm not able to do well. Able to do well, and especially impacting the lives of children. So that's something we're looking into, but that's it's going to be some time. Yes, and unfortunately, the need is today. And I know people don't want to hear that, but, you know, I think we're all kind of tuned into the need of this and and looking for solutions to it. Yes,
Zandra Polard 27:42
wonderful. Well, thank you so much for what you do. Oh, thank you. I want you to give us that number one more time, because, you know, it takes a special kind of person to work in this field and to help individuals like that. You know, everyone can't do it, no, and some people were made for it. Yes. So for those who are and are listening. Please give us that number one more time, 702-880-0961
Unknown Speaker 28:08
once again, 702-880-0961
Zandra Polard 28:13
and the agency is called Educare, yes, all right. Well, this is Andre Pollard. That was Kelly slaughter for having me from Educare and my mother. Hope Smith, thank you again. My name is Andre Pollard. I'm here every Saturday at 7:30am thank you for tuning in. We'll talk to you next week. Have a great Saturday. Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai