The Insider - Universal MH/DD/SAS

The Insider
Dec 2012
UNIVERSAL MH/DD/SAS Mission Statement
Universal MH/DD/SAS is dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by mental illness, developmental disabilities
and substance abuse in achieving their full potential to live, work and grow in the community.
WHY THE NEED FOR THE INSIDER ? The purpose of this newsletter is to provide specialized information to all Universal MH/DD/SAS
employees. The intent is to develop a better informed workforce, to foster a greater sense of community, and to build morale.
MESSAGE FROM THE AGENCY DIRECTOR
Inside This Issue
v  Message From the Director
v  Retirement
v  Halloween Party/Dance
v Featured Employees
v  Warren / Savana
v  IT / Community
v  Cultural Diversity
v  Recent Employees
v  Baby Boom
v  Happenings
v  Safety
v  Closing the Gap
v  Birthdays
To say the least, 2012 has been a challenging year. Along with the normal
ups and downs of providing services in the mental health system, we have
dealt with service changes, LMEs transitioning to MCOs, state budget issues
and the loss of a very important service – TCM.
As Targeted Case Management goes away, we are sad to say good-bye to
our Case Managers. We wish all of our TCM folks well in whatever
endeavors they seek.
Despite all the challenges, Universal is closing 2012 with positive growth
within the company. We are moving forward with implementing the new
service, Community Guide and will be looking to implement other new
services as they present themselves through the new MCOs.
Have a wonderful yet safe holiday season. We anticipate an exciting 2013!
~
Brook
Page 2
The Insider
Retirement plans for Morganton’s Bonnie Walker
Bonnie Walker is a CAP-I/DD Case Manger in the Morganton office. She joined the Universal team in 2006 after
the divestiture of services from Foothills Area Program. She has a long history of working with children and
families in NC which goes back to 1976 when she moved from Williamsburg, Iowa. Her extensive experience
includes Head Start, School Guidance Counselor, FIPP, outreach and research at J. Iverson Riddle Center. While
at the Riddle Center, Bonnie worked as a National Outreach Trainer traveling extensively around the country
presenting workshops on the Family-Centered Model of Assessment and Intervention. Then she launched a
career in Case Management. In 2002, Bonnie was named runner-up for Case Manager of the Year for the entire
state of North Carolina. Working in direct service as a Case Manager
has brought her the greatest joy in her 35+ years of working with
individuals and their families.
Bonnie was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned a
Master’s Degree in Counseling from Western Carolina University, a
Graduate certification in Preschool Handicaps from Appalachian State
University and a Bachelor of Arts in Preschool Education from Mars Hill
College. Bonnie has a great love of the arts and also has a Bachelor’s
Degree in Music and an Associate Degree in Graphic Art.
When Bonnie is not working, she is singing in her church choir or with
the Hickory Choral Society. Bonnie lives in Morganton, NC with her
husband of 31 years and with her numerous kitties (both inside and out!)
She has two grown step-children who both live in NC. She is looking
forward to her retirement so she can devote more time to caring for her
husband and all her pets!
Agency Director Brook Phillips said, “Bonnie has been so very dedicated to
her clients and their families. Being a true advocate in every sense of the
word, Bonnie has always fought to get people the services they need.
Universal thanks you for your service Bonnie. You are one of a kind.
We sure will miss you!”
Asheville’s PSR Halloween
Party / Dance
The Insider
All d
e
thei cked o
r co
u
stum t in
es
Page 3
During the week of 10/29 the Asheville PSR program was all about Halloween. Everyone learned
many things about Halloween including the history of Halloween, fun Halloween trivia and how
Halloween is celebrated around the world.
Everyone worked very hard to decorate and prepare for our Halloween Party. All
participants made snacks including pumpkin Chex Mix and electric skillet cupcakes!
All of the hard work culminated into a wonderful Halloween party. Everyone enjoyed
dancing, socializing and playing party games.
Page 4
The Insider
Raleigh’s Office Assistant Pam Moss says “I was born in Oxford, N.C. I have two
sisters. My only brother passed away over 10 years ago in a car accident overseas
while serving our country. My mother resides in Fredericksburg Va., where she works
for the Federal Government and is a Minister. I come from a large family; I have 6
aunts, 4 uncles, 33 cousins, 2 nephews, and 4 Godchildren. (I told y’all it was a big
family)…LOL!
I graduated from Shaw University with a B.A. degree in
Criminal Justice with a concentration in Probation and Parole.
I’m currently attending Wake Tech Community College
studying to become a Substance Abuse Counselor.
I first started working with Universal by transferring from
Coordinated Health with my then and still now supervisor
Natalie Clifton.
Pam Moss, Office
Assistant ~ Raleigh
Working here at Universal has truly been an awesome
experience. I’ve been working as a direct care staff for 5
years now and started working in the office part time in the
middle of May, 2012. My favorite quote is my own. “How can
I be who I am, if I keep trying to be who you want me to
be?”
Page 5
The Insider
“7 year old Savana can’t talk, but when it comes to
communicating, she has no problems winning the
hearts of others with her bright and toothless smile.
Because of her big smile, Savana was chosen to switch
on the nearly 1 million Christmas lights in downtown
Forest City on Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 22 at 7pm.”
Savana’s mother says “Her smile was as bright as the
lights.”
It was a very special day for Warren to say the least.
On Monday, October 22, 2012 Warren voted for the very
first time in his life! When his Community Support
Technician, Carolyn Worley asked
Warren, she learned that he never voted before.
Carolyn found out the Early Voting locations and off they
went! When Warren came into the office he said, “This
was my first time voting. It was exciting because my
vote counts! I’m gonna vote every year from now on."
He also expressed his appreciation for his CST, Carolyn
Worley, for taking the time to find out all the Early
Voting information and making sure he had everything
he needed to make this possible! Warren has been with
Universal for about a year and continues to improve in
many areas of his life. Kudos to Carolyn as well for her
efforts to help Warren participate in this election
process! YES WARREN, YOUR VOTE DOES COUNT!
Because Savana loves to play with her mother’s touch
screen phone, her teachers think an iPad would greatly
enhance Savana’s communication. Working through
Community Guide services, QP Elizabeth Baxley has
applied for grants in hopes of securing an iPad for
Savana.
Page 6
More and more we are seeing an
increase in junk and spam email.
At the time of this newsletter,
Universal’s email system had
processed 5,754,208 distinct
emails. Of those, only 788,869 were
allowed to enter into users mailboxes.
That means that over 4.5 million emails were blocked
and we still receive thousands of emails a day that
should be considered spam, but aren’t for whatever
reason. While most of this is not-preventable, there
are some simple things we can all do to try to prevent
this useless waste of time and resources.
• Never use your company email account to sign up for
personal services. Oftentimes, people asking for an
email address are using it only for sending useless
emails. Email address lists are also sold to other
companies.
• Always opt-out of receiving marketing emails if you
have the option. If not, review the receiver’s privacy
policy prior to freely giving your email address.
• If you are being inundated with junk and spam email,
look for a trend. If you see emails coming from the
same source daily, let IT know. We can put a block
into the spam filter to stop that specific sender from
getting thru to any of our email accounts.
• Send an email to trackit@umhs.net
The Insider
Corporate's Beverly Smith is a member of
Catawba Valley Baptist Church Faith Riders
Motorcycle Ministry. This group sponsored a
church-wide participation to prepare shoeboxes
for Samaritan's Purse Annual Operation
Christmas Child - Biker's With Boxes event.
On October 20th, 10 bikes and 18 members left
Morganton with 81 boxes they had collected.
They all made this trip to the Billy Graham
Library in Charlotte where they joined 700+
bikers who brought a total of 1500+ boxes. It
was a beautiful day to ride with all the fall colors
and for a very worthy cause.
Page 7
The Insider
“Universal MH/DD/SAS strives to develop awareness and respect in order to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of people."
February is Black History Month ~ Help Universal Celebrate!
Page 8
The Insider
Andrea Burgess, IIH
Lead ~ Asheville
Kathy Hogan ,
LMHC ~ Asheville
Shemeka Moss,
CSTAP ~ Asheville
Erin Cox, LMHC ~
Asheville
Sharon Thompson,
QP-IDD ~ Goldsboro
Eric Ward, IIH
Lead ~ Asheville
Nicole Chockley, Office
Assistant ~ Asheville
Page 9
The Insider
Lisa Thurman ,
LMHC ~ Forest City
Tony Yingling, QPIDD ~ Raleigh
Rebecca Smith, Office
Assistant ~ Wilmington
Marva Hinton – Office
Assistant ~ Raleigh
Christina Boyce,
CST-AP ~ Forest City
Melissa Abshire, Office
Assistant ~ Winston
Page 10
The Insider
Welcome to Raleigh’s Tonya Venable’s
newest addition, Jacob Alexander Venable
Asheville’s Sloan Pickens and her partner
Allyson, just had identical twins: Jack and
Wilson on July 4th. OMG – how cute!!!
On June 26th
Winston’s Harold
Claytor had a new
baby girl ~ named
Persephone Amara
Claytor!
Page 11
The Insider
Raleigh’s Danielle
Nelson just got married
to Mark Swicegood on
Sept 30, 2012 in Valle
Crucis. They
honeymooned at a French
resort, called Anse
Chastanet in St. Lucia.
Thanks to all of you who gave so generously and supported
my son and me through our recent apartment fire. The
outpouring of acts of kindness, prayers and gifts is greatly
appreciated. I am truly blessed with so many good friends
and colleagues and I am honored to be part of the Universal
team. Thanks to all of you, so very much! ~ John Alspaugh
Halloween fun for Tippy, Terry, Tamara,
Kathy, Marsha and Nancy!
Employees
from the
Burlington
office collected
school supplies
for the local
Classroom
Closet.
Page 12
The Insider
Holidays and other seasonal events can be a fun time in the office; however, safety should always
be at the forefront when planning holiday festivities. Whether you are setting up for special events
or just decorating to get other employees in the spirit, keep in mind potential safety hazards.
Adhering to safety precautions will increase the ability of the people in the office to enjoy all
seasonal events.
FIRE HAZARDS: When setting up holiday decorations around the office, keep fire hazards in mind.
OSHA: When setting up any holiday decorations, do not place them in places where other
employees can trip or fall over them. Also, do not let decorative items block or compromise the
building's entryway, emergency exits or fire sprinkler systems.
OFFICE PARTIES: When planning an office party, make sure that you plan responsibly.
POISONOUS PLANTS: Some holiday decorations are poisonous, such as certain mistletoes,
Boston and English Ivy and Holly berries.
“Be
careful
how you
behave ~
it might
end up in
The
Insider!”
Page 13
The Insider
“The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of
everything; they just make the most of everything they have.”
Choose the Right Spot for Evaluations
“Where you hold a performance review
can make a difference. To relay
feedback about past performance and
guidelines for the coming year, a
focused but relaxed neutral setting is
usually best. In other words, your
office isn’t ideal. Try a conference
room or a colleague’s comfortable
office – or even the employee’s own
office if private enough. A restaurant
or other public location, though
neutral, isn’t secluded enough for a
review – especially one containing
bad news.” ~ The Manager’s Intelligence Report
“It’s Your Birthday!”
Page 1
Asheville
The Insider
Asheville cont.
Burlington
MORGAN
JULI LOIS
12/04
Bartlett
Dana
12/05
ORR
WILLIAM
02/01
GRIFFIN
JANET
02/04
LINDSEY
SHAMIKA
02/05
CLARK
JOY
CROSSON
CHATMAN
NICOLE T
12/07
LATOUR
JANE
12/08
GREEN
BIANCA
12/11
MARSHALL
ELLABETH
12/23
02/06
RAMOS
JOHN
12/26
ALICE
02/14
VINES
DALE
12/26
SWANN
KAY E
02/16
KELLY
TARA
01/05
CLAYTON
CAMERON
12/08
PATE
DONNA
12/10
RUMLEY
KEVIN
12/13
ENAENA
ANITA KOH
12/17
WILLIAMSON
KIMBERLY
12/18
DILLON
CALLIE M
02/17
PEARSON
TIFFANI
01/10
COX
ERIN ANN
12/20
WILLIAMS
VANESSA
02/19
FULLER
PORCHIA
01/15
02/20
01/17
12/28
EVAN
RAYMOND
JEANNE
PIMENTA
ERICH
TRUITT
ARCOS
TANIA
02/21
STALLINGS
NORA
01/20
MOSS
SHEMECA
01/01
TRAMMEL
SHAWANA
02/22
PIKE
TAMMY
01/20
SIMUEL
JUANITA
01/02
SENG
MICHAEL
02/23
SLADE
MALLORY
01/31
PICKENS
SLOAN
01/02
BURLEW
JUSTIN
02/29
KERR
ANGELA
02/16
DAWKINS
MORGAN
01/07
PRESLEY
SHIRLEY
02/17
PIMENTA
JANE
03/03
CONSTANTE
STEPHANIE
01/11
HUGHES
MILDRED
02/19
GRASTY
MARK R
03/04
JOHNSON
KATHRYN
02/19
SMITH
KRISTIE L
01/14
SMITH
MATTHEW
03/05
LEFEVRE
BRANDY
02/24
MURRAY III
MAURICE
01/18
MCMAHAN
TAMMY
03/08
LEATH
GARY
03/02
DOTSON
DANA
01/20
BENDERSKY
SILVIA
03/09
WATKINS
GLENDA
03/16
POST
EZRA
01/23
GRANT, JR
LARRY
03/16
ARNOLD
SHIRLEY
03/20
WRIGHT
ALETHA
01/28
MORGAN
MICHELE
03/21
SEABERRY
SONYA
03/20
FREEMAN
TAMMY
01/31
Turner
Brenda
03/22
KELLY
TAMMIE
03/22
WILEY JR
GARRY
03/27
KNIGHT
KIERRA
03/28
“It’s Your Birthday!”
Page 15
Corporate
The Insider
New Bern
Goldsboro
WELCH
SHELLEY
12/01
BARNES
SHYANNE
12/02
PEARSALL
GREER
STEVEN M
12/10
LOWE
PATRA
FREEMAN
SMITH
DEVOLA
12/19
12/30
DIXON
LINWOOD
INGRID
12/31
KORNEGAY
GREER
ROBERT
01/10
COTHREN
LESLIE
02/01
AUSTIN
ALICIA
02/19
BEDFORD
TERRY
02/28
CARROLL
JENNIFER
3/26
Forest City
NELLIE
12/28
BRYAN
JENNIFER
01/09
01/07
BRIMAGE
NANNIE
01/15
SENNECCA
01/19
ROBINSON
PHYLLIS
02/07
MUSGRAVE
CLAUDETTE
02/14
NEWMAN
ETHEL
02/15
HOWELL
PATRICIA
03/22
MORRIS
MARIAN
02/17
WILLIS
CLORA
02/27
DUCLOS
SHELLY
02/29
DUCLOS
MARY
03/01
Morganton
SCRUGGS
VICKIE
12/17
RAY
CONTESSA
03/20
MACK
RONNIE
01/03
WRIGHT
WILLIE
03/28
BEDFORD
JEFFREY
01/05
DEAN
TAMMIE
03/28
CUTSHALL
CATHY
01/16
Wilmington
WILKERSON
ALISA
12/04
ELDER
CALEB
01/17
EPLEY
MICHAEL
12/06
SMITH
ROBERT
01/22
MOORE
LILIA
12/09
EDWARDS
MEGHAN
01/29
SOUTHERLAND
VALENCIA
12/11
GRAY
JOANN
12/19
FRANKLIN
JUDY
02/02
DONOVAN
RACHEL
12/12
HOLLIFIELD
HANNAH
02/23
WILLIAMS
JORDAN
01/13
DOAK
SARAH
03/02
VANDYCK
BARBARA
02/02
INGRAM
JANNIE
03/10
KAISER
TAMI ANN
02/12
SPARKS
CHRISTINA
03/14
SHIPMAN
RONNIE
02/18
DEHART
WANDA
03/16
KILLIANY
ANSON
03/06
DAVIS
DONNA
03/24
HUANG
AGNES
03/14
WARD
ALETHA
03/29
FREDERICK
MADIE
03/25
ROBINSON
JOSIE
03/31
STRIBLING
KELLEY
12/28
Byers
Calvin
01/02
ADAMS
PATRICIA
01/06
CLATFELTER
CAROLYN
01/21
TAYLOR
JANICE
01/23
SMITH
JENNIFER
02/07
DOVER
AMY
02/15
LOGAN
KAY
02/23
SWOFFORD
GREGORY
03/03
WADDELL
KATHLEEN
03/09
STACEY
DOLLY
03/24
“It’s Your Birthday!”
Page 16
Raleigh
Wilson & Winston
SMITH
WINSTON
Raleigh cont.
CAITLIN
MICHAEL
The Insider
12/19
01/01
CONYERS
QUINTINA
01/17
02/12
HOCUTT
OBELLA
01/30
TIFFANY
02/21
WILLIAMS
HELEN N
01/31
HIGGINS
ALICE
02/22
FAISON
LYNDRA
02/04
12/27
CURRIN
WANDA
02/26
COX
YVONNE
02/08
CELESTINE
12/31
BURROUGHS
JESSICA
03/05
PORTER
MARILYN
02/13
REVELS
SHEILA
01/01
GADDY
TANEKA
03/06
HOLLOMAN
QUASHANNA
02/13
SALISBURY
BEVERLY
01/01
BELSLY
JUSTIN
03/12
WILEY
TIARA
02/25
SPELLER
BRENTICE
01/04
GRAHAM
PRESTON
03/12
SIMMONS
MONIQUE
02/27
WILLIAMS
EBONY
01/04
WILLIAMS
JENNIFER
03/13
Stroble
Towanda
02/28
03/14
03/07
01/08
KASEY
JANICE
KELLY
DAVIS
HAGAN
WILLIAMS
03/19
03/08
01/11
DEBBIE
SERETTA
LISA
PARKER
JACKSON
GIBSON
03/21
03/12
01/12
DEMIRIAL
KATHY
SHARONDA
BRODIE
SULLIVAN
BLUE
03/27
03/18
01/15
THOMASINA
PAMELA
MICHAEL
BRODIE
TURNER
YOUNG
03/27
01/15
03/29
AMANDA
RASHAD
JESSICA
RUFFIN
STREETS
BOYTER
WHITLEY
EBONY
01/15
HARRIS
LATONYA
03/30
CRAWLEY
MELANIE
01/21
PARKER
LACOSTA
03/31
ADEYANJU
ADEDAYO
01/23
COLLINS
DONNA
KING
DICKASON
CHRYSTAL
12/05
GARDNER
SYLVIA
12/10
DEBRO
DEBRA
CALDWELL
ADRIAN
12/13
CANNON
WILLIAMS
GARY
12/21
CHILDRESS
SHERRY
ROBERTSON
LAWSON
BRIAN
12/09
HAWKINS
KALETHA
12/10
BELL
BRANDON
12/22
01/25
SPIVEY
COLEMAN
ASHLEY
ADRIAN
12/25
01/24
BERNICINE
01/29
PARDUE
JEANETTE
01/24
HARRIS
VICKIE
01/29
ROUSE
TERRY
01/30
O'NEAL
MICKIE
01/29
CLAYTOR JR
HAROLD V
02/03
JAMES
LORETTA
01/30
MCLEAN
LATONJA
02/11
LOCKHART
ANTIONETTE
02/01
JENKINS
TERESA
02/20
THOMAS
CAROLYN
02/02
SPEAS
SANTANA
02/23
PARKER
ROSE
02/08
BOOTH
SALEEMA
02/24
WYDE
LORI
02/08
MCCOY
CARLA
03/16
TURNER
RALPH
03/17