Essentials

Helping People
Build Better Lives
Since 1954
Essentials
Staff Newsletter
November 2011
Vol. 16
th
The 17 Annual Tucker Gala: A Royal Event has come and
gone, and oh what an evening it was! Bravo to the
Development Team and friends for putting on such a fabulous
event: Amy O’Brien, Amy Capomaccio, Pat Simons, Kim
Shanley, Rachel Tyner, Karen Bell, Judy SantaMaria and
Maureen O’Brien worked their buns off putting this entire
evening together!
A lot of staff and family friends
pitched in as well. Anna Doten made
an awesome Royal Backdrop for a photo “booth” run by Matt
Tetrault. John Costas, Dana Carr and Mark Mahoney
transported everything to and from the event. Allie Carrigan,
Greta Lungu, Neil Wyatt, Gail Covelluzzi, Jessica Buchman,
Jessica McClellan, Lenore Goodwin, Dana Perry, John Bell, &
Nancy Holleran worked set-up. Christine Chisholm manned the
CEA booth while Alex Marxsen, Leoni DeVries and Tara worked
t-shirt sales.
Christine Burke, Tracy Hanson, Betsy Capomaccio & Michelle
Sanfy ran around before hand getting items for the Mystery Grab
Bags & Auctions. Sarah Carpenter, Tracy Hanson, Tina Claydon
and Kathy Custer sold the heck out of the Mystery Grab Bags.
Shawn Nault and Geof Simons sold raffle tickets for the iPad while
Luba Gabriel, Denise Protz and Karen Bell manned the check-in
station & Linda Gillis worked the door greeting people. Kathy
Custer, Alyssa Best, Christine Arruda, Shawn Nault and Amy C &
Amy O all worked the Live Action.
Christine Emery, Chenine & Eric Peloquin and Laura Wilcox
worked the Rec Wheel of Royal Prizes, and
Judy SantaMaria, Paula Thompson, Michelle
Faugno, Susan Hubbard, Nicole Torcivia,
Christine Lubawski, Diane Faro, Marci Lundin
ran the Silent Auction. Colleen O’Brien made
some fantastic Royal ChocolatePops and the
rest of the O’Briens pitched in as well (just like
they always do!). Annie Tetrault and Matt
Tetrault took pictures of the entire event!
Special Thanks to the staff from
Residential, Family Support &
Development for their generous
donations to purchase baskets for the
Silent Auction, and to Staff
Appreciation Committee for using the
“Staffle” money to purchase gift cards
for the Mystery Grab Bags.
Make a list. If you really want to
reduce your stress, make a list
of everything that caused you
stress and frustration in the last
week. Take a really hard look at
what you wrote. You will giggle.
Why? Because most of the
things on that list don’t matter. Sure, there are
some very important items on the list. Most of the
items, though, we will forget about in a short time.
Why do we forget? Because they really were not
that important. When you are in the middle of a
stressful and frustrating situation, take a moment
and ask, “Am I going to giggle about this in a
week?”
LifeSaver
Awards
Do you feel lucky?
Do ya?
Do Ya???
Lucky Birthday
Winner
For month
Tracy Hanson
Residential Program
Coordinator
Congratulations, Tracy!
LifeSaver Winners for November!
Nomination forms can be found at S:\Blank
Forms\LifeSaver Nomination Form.doc, or e-mail
[email protected]
Mabel Ogboe – Newcomb Avenue
Andy Gilbert – Relief Staff
Brittney Malionek – Haven Street
staff
Corey Cooley
To Brittney Malionek on being
elected the new Chairperson of the
Staff Appreciation Committee!
Employment Manager at EMI
is our
November Winner!
Corey won an awesome
basket filled with coffee, a
travel mug and candy!
Congrats, Corey!
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, November 2011, vol.16 PAGE 2
Awards for General Awesomeness
The Royal Court – Amy O’Brien, Amy Capomaccio,
Pat Simons, Kim Shanley and Judy SantaMaria
Staff
Lights!
Ryan Aubert
Assistant Director
Burlington Life Choices
Sometimes someone does something so awesome, they
need their own award created just to honor it! Just a few
of the totally fantastic folks who did something really
remarkable that just needed its own award. What to
know what they’re for? You’ll need to ask them!
Want to nominate someone for an Award for General
Awesomeness? Talk to the Committee!
When Ryan Aubert isn’t doing a superb job at EMARC, he likes to cook, shop, relax
with friends and workout. He is super happy to have accomplished his first ever
road race, the EMARC 5K this past September, and the fact he was supporting us
was a big plus! Ryan is psyched to enter more road races in the future too! More
seriously, he is currently taking paralegal classes at Middlesex Community College
to eventually enter advocacy law for people with disabilities.
Originally from Pittsfield, MA, Ryan moved out east after graduating with a degree
in Journalism and Political Science from UMass @ Amherst. He always wanted to
make a difference in people’s lives so he started his career working in residential as
a direct care staff at TILL for a little over a year, quickly becoming the House
Manager. Before joining Team EMARC Ryan worked for 3 years at Melmark New
England, a school for children with Autism learning behavioral techniques and
strategies associated with Applied Behavior Analysis.
Last month Ryan was promoted to Assistant Director of Life Choices Central
Middlesex, working his way up from Health & Wellness Instructor and Case
Manager. He is very excited to have this opportunity working here at EMARC and
knowing that he is helping the Burlington site grow is just awesome. “I thoroughly
enjoy making a difference each and every day!”
Submitted by Staff Writer Aimee “This StaffLight Of Mine” Levesque
Ahoy Matey! And WELCOME to our new co-workers!
Marisa Rodriguez – Program Manager, Haven Street
Jesse Keilty – AFC Social Worker, Family Support
Elise Smyth-Gilbert – Reading Life Choices Instructor
George Keire – Overnight Program Manager, Pitman
Random Fun Fact:
The human eye blinks
an average of 4,200,000
times a year.
P/T Executive Assistant – 20 hours weekly, Reading
Residential Program Director – 40 Hours, Melrose
AFC Alternate Caregiver – hours/loc vary
Respite Care Provider – various
Life Skills Instructor – 40 Hours, Beverly, Reading
Life Choices Case Manager – 40 Hours, Burlington
Residential Program Manager – 40 Hours, various
Asleep / Awake Overnight Positions – 20-55 Hours, various
Home Trainer/Community Integration – various
Residential Relief positions - various
For details & qualifications, visit:
http://theemarc.org/positionsopen55.html
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, November 2011, vol.16 PAGE 3
Special Olympics weekend was October 14th &
15th down in the Cape. Numerous houses trained
at Seniors sports at Wakefiled Lake on Mondays
nights from 5:30p-6:30p for weeks before going
for the competetion. They practiced their
horseshoe throws, bocce skills, and walked 1-2
laps weekly.
Submitted by Brittney Malionek and Christine Emery
The weekend started off with a great Opening
Cermonies for all participants and volunteers at
the hotel followed by a big Turkey Dinner,
Raffles, Prizes, and Dancing.
The Individuals participated in one track and one
field event each. Some chose to do Bocce and
some chose to do HorseShoes. Everyone placed
either a Bronze, Silver, or Gold Medal in all
events and we were joined by Mass Maritime
who passed out awards after each event.
A Very Special LifeSaver
From the Desk of Christine Arruda
Emery, Recreation Assistant Director
I would like to thank Brittney Malionek, Kala Malionek,
Marisa Rodriguez, Magi Lindeman, Aileen Aro, Janani
Ligunya, & David Allen.
This group of extraordinary staff
members are being nominated for
Life Saver awards for their obvious
dedication in serving the individuals that they work
with on a daily basis to their best ability. The staff
members listed accompanied the Senior Sports group
on a trip to the Cape a few weekends ago and worked
Friday afternoon through Saturday night.
They made sure that their individuals
were well taken care of, rested, and
comfortable during the entire trip. At
any point during the weekend you would find
staff carefully escorting people in and out of vans,
helping others during meal time, showing off their
sweet moves on the dance floor, cheering during the
races, and supporting during bocce and horseshoes.
Thank you to all of the staff who helped out
that weekend. You were definitely
the reason the event went so
smoothly and for that you were
Lifesavers!
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, Vol. 2, November
2011, vol.16 PAGE 4
The tour culminated
with a visit with a
number of family
members in the
Family Resource
Center. The
Congressman and
Representative
heard from many of
the members of the
Senior Group on
their adult son’s
and daughter’s day
to day challenges;
On November 10,
2011 Emarc was
privileged to host
Congressman
John Tierney and
Representative
Paul Brodeur for a
tour of our agency.
Congressman
Tierney represents the 6th District of
Massachusetts which includes Reading, North
Reading, Wakefield, Saugus, Lynnfield and
Burlington. State Representative Brodeur
represents Melrose and Wakefield.
Both the Congressman and Representative had to
opportunity to meet and speak with many of the
EMARC participants and to tour the programs
offered at the 20
Gould Street facility.
They were able to
observe many of the
programs and
activities offered
through the agency.
including job
opportunities, training,
and the complexities of
hospitalizations. A few
parents of children also
joined the group and had
the opportunity to
educate the Congressman
and Representative on the
demands and issues
affecting their children and families.
We were honored to
host this visit and offer
an opportunity for the
Congressman and
Representative to better
understand the issues
affecting the lives of the
individuals we work with
and their families.
Submitted by Judy SantaMaria
Staff Training Opportunities
Aside from in-house
trainings,like CPR, First Aid,
Human Rights and Neutral
Writing, there are a number of
courses offered through the
DDS Northeast Region
Development and Training Office. These courses
are available to EMARC staff, though slots can be
limited. If you’re interested in any of these
courses, contact Training Coordinator Kathy
Custer for more information
([email protected] or call 781-942-4888 ext
4045).
You will have to have supervisory approval to
sign up for the classes, but if you want to know
what they’re about, let me know, or ask your
supervisor if they have the DDS Training Catalog.
Training @ Hogan
Basic Courses
Additional Courses

Understanding the People
We Support

Human Rights Systems
(Officer)

Health Issues of the People
We Support

Basic Fire Safety (Officer)


ISP Workshop
Swallowing/Dysphagia


Workplace Communication
PAC (Proactive Alternatives
for Change)

A Life Like Any Other

Human Rights Roundtables

Supporting People’s Lives

Teaching & Learning

Professional/Neutral Writing

Teaching Techniques
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, November 2011, vol.16 PAGE 5
Pat, the CPR/First Aid Attack Weasel
Wants to know if you’re Certified!
All staff who work in Group Homes, Supported Living, Life Choices,
Employment Services or Transportation are required to have current
certification in Adult CPR and First Aid. To sign up, please contact:
Christine Burke, ext. 5031 ([email protected]) or
Kathy Custer, ext 4045 ([email protected])
Please remember that you MUST sign up for a class in advance to attend:
12/13/11
CPR
1p-3p
First Aid
11/17/11
11a-1p
12/14/11
11a-1p
12/07/11
6p-8p
01/03/12
1p-3p
01/12/12
11a-1p
01/09/12
11a-1p
01/17/12
1p-3p
01/25/12
6p-8p
02/22/12
6p-8p
EMI and Life Choices were very fortunate to welcome Lewis in October, 2011 who is a graduate
of Merrimack Collaborative. Lewis had prior experience in working at the Ristuccia Rink in
Wilmington through the school, and his previous employers were very happy to have him back,
they even let him keep his old schedule! For the non-sports fans out there, the Ristuccia Rink
is a training facility for the one and only Bruins, so we can
say that Lewis has the job every hockey fan dreams of.
Lewis is job is to keep the facility in tip-top shape as much
as he can, as it is a big place! He vacuums and mops and
mops some more! He even keeps the parking lot clean.
When not working, Lewis enjoys the Life Choices activities
with his peers and instructor, Elise. Welcome to EMARC
Lewis and Good Luck at the rink!
Submitted by Alex “Eagle Eye” Marxsen
Reader Rewards!
Last month we
asked you to tell us
what local band had
donated 2 tickets &
VIP passes to the
Tucker Gala. Our
lucky winner was
Kristen J Smith, of
Beverly Life
Choices! Kristen,
contact Brittney at
bmalionek@theema
rc.org to collect
your card!
This month, to
enter into a
drawing for a $75
gift card you need
to read through the
newsletter and tell
us who the new
Chairperson of the
Staff Appreciation
Committee is!
Send your answers
to LifeSaver@
TheEmarc.org!
EMI’s Chore Service Division is up and running!
Some of the services offered are:
 Mowing
Raking & Bagging Leaves
 Snow Shoveling
 General Maintainence
 Light Cleaning
 Other services upon request

If you or someone you know would like a helping hand this winter,
consider chore services! Contact Corey Cooley (781) 942-4888 ext
5023 or [email protected]
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, November 2011, vol.16, PAGE 6
Here is a little glimpse into a home away from
home for staff… Haven Street is a Residential
Home which houses eight individuals, five whom
live upstairs and three who live downstairs. The house is comprised of four females and four males, some who have only
lived there a year and others who have lived there 20+ years. The house is currently run by a Program Director, has two
Overnight Staff, four 40 hr Staff and two 20 hr staff plus Relief here and there, that’s a lot of people in 1 house!
An average day in the house starts are 6am… (And sometimes some of the guys are up before that!) Everyone is getting
up, getting dressed, having breakfast, medications, making their beds, brushing their teeth, starting laundry if there is any
and getting the house cleaned up (sweeping, mopping, cleaning kitchen, starting dishes, and such) before leaving for
work. And none of our guys are like zombies in the morning… they are up and ready to have conversation and have a lot
to say, even before the coffee is on! All the guys either go to a day program or have a job so they are out of the house
between 7a and 8:30am and are not home until 2:30p-4p… but it doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to do!
Each one of the staff has one day a week where they work 10a-8p instead of
1p-11p. They LOVE these hours! It’s like peace and quiet!!! NOT! There is
always something going on and when there isn’t we wonder! During these hours
my staff are doing laundry, making lunches for work the next day, making
dinner, cleaning bathrooms, fridges, common areas, and whatever else needs to
be cleaned and maintained…. All the fun stuff!
Each of the staff have office work and tasks that are assigned to them such as
progress notes, mailing, making doctor’s appointments, paying bills, checking on
medications and reordering medications, filing, and other daily, weekly, and
monthly tasks. These are usually done between 10a-2p when no one is home
unless they have Dr’s appointments or trainings to attend.
When the guys are home between 2:30p and 4p starts the fun! Some of the
guys are exhausted and don’t want to do anything but relax and others are
running around finding things to do and have things to say and stories for days!
Coffee is made, lunches are packed, laundry gets finished, medications are
given, rooms are cleaned, appointments are done, banking is done throughout the week when needed and monthly
banking is done for household bills, food shopping is done weekly as well as pantry, dinner is served, showers are had,
dishes are washed, dishwasher is started, kitchen and dining rooms are cleaned, and the night usually ends with planned
activities. Staff encourage the guys are much a possible to help with the chores (all of them) and with helping make dinner
as well. Sometimes even the staff learns a new recipe or two!
The house gets quite around 8:30p where everyone is relaxing in the living watching nightly TV and having snacks! The
living room on the 2nd floor is a family fun spot where most conversation and TV watching is held, where as downstairs
the kitchen table is the place to be and if you don’t have the music on or a word search you are definitely need to get with
the program.
Haven Street is a place most of us call home and have to be reminded that this is work… but a home away from home.
Want to submit a “Day in the Life Of” article for YOUR program? Contact Brittney Malionek at [email protected]
Last month we held a Staffle (a staff raffle!) to give away a
pair of nice headphone and to generate some money for
items to donate to the Tucker Gala! Joe Murphy won the
staffle and is now the proud owner of a pair of Bose
earbuds! With the money generated, the Staff Apprecation
Committee bought Mystery Grab Bag items for the Tucker
Gala Silent Auction.
Amy Ruiter Adamowicz and her husband Andrew
welcomed a little bundle of joy into their family on
th
November 8 . Charlie joined the world at 9:36 a.m, at 9 lbs
6 oz and 21 inches long. Welcome to the world, Charlie!
Lexington Street, the band that Magi Lindeman (Albion
Street Program Director) sings in, was recently featured on
the cover of the Entertainment Section of the North Shore
Item, and was also voted best local band by the Brickyard
Bar and Grille. Way to go, Magi & Lexington Street!
Kala Malionek, Program Manager at Haven Street, and
recent Dental Hygeine School graduate, recently got a
position as a dental hygienist at Great Hill Dental Partners
in Peabody MA. She’ll stay on at EMARC as residential
relief staff. Congratulations, Kala!
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, November 2011, vol. 6 PAGE 7
December 2011
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Knock Knock! Who’s there?
Doris! Doris Who?
Doris locked that’s why I am
knocking!
4
5
6
Wear Brown
Shoes Day
11
7
12
13
19
20
26
27
14
3
World Aids
Awareness Day
8
Pay Day!
9
10
Human Rights
Day
15
Bill of Rights
Day
21
28
Card Playing
Day
Christmas Day
Bingo Month
Saturday
2
22
16
Pay Day!
23
National
Flashlight Day
Oatmeal
Muffin Day
25
Friday
1
Pearl Harbor
Day
Ice Cream Day
18
Thursday
17
National Maple
Syrup Day
24
National Egg
Nog Day
29
30
Pay Day!
Write a Friend Month
EMARC Essentials, Staff Newsletter, November 2011, vol.16 , PAGE 8
31
New Year's Eve