The Pharmacist and You

Health and Wellness

The pharmacy is where most people go to get their medications for chronic and acute problems. You drive up, state your name, pick up a brown bag and be on your way – sort of like McDonald’s. But the job is far more than looking at the bottles on the shelves and counting the pills. And even that part is being done by machines more and more. A pharmacist plays a very specialized role in the medical support of many people, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Without pharmacists, it would be very difficult to accomplish the ever-increasing complexity …

Primary Care Providers

Health and Wellness

I saw another drug advertisement for an illness I’ve never heard of before. It was probably something little known except to doctors, researchers, or people afflicted with the ailment. Now, the public will know more about it. It’s hard, if not fruitless, to bring attention to a problem that has no current solution. Advancements in science tend to bring more answers – and then more questions. In medicine, enough advancements change the role of the doctor. Go back 200 years and there wasn’t really an expectation to have regular doctor appointments except to those with a high status in society. …

Kathy Scorse Selected to Receive 2023 RBJ Financial Leaders Award

Staff Perspectives

The Arc of Monroe is thrilled to announce that the Rochester Business Journal (RBJ) and the Rochester Chapter of Financial Executives International have selected Kathy Scorse, Payroll Manager at The Arc, as a Financial Leaders 2023 honoree in the Payroll Director/Manager Category. Financial Leaders recognizes financial professionals who have made outstanding contributions to their organizations and to the Greater Rochester community during the past year. Nominees were judged based on their professional accomplishment within their category and on their civic commitment to the Rochester community by their contribution to the economic growth and stability of the region. Honorees for Financial …

Summer Safety: Defining Heat

Health and Wellness

Summer is quickly approaching. Memorial Day until Labor Day is the mark of the summer season when school is no longer in regular session and more activities happen outdoors. Just about every food festival known to man comes to Rochester. There are tons of outdoor, local trails to explore on foot or by bike. Pools are open for swimming or just to lie about in the summer heat and relax. But what IS heat? What is our relationship to temperature? Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that studies the relationship between “heat” and “force.” More heat equals more force, which …

Professional Spotlight: Behavior Intervention Specialist

Health and Wellness

What is mental health? It’s heard in the news here and there, but it’s often hard to find a definition of what “mental health” is. Are they talking about how many people need anti-depressants? Or do people talk about it more now because medical treatments are more widely available? What factors are at play, and is it more than chemicals bouncing around in the brain? Politicians and media will push around simple answers when it’s all entirely nuanced and solving the problem systemically would nearly be an upheaval of major parts of society. Mental health encompasses living conditions, health, security, …

Professional Spotlight: Speech Language Pathologist

Health and Wellness

How humans build a language from scratch is amazing and complex. At birth, an infant can only use its vocal cords to cry. They feel emotions and laugh, coo, and babble. In about a year, they can manage to form a first word. In a few more years, they can add more words, build sentences in grade school, and start to make abstract arguments by the end of high school. Commands from the brain, movement of the diaphragm, vocal cords, tongue, and mouth all work in sync to make all the parts of verbal communication possible. But the more complex …

The Arc of Monroe Welcomes New Senior Director of Job Path Employment Services

Staff Perspectives

The Arc of Monroe recently promoted Kathryn Davidson to Senior Director of Job Path Employment Services following the retirement of Tammy Reynolds who celebrated more than 40 years of employment at the agency. Davidson received a BS in Social Work from Nazareth College before working at The Arc of Monroe in a variety of roles for the last 18 years. Prior to her promotion, Davidson held roles as a Direct Support Professional in The Arc’s residential program, an Employment Specialist at Job Path, an Enrollment Coordinator, a Community Based Assessment (CBA) Manager, and Director of Transition Services at Job Path. …

LifePrep@Naz Mentors

Volunteer

Having student mentors as part of the fabric of LifePrep@Naz is what makes this program such an incredible experience for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They not only provide support for LifePrep students, but also become genuine friends who make a life-long impact on their peers. Recently, we sent out a survey to all of our LifePrep Mentors to learn more about what makes this program so meaningful to them. The responses were amazing and truly highlighted the sense of comradery and respect that we strive to encompass in all Arc of Monroe programs.   100% of Mentors Agreed …

Grant from NADSP and OPWDD Allows The Arc of Monroe to Offer Professional Development Opportunities

Employment, Staff Perspectives

The Collaborative of NY recently received a grant through a collaboration between the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) that allows member agencies to offer professional development through the NADSP E-Badge Academy. The Arc of Monroe is excited to announce that we are one of those agencies! Participation provides an opportunity for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and values as they earn NADSP E-Badge Academy electronic badges (e-badges). Direct Support Professionals provide so much more than just assistance with daily tasks. They advocate for people with …

Holiday Emotions

Staff Perspectives

It’s near the end of the year, and winter holidays are drawing ever closer. Family and friends. Cookies and pies. Shiny lights and decorations. Nostalgic music and movies. Traditions from years past. There seem to be feelings of happiness wherever you go. There’s excitement in the air. So, why should you feel anything but joyful? You might get sad or angry and then feel guilty about that because you are supposed to be happy. You may think, “Am I broken?” It’s not explicitly said, but sometimes inferred as such, around this time of year. There are a lot of moving …