Author: Taylor Guthmiller-Martin

Hello NHTC friends and family members!

I hope and trust you are all doing well as we make our way into fall. September was a great month full of events and October is looking to be more of the same! 

Here are a couple events for you to keep in mind this month:

Open House for NDEAM 

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and we are celebrating our employers from around the Spearfish community with a come and go “Open House” on Friday, October 25th, between 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM with coffee and donuts for everyone to enjoy. We will also be showing a video spotlighting Culvers as a supportive employer for our NHTC supported individuals. A flyer is attached with information on this event. 

3^rd Annual Trunk or Treat at NHTC

The NHTC Spooktacular Trunk or Treat is back this year! On 10/31, between 4 and 6 PM,  the NHTC parking lot will be transformed into a sea of scary (but not too scary) trunks filled with treats for all the little ghosts and goblins! Be sure to put it on your calendar if you or your person supported by NHTC would like to come and help be part of the fun in giving out treats to our community. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

As always, thank you for letting NHTC be a part of your family. Feel free to stop in anytime you would like to visit with me to share any questions or concerns or if you just want to share a cup of coffee and catch up.  

NHTC Building Hours 

NHTC will return to regular office hours effective October 7th. This means the main building will be open to the general public between the hours of 8:00 AM through 4:00 PM each day (Monday through Friday).  We anticipate maintaining this building schedule through the year, with summer hours again returning in May of 2025. 

Take care and Happy Fall ! 

Michelle

Hello all – I hope you and your family are having an enjoyable summer. As always, things are busy here at NHTC as we stay active and enjoy the many wonderful events and community activities which Spearfish has to offer during the summer months. You will see many of our persons supported out and about at events like Spread the Tunes on Wednesdays, shopping at the farmers markets on Saturdays and just generally getting out and having fun in our community.

One great example of this came this past month when the SD Amateur Baseball association hosted NHTC persons supported at the Spearfish Sasquatch game on June 28^th. Attendees were treated to the game, food, hats and the evening was topped off with fireworks. We are incredibly grateful to our sponsor, Mr. Daryl Deneke, District 8 commissioner for SD Amatuer Baseball, who facilitated and made this evening possible at no cost for all attendees from NHTC. It was a terrific evening, and many wonderful memories were made. We are grateful for the generosity of Mr. Denneke, Mr. Eric Schmidt, General Manager for the Spearfish Sasquatch and of course, SD Amateur Baseball for making this event possible.

Another wonderful event happening during July was the annual fishing event at Brady Pond hosted by Mr. Tom Brady, a longtime supporter and contributor to Northern Hills Training Center. Persons supported were invited out to fish and have lunch through the generous support of Mr. Brady. Attendees were hosted across mulitple days out at Brady Pond and had a great time despite the warm temperatures Mother Nature provided us on those days.

In other NHTC news, we continue to move forward with our strategic planning information gathering, through focus groups and online surveys. All parents and guardians can expect to receive a link to an online survey in the coming weeks which will serve as a vehicle for you to provide input to me and our board as we determine the goals and direction of Northern Hills for the future.

Finally, we strive for consistent communications with all of our families and friends. Keeping our contact list up to date is always an ongoing effort. If your mailing address, phone number or email address have changed, please send me a note to update our records. You can always reach me at [email protected] to provide any updates to your information.

I hope the summer season continues to be one of enjoyment and relaxation for you all. Take care all!

Check out some photos from our 2nd Annual Best Bike Ride Ever. On June 7, we had quite the crew take off on wheels through Spearfish as a way to celebrate the individuals we support, a healthy lifestyle and our beautiful town. Thanks to James Ager and all the thoughtful volunteers for organizing this awesome new tradition, and the BHSU Triathlon Team and Spearfish Bicycle Collective for working with our NHTC family on bike maintenance and safety. We are already looking forward to next year’s event!

Happy June to you all from NHTC!  I want to thank all of you for stopping by, sending supportive notes and being incredible advocates for the persons we support, and the programs we provide.

Over the past month, we have been addressing necessary changes identified in our recent Division of Developmental Disabilities policy review. This compliance review highlighted the need to revise our long-standing system of medication administration training and delegation. Following this regulatory directive, the administrative team has undertaken significant procedural changes. In the coming weeks, NHTC will introduce a new role for a small group of professionals, titled “unlicensed medication aides,” who will be responsible for administering medications to our persons supported. The addition of these roles is cost-neutral within our budget; additionally, it does not increase the number of total full-time staff for NHTC.  These roles are being culled from within existing vacancies and efficiencies found within staffing across programs. These aides will be directly supervised and monitored by our newly hired full-time registered nurse, Ms. Julianne Blakeman, whom we welcomed to our team just this week. We plan to implement this new system gradually to minimize disruptions. Our goal is to enhance oversight and accountability in our medication administration processes, resulting in better care for those we support. If you have any questions about this new system, please feel free to reach out to me or our Director of Medical Services, Blythe Heinbaugh.

As we move forward with these system changes, you will also notice some physical updates happening in our main building and the Fred Romkema Center. We are using some of the remaining federal COVID funds to enhance our paging/intercom and audio-visual systems in both buildings. Additionally, window film is being installed to provide heightened security and privacy, along with the added benefit of heat reflection, which will help keep our buildings cooler during the summer. We are also doing some painting and general sprucing up to ensure the buildings reflect our dedication and passion for the people supported by NHTC. Stay tuned for more updates!

Finally, I want to share that NHTC is moving forward with rebranding our organization. What does this mean? We are seeking a new name for NHTC that will reflect both its legacy of service and our vision for the future. With this change, we want to honor the history of those who came before us while moving forward with growth in mind. NHTC is currently gathering ideas for rebranding, and I encourage you to contact me with any suggestions. We look forward to announcing our new brand name to our persons supported, their families, and our entire community.

The hours for NHTC main building will be changing for the summer months. The intent of the summer schedule is to provide a cost-free incentive to our hard-working staff so they may enjoy a bit more of the summer with their families.

Effective June 3 through August 30, the hours of the NHTC main building at 625 Harvard will be 7:30 AM -4:30 PM, Monday through Thursday, and 8 AM – Noon on Fridays. The NHTC main building will be closed to the public after 12:00 PM on all Fridays. 

PLEASE NOTE: this change will not affect any services provided to the persons we support. The schedules for day services (Connections, Harvard, employment supports) will be exactly the same as they are now.  Your family member will not experience any disruptions to their day-to-day schedules due to staff working an alternative schedule.

Staff have the option to following an alternative schedule if they are part of the following teams: Directors, day/vocational supervisors, residential supervisors, MSA staff, specialists and finance office staff.  If staff follow an alternate schedule, they will be working extended hours on Monday through Thursday and working 4 hours on Friday AM. All work schedules will be between 7 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Thursday, and 7-Noon on Fridays. Please note not all staff will be following an alternative schedule.

NHTC will maintain a core team of staff in the building on Friday afternoons for any issues or emergencies that may arise. 

If you have any questions regarding this change, please feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience. 

Pie-In-The-Sky Award

Each month, the NHTC staff chooses a recipient for a cherished award in the company. The “Pie-In-The-Sky Award” is given in recognition of going above and beyond all expectations to fulfill the Purpose In Everyone (PIE). This month, Northern Hills Training Center proudly presents the award to:

Graham Wickwire

When Graham walks by, you know you are going to get a smile and a warm hello! Graham has a positive attitude and brings joy to those around him. He loves working with the people we support, and it shows every day in his work. Congrats, Graham!

2024 Pie-In-The-Sky Award Winners

• January: Rich Mulholland
• March: Jennifer Smolik
• April: Christine Green
• May: Graham Wickwire