Employee Newsletter | April 2019
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THIS ISSUE ONLY
Good News Roundup
Our New Vision Statement
ADP Home Page Helps Keep Track
1 Door to All Our Websites
Our Newest Service: Acupuncture
Tackling Communication Problems
Declaring We're Recovery Friendly
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IN EVERY ISSUE
New Employees
IT Corner:
Don't Get 'Phished
'
TIC Corner:
For Non-Clinicians
Mark Your Calendar
Pass it On (Referrals)
Work Anniversaries
Current Job Openings
In the News
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We welcome our latest group of new hires to the Greater Seacoast Community Health family. Take some time to see who you might run into and remember to introduce yourself and welcome your new teammates.
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Tatum Hinckley
MA at Lilac City Pediatrics
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Michael Robustelli
ARNP at Goodwin
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Kelly Nyberg
Patient Advocate at Families First
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Elizabeth Nelson
Acupuncturist at Goodwin
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David Wallace
PA Student at Goodwin
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Cheryl Beaupre
RN at Goodwin
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Ashley Wright
Continuum of Care Manager
at Strafford County Public Health Network
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Amber Couture
Dental Manager at Goodwin and Families First
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Julie McLellan
Patient Advocate at Families First
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Kristin Corbin
Home Visitor at Families First
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SOS Wins Statewide Award
Congratulations to SOS Recovery Community Organization, which received the Harvard Pilgrim Healthy Community Impact Award for its dedication to eliminating barriers to recovery services. SOS Director John Burns (at left) accepted the award.
Families First Reopens to New Adult PCP Patients
Families First recently began taking new adult primary care patients, after being closed to adult primary care patients since last summer. Appointment slots are still very limited, but if anyone asks –
yes, we are
accepting new patients.
Parenting Journey
For the first time ever in this region, we are offering the nationally recognized Parenting Journey program.
An evidence-based and trauma-informed program, Parenting Journey is designed for parents who want to break patterns from their childhood and make things better for their own children.
Patrice Baker
and
Jo Ann Clement
are leading the first 12-week session of PJ, which is now running in Somersworth.
Click here
for more info or to be notified the next time we offer the program (Fall 2019, in Portsmouth).
Banff Film Festival
The
Banff Film Festival
in March grossed $50K! Congratulations to the Development team:
Elizabeth Clemence, Joann Neumann
and
Paula Place.
And thanks to all our volunteer helpers!
Federal Grant Renewed for Three Years
Our HRSA grant, which provides us with $3.65 million each year has just been renewed for another three years. There was a chance that it would have been renewed for only one year, which would have meant a site visit
this summer.
Now the site visit won't be for at least a year. Whew! Good job,
Helen Long
(our grantwriter).
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ADP Home Page Now Offers More
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Next time you go into ADP to do your time sheet, take a second to check out the home page. More links have been added to make it easier to find things you might need. For example, there is a link to current and past employee newsletters, which can come in handy if you’re wondering who a new employee is, or trying to remember what the rules are about space heaters. Send your ideas for items to put on the ADP home page to
Margie Wachtel
or any member of the HR team.
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A Doorway to All Our Websites
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Greater Seacoast Community Health now has a landing page that people can use to jump off to all of the different websites in the GSCH family:
GetCommunityHealth.org
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Our Newest Service: Acupuncture
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To better meet the needs of our patients who are battling addiction, PTSD or chronic pain, we now have an acupuncturist on staff –
Liz Nelson, LAc, RN
. Liz will do Acudetox in group settings, such as before or after IOP groups, as well as full-body acupuncture, using microcurrent and/or needles. This is open to all patients, but currently is only offered in Somersworth, for space reasons. Patient referrals need to go through a provider. To learn more about this, contact Liz
by
email
or at 749-2346 x732. Soon we will have a part-time physical therapist on staff also!
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Tackling GSCH Communication Problems
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It’s no secret that many GSCH staff members, at all levels, believe communication within our organization needs improvement. Recently, the GSCH Managers and Directors team has begun focusing on this in a major way. We identified three main areas where changes could have the biggest impact on improving communication, and we have a team working on each one:
- Training and Retaining – Covering topics like employee orientation, understanding staff roles and responsibilities, the org chart, onboarding and transitioning.
- The How-To Crew – To address why staff often don’t have the info they need about how to do certain things or whom to go to with certain questions or problems
- The Change Gang - To make sure all stakeholders and people with relevant information are included in decisionmaking, and that changes are communicated well.
If you have suggestions for improving communications, please talk your own manager or director, or any other member of the Managers/Directors team.
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GSCH Declares We're Recovery-Friendly
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GSCH is proud to be listed as an “Early Adopter” in
New Hampshire’s Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative
. Janet signed the following declaration:
Greater Seacoast Community Health is committed to creating a healthy, safe and stigma-free environment through our participation in the NH Governor’s Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW) Initiative. RFWs encourage environments where employers, employees and communities can collaborate to create positive change and eliminate barriers for those impacted by addiction. In order to achieve a high level of employee health, safety, and productivity, we invite and encourage all employees to reach out for help and support.
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IT Corner: Phishing Warning
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Our IT department would like to share some tips on avoiding scam emails and malware. See below to learn some easy ways to identify potentially dangerous or malicious emails.
Phishing is “the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.” The number of phishing emails GSCH staff have received has increased quite a bit in the past few months. Here are a few tips to help you identify these emails and stay vigilant, so that you don’t fall victim to one of these scams.
1. Does the email ask you to confirm your personal information?
If so, immediately stop and take a closer look at this email. Is this an unusual request? Why would this person be asking for this information?
2.
Does the email address match one for GSCH?
Many times, the email will claim to be someone that works for GSCH, but has an invalid email address, such @gmail, @yahoo, etc. Please verify that the email address ends in goodwinch.org, familiesfirstseacoast.org, etc. If you have any questions about whether an email is from a valid address, please contact IT.
3.
Is the email poorly written?
Often these emails have many grammatical errors and unusual characters in them.
4.
Is there an attachment?
If so, were you expecting this attachment?
While we do have other measures in place for identifying dangerous files, it’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to attachments. If you weren’t expecting it, or the sender doesn’t seem familiar,
please do not open it
. When in doubt, forward it to IT to look at first.
5.
Does the email sound like an emergency?
Many scams are designed to make you feel rushed so that you will perform the action they want, without anyone in the company having time to catch on and tell you that it’s a scam. Ideally, confirm with the sender (by phone or in person, if possible) before making purchases or divulging information. Don’t feel rushed when it comes to sensitive information.
If you have any questions about phishing, or want us to look at a questionable email you received, contact us at
[email protected]
o
r call 516-2575. Thank you.
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Trauma-Informed Care Corner
TIC for Non-Clinicians
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Turning a Scary Place into a Safe Space
- b
y Lindsay Arceci, a social worker at Families First and a member of the TIC Task Force
A doctor’s office can seem like a scary place, when all we want it to be is a safe space. For patients who have experienced trauma, opening up to those in the medical field can be daunting. Simply the way you ask a question could frame how much information a patient is willing to share with you. Just your tone of voice could help a patient realize that you truly care about them. Carefully choosing your words and tone of voice when talking to all our clients could mean the difference between someone feeling activated and triggered … or empowered, connected and full of hope.
Because we can never truly know what a client is going through or what type of life they've lived, it's important that we show extra care and thought in what we say and how we say it to
all
our clients. Every moment we spend with a client is an opportunity to build trust and understanding. The client's experience isn't isolated to just their encounter with a provider or clinician. It starts as soon as they walk through the door and check-in for their appointment. For example:
If a patient has a large back balance …
Instead of saying:
"You have a back balance of $175. You will need to start making payments this month or this will be sent to collections soon."
Try saying:
"I would like to help you with options regarding your payments by letting you know about a balance you have with us. May I discuss this with you?"
If no appointment time that you offer works for the patient …
Instead of saying:
"If you can’t find a ride this week to come in, your provider isn’t free for another two weeks. Please call us back."
Try saying:
"Is transportation a barrier for you? We have several options to help you get a ride to the office. Would like to speak with someone about this? We help patients with transportation all the time."
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Employee Safety Assessment Surveys
Code Red – Fire Evacuation Survey coming soon – due by the end of April
Our annual Emergency Management trainings have begun for 2019, so please be on the lookout for emails from Gary with policies to review and quick surveys to complete.
Father’s Day 5k
Sunday, June 16, 2019. Race begins at 9.
Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities are invited to Margaritas in Dover for a morning of fitness and fun!
Click
here
to register (employee discounts available) and contact
Simone Talbot
about volunteering.
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Pass It On
Please Refer Your Clients to these Programs
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Somersworth Family Morning Out
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Tell your patients, clients, family and friends about Somersworth Morning Out, a free program for kids (0-6) and their parents or caregivers.
Includes crafts and other activities, positive play with peers and adults, and songs, snacks and storytime.
Meets
Fridays from 9:30-11 a.m. at the Flanagan Center, through June 14
th
.
More info and signup
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Other Parent and Family Programs
Open to:
All parents, grandparents, guardians and children
Weekday mornings and evenings
@Families First in Portsmouth and in Somersworth, Seabrook, Epping and Exeter
Contact:
The Family Center at Families First (603-422-8208 ext. 2) or calendar button below
In addition to Somersworth Family Morning Out, we also offer parenting classes, parent groups and playgroups in four other towns. Click the green button below for the complete list.
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Intensive Outpatient Programs
Open to:
Anyone with a substance use disorder
@ Families First and Goodwin Community Health
The IOPs at both
Goodwin
and
Families First
have room for more people. Participants do not need to be primary-care patients, so please refer anyone you know who needs this support.
Empowering Whole Health Peer Support Group
Open to:
Anyone 18+ with a chronic disease
Wednesdays, 3:30-5 p.m., March 6 through May 8
@ Goodwin Community Health
The Empowering Whole Health W.H.A.M. Peer Support Group is designed to teach participants ways to manage their emotional well-being, nutrition, exercise and more. Participants must be 18+ with a chronic disease such as diabetes, obesity, COPD, a mental health condition, or others.
Follow the links below for complete program listings
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March & April Work Anniversaries
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25 Years:
Linda Leslie
20 Years:
Beth Searle-Spratt
17 Years:
Georgina Clark
13 Years:
Jennifer Beaulieu
12 Years:
Sandy Brien, Lisa Hester
10 Years:
Dayna DeHart, Sarina Sim
8 years:
Patricia Keck
9 Years:
Lucy White
7 Years:
Johanna Frigon, Cheryl Fogarty
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6 years:
Paula Place
5 years:
John Hunt
3 Years:
Ashley Greene, Kelly McLaughlin, Angela Quartararo, Cynthia Shanty
2 Years:
Katy Sullivan, Kayleigh Almon, Mary Yost, Jennifer Laferriere, Laina Reavis, Lindsey Arceci, Rene Philpott, Janice Pazzanese, Erica Rourke
1 Year:
Susan Lizotte, Deneige Hudanish, Jeffrey Johnson, Kathleen O'Connor
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Current Job Openings
New Jobs for You and Your Friends
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The button below links to current open positions at GSCH. (You can also always find this link on both Families First and Goodwin websites.) Take a look and see if any are right for you or someone you know. There are referral benefits in many cases! Right now we have 17 openings, including Nurses, MA, Dental Assistant, Patient Advocate, and more.
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Links to GSCH in the News
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