IN THIS

NEWSLETTER
2-4
Care in Action:
a glimpse into the work
of our directcare
providers
5
Direct CareFacts and
Figures
6
MLFRC Updates
7
Several Southpointedirect care providerspose for a picture after an in-service training session. Fall Festival 2017

Celebrating Our Direct Care Team

Direct Support Professional Recognition Week is September 10-16

Direct support professionals or direct care providers are the indispensable

suppliers of hands-on care for the elderly, people with intellectual disabilities,
and people with chronic illness. They aid their clients with a variety of tasks from
bathing to grocery shopping, ensuring their success in the community, outside of
institutions. Across the country, direct care employees constitute 30 percent of
the healthcare workforce*, and thedirect care workforcecontinues to grow along
with the demand for specialized in-home care.

At Mary Lee Foundation, our hard-working direct care providers conduct around-
the-clock supervision and assistance to our large population of clientele including
adults with intellectual disabilities and adult survivors of brain injury. Thanks to
the compassion and effort of our direct care providers, we are able to work
toward our mission to serve people with special needs so that they may live with
dignity and purpose.

*According to a fact sheet complied byThe Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI), based on data
from the current and archived estimates of the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Program, available at: http://www.bls.gov/oes/#data.
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 Care in Action
a glimpse into the work of our direct support professionals

TERRI
Terri has served as a direct care provider for over eleven years at
Mary Lee Foundation. Over the years, she has cared for elderly
clients who entered Mary Lee School as teenagers in the 1970s. We
sit in a Southpointe dining room and she recalls an evening when
she prepared dinner for longtime Intermediate Care Facility
residentsa special dinner of liver, rice, green beans and gravy.
She remembers that as she sat and ate with them, the clients
gushed with words of praise and gratitude for the meal. Those
clients have since passed, and that was hard on Terri. You know
you get real attached to them, like family, she says. She describes
many intimate moments she has shared with her clients, like
watching New Year's Eve fireworks on the Zilker lawn with them,
and celebrating Christmas with them in the community building.

11 years Nowadays on a typical evening shift, Terri begins by collecting

ingredients for a group dinner in the Southpointe pantry. On the
of service menu today is pork chops, rice, beans, salad and peaches. Glenn,
Southpointe resident, helps Terri gather and carry everything to
the main kitchen to get dinner startedAt Southpointe, clients take
Terri (standing), Southpointedirect care providerofelevenyears,
turns preparing dinner in order to learn in-action how to prepare
converses with clients during a Daybreak activity.
balanced meals.
A few other clients sit in the lounge area near the kitchen, awaiting
dinner. While Terri distributes medications to clients in the
medication room, Glenn starts preparing the pork chops. He rolls
out aluminum foil onto a baking sheet and sprays it with non-stick
spray, then places about a dozen pork chops onto it. He then
seasons them carefully with pepper and parsley and slides them
into the pre-heated oven. Terri comes into the kitchen and helps
him start the brown rice, showing him the right amount of water to
put in the pot.
On her morning shifts, Terri will drive out to one of Mary Lee
Foundations small South Austin group homes in a grant-funded
vehicle, and take the clients wherever they need to go. I really
enjoy getting them out of the house, she says. She will drop a
client off at their job and take another client to the Austin library,
to the dollar store, or to HEB. Occasionally, she will walk with them
around their neighborhood and look for yard sales. She emphasizes
the importance of what she does; [the clients] might just stay in
Glenn, Southpointe resident, helps to prepare dinner in the community bed all day if direct care was unavailable to them, she says.
kitchen.
In addition to helping clients meet their basic needs, direct care providers like Terri help
to provide direction and purpose in their clients lives. Direct care providers not only
supply the resources necessary for clients to survive; their support also makes it possible
for clients to thrive.
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 ROSHA
Rosha, also a direct care provider at Southpointe, helps to
orchestrate the programs wellness initiatives which
encourage clients to eat more vegetables and exercise
regularly. She and other direct care employees host
wellness dinners in the community center twice a month
for all Southpointe and group home residents. Everyone is
asked to bring vegetables and other healthy ingredients to
compose the meal, and attendees are broken up into
teams to compete in making the best healthy dish. Rosha
8 years says the wellness dinners inspire the clients to eat
of service healthier on a daily basis, because the dinners
demonstrate that preparing healthy meals is both easy
Rosha has served as adirect care providerat Mary Lee
Foundation for over 8 years.
and fun.
Rosha holds the wellness program close to her heart because of her own struggles with her
health. In 2014 Rosha was diagnosed with breast cancer, which put her on medical leave for
over a year. Fortunately, the treatments were successful and her cancer went into remission.
However, the fight was far from over; her doctor urged her to make changes to her lifestyle to
prevent the cancer from resurfacing. Rosha took this as a wake-up call to love and care for her
body. Through the wellness program, Rosha fosters this health conscious approach in her
clients by building in time for exercise into each of her shifts, so that she and her clients get
active together. In addition, she coordinates wellness dinners and stresses the importance of a
healthy diet for all of the clients. Rosha addresses a need prevalent in community-based
residential programs for adults with intellectual disability (ID).Obesity and related health
problems (arthritis, diabetes, etc.) are twice as common in adults with ID in less-restrictive,
community-based environments than in institutions. Because community-based programs
focus on the clients independence, clients are freer to make their own food decisions, so they
are more prone to making unhealthy choices.
Roshas efforts to instill
healthy habits affirm
the clients
independence and
capacity for making
positive life choices.
*Research reviewed in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Research Review demonstrated that individuals with ID were nearly twice as
likely to be obese in a community-based setting or at home with family
compared to individuals in institutions.In addition, individuals with ID were
twice as likely to be obese and nearly three times as likely to suffer from Clients are served a variety of healthy dishes during a wellness dinner.
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extreme obesity compared to the general population.
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 ERICA
A direct care providerfor our brain injury rehabilitation program
since 2007, Erica spends a lot of time with a longtime extended care
client, Rachel.* On Wednesdays, she takes Rachel to a doctors
appointment and then to Maudies for coffee. They discuss Rachels
goals for the upcoming week: where she wants to go, what she
wants to accomplish, and what appointments she has, what she
needs. Erica says Rachel is non-filtered, that she will let you
know what she wants. Often, Rachel needs a trip to the grocery
store or wants a mani-pedi. Per Rachels requests, she and Erica
have attended plays at Zach Scott theater and walked and rolled the 9 years
Maudies 5K together. She and other longtime MLFRC employees of service
have become consistent, important figures in extended care
patients' lives. Though she also enjoys imparting knowledge on her
clients, Erica says the most rewarding aspect of her position is Erica has served as a direct care provider for almost ten
years with our brain injury rehabilitation program, Mary
learning from the clients. The clients teach her many things Lee Foundation Rehabilitation Center (MLFRC).
about life and overcoming difficulties, especially perseverance,
to keep trying even after failure.
*Name has been changed forpurposes of patient privacy.

EUNICE
I watch her dial the phone and greet a client on the other end--she
asks them if they would like to attend the outing for the day. She
calls every inpatient client and records their responses. Its going
to be a full van today, she says. Eunice has been adirect care
providerwith our rehabilitation center since 2006. Having
previously worked at Marbridge Foundation, and being a mother
of three sons with disabilities, caring for those with special needs
is second-nature for Eunice. She enjoys getting to know clients and
their unique personalities as they pass through the program. She
11 years also enjoys seeing clients get back on their feet and achieve
of service maximum independence. Because of her sons, she has a deep
understanding of the great importance of the work she does. If I
can help at all, she says, then Im happy to do it.
Eunice has served as a direct care provider at MLFRCfor
over11years.

We are extremely proud of ourdirect careteam, for their service to

our clients and toward our mission. We cannot stress enough how vital
they are to our organization and in the life of each client. Their care
and devotion makes a lasting impact on our clients and our world.
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 Facts and Figures
The direct-care or direct-support workforce is comprised of many distinct occupations that can be grouped into the
following categories:
1. Home-health aides
2. Psychiatric aides
3. Nursing assistants
4. Personal care aides
Personal care aides include direct support professionals, who work directly with people with intellectual and developmental
disabilities (IDD).

Direct Support Professionals

are most surprised by the emotional closeness they develop with their clients.
are most frustrated by feeling under-recognized or not taken seriously by management.
feel the most rewarding part of their job is making a difference in their clients' lives and seeing
their clients grow.
would most enjoy recognition in the form of a simple thank you or hug.
According to a 2009 report published by New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies

Industry growth
From 2014 to 2024, direct care occupations are projected to add more jobs than any other single occupation, with an
additional 633,100 new jobs projected. Direct care is also among the top 10 fastest-growing occupations.
By 2050, the US population of seniors over age 85 is expected to double from about 48 million to 88 million, further
increasing the demand for direct care and nursing.

Direct Care Jobs Projected Job Growth by Industry

1,500,000 635,000

1,125,000 476,250

750,000 317,500

158,750
375,000

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The number of direct care jobs nearly doubled
between 2005 and 2015. Direct care workers
include personal care aides, home health aids, and
nursing assistants.
phinational.org
Figure based on projected growth from 2014 to
2024.Directcare is projected to be the fastest growing
profession in the country, based on the growth of the
aging population and other industry factors.
page5
 MLFRC UPDATES

Blair Jackman, new Mary Lee Foundation Rehabilitation Center (MLFRC) classroom instructor, goes
over recall strategies and challenges clients to remember items she showed them the day before.

NEW HIRE
We are excited to welcome Blair Jackman, new classroom instructor, to our MLFRC team. She has a
background in public school education, including several years experience teaching middle school special
education, ESL, and gifted and talented classes. In her new position with Mary Lee Foundation, she looks
forward to teaching small groups and really getting to know her students, something she was unable to do in
large public school classes.
UPCOMING
On August 19, the program willexhibit at the Central Texas Chapter Case Management Conference at the
Norris Conference Center in Austin, where MLFRC staff will meet with hospital and health system case
managers from across central Texas.
Dear readers,
I hope you enjoyed Care in Action, because there's more
where that came from. This month's article is the first in a

Author's
series ofdirect carefeature stories; I will feature one or
twodirect care providersfrom our team every newsletter.

Note Until next time,

Ali U.
Development Coordinator

We appreciate your support.

We strive to help individuals unlock the door to their full potential, and
your participation makes it possible.
Continue your support by donating online at maryleefoundation.org
or by mailing your donation to the following address.
Mary Lee Foundation - P.O. Box 3174, Austin, TX 78764
 Mark Your Calendar!

Fall Festival 2017

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. | Greenbelt on Lamar Square Drive

Although we're still in the heat of the Texas summer, we're preparing for our 12th
annual Fall Festival. During the festival, we celebrate autumn and Halloween with all
our residents and program clients. The community enjoys costume contests, free prizes,
food, live music and more. This big celebration is made possible by supporters like you
contributing time and funds every year.
So far, local businesses including JuiceLand, P Terry's, Wheatsville Co-Op, and Maudie's
Tex-Mex have pledged their contributions for our free raffle.
Were looking forward to this event, and we need your help to make it happen.

Volunteer
We need some helping hands to assist with
setting up, decorating, serving food, hosting
games, face painting, and cleaning up. If you're
interested in helping us make this event
amazing and getting some volunteer hours in
the process, contact Ali Underwood.
512-443-5777
development@maryleefoundation.org
Donate
Your donation will go toward renting the
large festival tent, purchasing food and
drinks, and providing games and
entertainment. We appreciate any amount
you can contribute.
Donate with credit, debit, or PayPal at our
website: maryleefoundation.org

Donate by check to this address:

Fall Fest Donations
PO Box 3174
Austin, TX 78764

Thank you so much for your support.

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 F 512.444.9949
P 512.443.5777

noitadnuoF
Austin, TX 78764
PO Box 3174

eeL yraM

Mary Lee Foundation

P 512.443.5777 PO Box 3174 1339 Lamar Square Dr
F 512.444.9949 Austin, TX 78764 Austin, TX 78704

Our Mission Board of Directors

To serve adults with special Peggy Van Wyk President
needs so that they may develop Charlene Crump Vice President
a sense of dignity, a feeling of Gloria Wilburn Secretary
self-worth, and the skills
Bill Martin
necessary to socially integrate
with and contribute to the Joe Heffington

community in which they live. Lillie Gilligan

Mary Lee Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) charitable nonprofit.

maryleefoundation.org