Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFRE
Vol. 4, No. 16, August 10, 2006
The Executive Director's News is published every two weeks, specifically for the employees of the Somerset Home. This issue and past issues are available on our web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/pages/employee_newsletter.htm.
Nicole Franco Saves Life of Co-Worker at Passages
Nicole Franco (left), Passages case manager, successfully administered the Heimlich Maneuver on and saved Lisa Wolff (right), residential services coordinator, from choking on Wednesday July 26. Lisa, while sampling one of the shish-kabobs made by the Passages boys, had inhaled a kabob by accident. As a result she was unable to breathe for about a minute or more until Nicole noticed she was in distress and successfully administered first-aid.
I would like to personally thank Nicole for her quick thinking and calm approach to managing this crisis. Lisa reports having a sore throat but has otherwise recovered from the ordeal.
New Employee Benefit: Tuition Reimbursement Program
Have you wanted to get your Master's degree but were putting it off because of the tuition expenses? Help is on the way.
Somerset Home has begun a tuition reimbursement program which may be found on the web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/doc/tuition reimbursement policy 7.31.06.doc.
Tuition reimbursement will be based on 50% of the Rutgers University tuition rate and you must meet qualifications and be approved in advance of the course start date. Please read the policy and let me know if you have any questions. We are accepting applications for the Fall semester and applications must be submitted seven days before the course begins.
Two New Vans for Brahma House
Brahma House will benefit from two new 2006 Ford Club Wagon 12-passenger vans which were put into service last week. Purchased as part of Somerset Home's 2006 capital campaign. These two new vans will replace two of our oldest vehicles. These new vans have dual air conditioning and heating units, which will make all the passengers comfortable in summer and winter.
Our two retiring vans were sold to United Cerebral Palsy of Chester, NJ where they will continue to be used in the provision of human services.
Whitney House Deck Progress
The Whitney House deck construction project got underway last week. We are very excited to finally see this project nearing completion.
Summer Spruce Up
I am pleased to announce the "summer spruce up" program has been a huge success! The buildings and grounds have never looked better. The kids have really responded to the homelike touches!
Thank you all for your "summer spruce up" participation.
My Place Gets Sprinkled
The My Place landscaping project looks beautiful and we have now finished the last item on our "to do" list, a lawn sprinkler system. The sprinkler will help our grass take root and keep our new trees from getting scorched in the August sun. Now, if we can only keep the deer from munching on our arborvitae!
New Fire Suppression System for the Brahma House Kitchen
As part of the facility upgrade for Brahma House this year was the replacement of the dry chemical kitchen fire suppression system with a foam system. This new system works in a similar way to the old system however it is a more effective method of extinguishing fire and easier to clean up should it ever need to be used. In addition, the new foam suppression system is tied into the comprehensive fire alarm system so if it should go off the alarm will notify the monitoring company of the condition. The new system was installed last week.
Carbon Monoxide Protection
Did you know that all of our facilities are protected with central station monitoring for carbon monoxide. If carbon monoxide is detected in any of our facilities, an alarm will sound and "Alarm Central" will notify the fire department to respond immediately. Brahma House and Passages were both added to the central station monitoring last week.
Capital Campaign Update
The installation of the basketball hoop completed the site work for "My Place" TLP.
We are pleased to welcome the Danellie Foundation ($10,000) and the New York Mercantile Exchange ($5,000) as our most recent donors to the capital campaign. The projects listed above were all funded by these and other generous donors.
As always, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our youth.
