Customers’ Blog

It has been awhile since I last wrote a blog!

Now this could mean one of two things:

1)  I’m so busy that I just can’t find a few minutes to write a blog

OR

2) I have exhausted all my knowledge on previous blogs

I’ll let you decide!

I hope that all of you are finding some fun things to do this summer.  Afterall it is almost July and we will be looking at fall coming too soon! We are working diligently on some fairly significant landscaping projects in our yard.  This has been rather challenging as it is either raining or a tropical 90 + degrees!  The humidity is awful!!!

There are some good things happening in Therapville this summer too!

I’m looking forward to the release of Version 8.2!  It looks like Secure Communications is getting quite the “facelift”.  Check out Justin’s blog - he always keeps us well informed with the latest scoop!

I hope you are planning to be in Denver, CO for the Side by Side Conference Technology Conference.  I attended the  CDS and Therap conference in Kansas - it will be worth your time and resources!

This is short but I hope to be writing a blog again soon!

Have a great summer everyone and Happy 4th of July!

The new office building is finally completed after what seemed like the longest 18 months on record and today is moving day.  It’s an old school that has been remodeled to fit our needs.  All of the offices have brand new carpet, new cubicles, windows, the works… and it is absolutely beautiful!!!

Sadly, I am moving into the old building.

In the basement.

With no windows.

Not to worry, once the upstairs of the new building is completely remodeled, I’ve been told there is a spot made just for me!!!  And the basement isn’t bad either, there’s an atrium with a balcony to the first floor, so although it’s not all brand new, it’s not all that bad.

And here’s the best part… for all those conversations about how Therap saves on paper, here’s a new perspective: I didn’t need to use a single box for any of the information I have on Therap.  No lifting, no packing, no losing a single piece of paper in the move!!!

One more reason why I LOVE THERAP… I think I need to start keeping a list!!!

I have to confess that this morning, getting up on the Monday after a long weekend, was no picnic.  My son didn’t want to go to daycare, he wanted to go with his sister to Ms. Terry’s house… my daughter didn’t want to go to Ms. Terry’s house, let alone get out of bed… and honestly, I really didn’t want to go to work.  But after getting the kids to where they needed to go and sitting at my desk to read the blogs at Therap… I felt like doing the happy dance!!!

First… WE FINALLY HAVE A DATE FOR THE RELEASE OF 8.1 (this weekend)!!! And they’ve shared some great screen shots of the new dashboard!!!  How cool is that for a Monday morning?!?!?!  I’ve already penciled in next Monday morning for checking out all the new stuff (although I’ll probably take a peek at it Sunday before church!).

Second… Richard has already set up the date for the 2010 Therap National Provider Administrator Conference!!! Put it in your calendars now, because you have to be there… it’s just too good to miss.  Tons of sessions for the beginner and the advanced user, networking with other agencies, and Extreme Jeopardy!!!

And I promise I won’t be so competitive and scream out the answers to the questions this time.  Really, I won’t… I promise.

Technology is one of those things that continues to intrigue me.

I grew up on a farm in rural Nebraska. Now I’m going to date myself with this blog - but it was back in the day when a Sunday afternoon meant going for a car ride with your family.  You did not have a particular destination in mind but always ended up dropping by a neighboring farm.  No call beforehand, no scheduling on a calendar, no email, no chat online to see if they were home - just dropped in unannounced.  I recall standing in gardens with the women and chatting about how the gardens were doing this growing season.  There was always one or two vegies that did really well that year while others struggled.  The men would hang out in the corrals and chat about a variety of things while looking over the livestock.

Never did I imagine that I would have those memories be brought to the surface so vividly through a computer game.  For those who have not checked out facebook yet - and I’m sure there is at least one person out there  - I encourage you to do so!

I now have a farm online in facebook.  I get to drop by my neighbor’s farms and help them out with raking leaves, watering crops, and pulling weeds - even when they are not at home.  For those who have grown up on farms - you know that is quite real.  There is even a little bonus of earning $$$$ for those chores - which I can then use for crops on my own farm.

I go to a marketplace and meet other farmers (who are all begging for work).  The game is designed where you actually earn more money by hiring others to harvest your crops.  You also can earn $$$ by helping out your farmers with their harvest.  My husband also has a farm.  Now we are having conversations about getting home to check our crops!  Wow - does that sound familiar for a farm gal or what!!!!

I get to hang out on my sister’s farm and chat with them.  We talk about our plans to expand the farm and how much money we can make on different crops.   We catch up on how our lives are going.  Again - what do most farmers talk about????

I hope that all of you have the same great opportunities that I do through work, church, and social networking online to meet people and reconnect with old friends, family and neighbors.

Connection with people is such a powerful thing.  That is after all what all of us in the field of developmental disabilities is working to make happen everyday.

I guess the farm girl can move off the farm - but the farm never leaves…

For those of us who have attended Therap conferences we have experienced that training can be fun.  Who can answer the question on the Justin’s jeopardy game of how many browsers he uses?  I believe Pete got that one right!!!

However, there was a discussion at the conference in Kansas about how it can be challenging to provide training on some topics.  I recall blood borne pathogens being a topic mentioned.  However, I’ve witnessed that trainings, while not always something we look forward too, can at least be fun!

What do you need?  People who are willing to put a little extra time in preparing.  People who can share less than exciting information in a “fun” way.  We are fortunate to have those people at LifeQuest.

Our staff in the nursing department shared some information on blood borne pathogens in a very memorable way.  I can still see them walking through the room, lip syncing to music, dressed in personal protective equipment, and carrying some food items displayed in very imaginative fashion!  I won’t say more about that!

Or how about dressing up with Village People headgear and PPE to sing about prevention of passing on contagious illnesses.

After all we all learn better when we are enjoying ourselves and for those of us who are auditory or visual or kinesthetic learners - what is better than singing, dancing and something best described as goop!

There is a website that is helpful in finding songs that can help with training on health related topics.

In April we have several workgroups planning our “Factor Fun” training at LifeQuest.  I’m looking forward to seeing what fun ways we are going to learn about CQL Basic Assurances!

I was theraping early this morning.  Yes I am a therap addict- I therap all the time.- 6 AM, 11 PM I am always working.  I was reviewing t logs and after reviewing a tlog I needed to investigate some health information.  I use my handy cursor to go to my usual first page key.  I am still a slightly sleepy as I am sitting in my pajama’s directing/pleading with children as they prepare for school when a little blue box appears-it has “first page menu”-I move my cursor off the blue box-it dissapears, I try one more time then the blue box reappears!  HOW WONDERFUL I dont even have to go back to the first page I can search the health tracking information from my tlog page.  GENIUS!  Again therap has saved me time! THANK YOU!  It is the small things that make my day!  The great thing is when you send them feedback, suggestion, comment they listen.  IT IS FABULOUS!  More time to direct children as they whine about going to school! HOORAY!

Life on the farm is - really not laid back -middle of February in Nebraska and I see onions sprouting? Soon we should have snow!

Just returned from the 38th Annual  Nebraska ARC Senatorial Appreciation Dinner in Lincoln. 250 miles of windshield time provides for lots of thinking. Rumor has it that there are a few more providers in Nebraska thinking about using Therap. YEAH!!  I had  conversations with one of the providers in a more rural, larger geographical area than we, about getting on board.   They are excited. Even though we are taking baby steps to get this implemeted and have some tech issues we are persevering.  That sounds like it is a chore, but it is not. Information sharing is already better.

…gets shared in a blog!!!  Last night was lots of fun, with Jenny, Anna, and Jeff being tour guides on our bus trip.  We drove by Yankee Stadium and then stopped at the historical Apollo Theater in Harlem.

After that we went and had some of New York’s finest pizza.  Anna graciously thanked the chef with a great big Kansas-style hug!!!

I’ve been anticipating our next stop since I found out we were getting a chance to go to NY… the Statue of Liberty!!!  I took some pictures of her, but we were so very far away and it was so very, very cold, that I never got a really good shot, but you know what she looks like!

And then it was off to Times Square where we had a little over an hour to do some walking and shopping.  We never found any purse vendors on the street, which I’m sure will make my husband happy, but my co-workers and I were able to find a few things to bring home for our each of our kids.

One of my favorite stores was the M&M store, because as soon as we walked in, all you could smell was chocolate!!!  Yummy!!!  Although riding the elevator with this guy was a little intimidating!

Overall it was a really great trip.  Lori and I had a lot of fun on the bus trip,… wait let me clarify, Lori had a lot of fun laughing at me on the bus trip, so much so that her sides were hurting on the way home!!!

Thanks so much to Richard for giving us the opportunity to take the trip, and to Anna, Jenny, and Jeff for being our guides.  You will always be a part of my first trip to New York City.  THANKS!!!

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an entire session with Masum this morning.  It began with a discussion on security access and how we create our caseloads, give out privileges, and general information on how The Resource Center sets up user access.  As always, he and his colleagues are thinking about the future of Therap and how to make it better.  He shared some ideas about simplifying the Super Roles; currently there are 200 different roles, and as new modules are introduced, more roles will need to be created, so you can see why we’re having this discussion!

Another topic was moving toward a more individual-based FirstPage, sort of like Facebook.  When you login, your FirstPage is a list of the names of individuals that you work with, you click on the name, and you get a page like your wall in FB, with a list of T-Log like entries, and then you have tabs for HT, GER’s, etc….    Sounds pretty cool, huh?!?!?!

Now I don’t think that this will be anything that we will see anytime soon, they’ll have to work out lots of issues, but it was really great to participate in how the Therap team thinks, develops, and eventually imiplements everything that we do on Therap.

Finally, at the end of the session, I got to talk about my wish list!!!  He assures me that several of my requests are in the works, and the rest he will give to Sazzad to fix!

After lunch, Masum gave a presentation on Therap in Bangeldesh, which I’ve seen before, but always find very interesting.  He has quite a good sense of humor, and was able to throw a few jabs at Richard, which really got the crowd laughing.

This evening it’s off to NEW YORK CITY!!!  I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!!!  Bye!!!  :-}

Hello All,

I am attending another great Therap conference!  This one is in Fishkill, NY.   Which has some great history!!!!

On a side note, I got to do something I never thought I would.  I was able to go to OCC Choppers store yesterday and saw Rick working in their shop and also see my personal favorite the POW/MIA chopper.

Renee already filled everyone in on the cool new feature Therap has developed to share ideas.  I hope all of you take advantage of this feature - it is really a good one!

Attended several sessions and I’ve been learning lots, reconnecting with people and meeting others - all in all a very fun time!

Now I’m going to check out some of the games on Wii.  Who knows maybe I’ll even win at one.

More later I’m sure!