News & Events
OFFI Newsletter - 2/25/2011
From the head office...
12/01/2010
Volume 1, Issue 1
OFFI ?
Inside this issue:
Employee Milestones 2
Clinical Corner 2
On the Calendar 3
Did you hear about 3
Substance Abuse
Program
3
Message to the Kids 4
Oklahoma
Families First, Inc.
Let’s Welcome
☺
New Employees: Carla
☺
Richard & Connie Martin in
the Muskogee area.
New Foster Family—
☺
in Ada
New Substance Abuse office
Happy Birthday to you!
Shirley Lane 11/1, Fredia Cohee 11/11, Casey Hucks 11/12,
Trese Florence 11/24, Amanda Bratcher 11/27, Charles
Hawkins 11/29, Angela Lopez 12/9, Amanda Wiles 12/15,
Travis Gameson 12/17, Christy Hilliard 12/31, Cathy
Richardson 1/7, Linda
Parker, 1/25.
Happy Anniversary
to you!
Mary DeHoff 11/14/08,
Christy Sheppard 11/3/08,
Kay Tan 11/29/05, Amanda
Wiles 11/8/04, Cathy
Richardson 11/2/98, Kristi
Bates 11/26/01, Casey Hucks 12/29/97, Brenna Moore
12/28/98, Jessie Brown 12/22/03, Angela Lopez 1/30/06,
Nicole Hill, 1/5/04, Carol Stokes 2/20/01
Newbies!!
Carla Buske and Tami Morgan have joined the
staff in Ada. They will be providing Rehab
and/or Case Management Services.
Norman has a new OP provider: Jeremy
Elledge comes to us from another agency that
is closing its doors.
Harmony Horst (who has been a Rehab contractor
in Ardmore for awhile) is now under
LPC supervision and has joined the Durant TFC
staff.
The Durant area has a new part-time office
manager! Shari Bolton started a couple of
weeks ago.
Page 2 OFFI ?
Employee Milestones
What are some of the stressors that cause depression?
◊
Change to different school
◊
Birth of siblings
◊
Death, Divorce
◊
What should parents do?
Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend
◊
Talk to your child
◊
Engage in an activity they would enjoy
◊
Try physical activities—get outside more
◊
Seek counseling
◊
Renita was excited to participate in the agency’s first
television interview. “Go, OFFI!!” she said as she signed
off. Be looking for the KXII interviews with other OFFI
staff members airing in the weeks to come.
You never know...you may be the next TV star!
Renita Douglass, an LPC contractor in the Ardmore office,
recently did an interview for local television station KXII to
talk about the most commonly seen signs of depression. She
took the opportunity to offer parents the following list of
signs to look for in their school-aged children and adolescents:
Seek medial attention if needed
School-aged Children
•
Physical complaints—headache, stomachache, etc
•
Expressions of sadness
•
Aggression
•
Refusal or reluctance to attend school, drop in grades
Adolescents
•
Behavior problems in school
•
Self-destructive behavior
•
Inattention to appearance
•
Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure
•
Morbid or suicidal thoughts or actions
Clinical Corner
Offer your congrats to those
celebrating milestones.
Christmas Day falls on a
Saturday this year so office
closure for Christmas
will be the afternoon of
12/23 (usually for Christmas
Eve) and the full day of the
24th.
Our TFC licensure audit will
take place on December 15th in Norman. We have a new
auditor this year . Veronica Franks has moved on so we will
be visited by Janet Holmes.
While we usually do not close for New Year’s Eve, the 1st is a
Saturday so offices will be closed on Friday, December 31st
for New Year’s Day. This is a payroll week, so checks will be
available on Thursday at noon. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Speaking of the new year, neither Martin Luther King, Jr
Day (1/17) nor President’s Day (2/21) nor Valentine’s Day
(2/14) are paid holidays; however, full time employees
have access to a Floating Holiday that can be used on one
of these days.
means that in the last few years, we’ve had basically all
but 3 “natural disaster”-type occurrences: volcanic eruption,
tsunami, and glaciers. These may well have happened
here but not for thousands—or millions—of years!
Hmmm. Maybe we
should add volcano
drills to our regular
Safety plan!
Oklahoma’s earthquake? It shook the Norman area pretty
good! According to the US Geological Survey, it measured
a 4.3 on the Richter scale. Generally, a quake of 2.5—3.0
is the minimum people will ‘’feel’. The Richter scale is exponential—
every step up is 100 times stronger than the
previous step. That means that a magnitude of 4.3 is 130
times stronger than a 3.0! While that sounds bad, in tornado-
speak, a 4.3 quake is about the equivalent of an F2
tornado. It’ll get your attention but probably not much
damage. It certainly got our attention!
When you consider that a couple of years ago we had that
tropical storm that looked very much like a hurricane, it
The Substance Abuse Program has opened a new site in
Ada. (For those who don’t know—the current Ada office is
a teensy bit too close to a school to be certified for Alcohol
& Drug Treatment). The address is 2612 Arlington.
Volume 1, Issue 1
Substance Abuse Program
What’s on the Calendar?
Did you hear about...
Page 3
Moving into a new Substance
Abuse office in Ada
...in the last few years, we’ve
had basically all but 3 “natural
disaster”-type occurrences.
It is Christmas in the heart that puts
Christmas in the air.
2227 W Lindsey St, Ste 1550
Norman, OK 73069
Oklahoma
Families First, Inc.
focus on another person and gives us the ability to lift
them up. Being appreciative shows that what someone
does for us matters—no matter how big or small the action
or gift.
During this holiday
time, remember the
reason for the season,
be thankful always,
and know that
someone cares and
believes in you.
Many of us feel at one time or another that life is not
fair. There are circumstances that are beyond out control.
Holidays can sometimes make things harder. But
even in the hardest times, there are people around us that
want to support us and help us through the difficult time
we are in.
As a child, you have many people around you that want to
support and love you. Even though you may find yourself in
a situation you didn’t expect, your choices to look for the
positive, to lean on those around you who care about you,
and to know that your future is bright, will get your
through the difficult times.
Being thankful and showing appreciation is an important
part of growing up. When we feel down, showing appreciation
and saying thank you can make us feel better. Giving
to others, with our words, actions, or even gifts, makes us
Phone: 405-360-2133
Fax: 405-360-4821
Email: cathy.richardson@offibhs.org
Message to the Kids
Being appreciative shows that what
someone does for us matters—no
matter how big or small the action
or gift.
Making a difference.
Our Newsletter needs a name. This will be distributed
quarterly to staff, contractors, and foster
parents, as well as being posted in office lobby
areas. If you have ideas on this, please email
cathy.richardson@offibhs.org.
Likewise, if you have a topic of interest to be included
in the newsletter, email that as well to either
cathy.richardson@offibhs.org or calvin.
prince@offibhs.org.
Buske and Tami Morgan
(Ada); Harmony Horst and
Shari Bolton (Durant); and
Jeremy Elledge (Norman)
|
