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11/19/24
DSNWK Celebrates Successes at Awards Luncheon
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas hosted its annual awards luncheon in Hays on October 22nd. Awards were given throughout the afternoon to staff, persons served, and community members. The first awards of the afternoon were given to employees of DSNWK for their years of service. Those staff recognized and listed by location, were:
Atwood - Keith Huntington, Sheena Luedke
Hays - Eileen Anderson, Joshua Balman, Brandwyn Bell, Courtney Brungardt, Nakayah Davis, Dale Haag, Tami Jantz, Jessica Johnson, Steve Keil, Deanna Leiker, Kirsten Phlieger, Joshua Robben, LeeAnn Schmidtberger, Nolan Schuckman, Tammy Slayton, Denise Stritt, Angela Wahlmeier, Paul Wildeman
Hill City - Lester Fry, Justin Hrabe, Karla Morgan
Norton - Stefan Bollack-Schott, Ashley Van Eaton
Russell - Valerie France, Destiny McQueen, Dawn Rose, Herb Shumaker, Kimberly Shumaker
Recognition was made to eight people who retired from DSNWK over the past year. They were; Barbara Wolters of Atwood, Cindy Harwood, Jan Nosekabel, and Les Wilson of Hays, Marla Baker and Connie Yakish of Hill City, Will Underwood of Norton and Mary Workman, Stockton.
Special recognition was also paid to four staff members for their outstanding work with persons with disabilities. John Kreutzer, Alison Krier and Melissa Neil of Hays and Laquita Smith of Norton were each presented with the Employee of the Year Award.
Two $100 scholarship awards were presented to Destiny Bergstesser and Emma Pfannenstiel who are attending Fort Hays State University. This award was given from the Jerelyn Becker Memorial Scholarship Fund for employees studying in higher education in a field related to serving people with developmental disabilities.
Several awards were given to individuals served by DSNWK for achievement through employment. Those receiving awards and listed by location were:
Atwood - Tyler Britt, Danny Clark, Janey Engleman, Cheryl Hartzog, Scott Holub, Marci Hrnchir, Cheri Hutchison, J. Lynn Lohoefener
Hays - Chris Couse, Lynn Dietrich, Tisha Dole, Josh Finger, Gary Harbers, Bobby Heard, Ryan Hoag, Jeanne Jones, Josh Leiker, Jeremy Pugh, Cole Robben, Eric Rome, Will Ryan, Sid Toll, Darlene Unrein, Michael Wittman
Hill City - Tallas McNabb, Dustin Splattstoesser
Hoxie - Cade Zimmerman
Osborne - Brayden McNeal
Phillipsburg - Alexander Weishaar
DSNWK presented two Individual Achievement Awards to individuals served by DSNWK. Megan Aita of WaKeeney and Eric Mickelson of Hays were presented these awards which go each year to one youth and one adult who have shown tremendous individual progress throughout the year.
Awards were presented to members of area communities during the afternoon. White’s Foodliner in Phillipsburg received DSNWK's Employer of the Year Award for their outstanding support of people with disabilities in the workforce. The Community Support Award was presented to A-1 Plank and Scaffold of Hays for their support of DSNWK’s Employment Connections. Posthumous recognition was made to Pastor Timm Meyer of Norton with DSNWK’s Good Neighbor Award. Meyer spent many years volunteering his time and providing ministry to the individuals served by DSNWK in Norton.
Finally, DSNWK recognized two long-time advocates of DSNWK for their support with its Vision of Hope Awards. Andy and Paula Beck of Hays and the Al and Barbara Rietcheck Family formerly of Seguin were honored. DSNWK paid tribute to them for their outstanding support over the years for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
9/12/24
Midwest Energy supports DSNWK with $5,000 grant
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, was recently announced as the recipient of a $5,000 grant from Midwest Energy, Inc. This award will be used to purchase three Digital Chair Scales and two Hoyer Lifts.
The Digital Chair Scale ensures precise weight measurement, enhancing both care and monitoring. The Hoyer Lifts with an additional battery for each lift will provide critical support for safe transfers, ensuring safety, portability and comfort for both individuals and staff. Individuals living in the homes where this equipment is needed have varying degrees of developmental challenges that increase as they age.
“Many individuals within services are prescribed medications requiring daily weights and monitoring for fluid retention." states Jerry Michaud, DSNWK President. “This equipment will significantly bolster our capacity to deliver high-quality, efficient, and safe services.”
This project focuses on the safety of persons served within three residential homes in Hays and those served at the Kobler Developmental Center in Hill City.
DSNWK would like to thank Midwest Energy for their generous support of the people we serve.
6/25/24
Heartland Foundation supports DSNWK training
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas is proud to announce a grant award from the Heartland Community Foundation in the amount of $2,929.94. The grant will go toward the purchase of manikins and training supplies for the benefit and safety of individuals served by DSNWK in the Hays area.
DSNWK employees participate in various training sessions throughout the year to meet the needs of the individuals receiving services. These trainings include First Aid (FA), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) provided by DSNWK certified trainers through the American Heart Association (AHA), and MANDT Training (a behavioral crisis interaction training) which teaches prevention and de-escalation concepts to help them safely manage behavior so that everyone can be safe in their environment.
“DSNWK serves many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who may also have complicated health challenges,” states Jerry Michaud, DSNWK President and CEO. “Having the requested supplies and equipment will enhance the quality of the DSNWK training program in Hays and allow our employees to respond to emergency situations as they arise.”
6/18/24
Hays Lions Club supports DSNWK with grant
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas is proud to announce that they have received a $1,000.00 grant award from the Hays Lions Club for the vision needs of the people they serve who have developmental disabilities. The grant will go to support DSNWK's Consumer Medical Fund. This Fund assists individuals with the cost of medical items and care that are not covered by Medicaid, items such as eye glasses and other vision needs. DSNWK would like to thank the Hays Lions Club for their continuous support of people with developmental disabilities.