Mainstream Living

Stories of Impact

Diana moved in with three new people in Ames and is doing really well in her new apartment.  She reports that she's very happy with her roommates and has recently started taking Cy-Ride to her job in downtown Ames.  She has been hesitant of doing this for years, but the change in environment and staff have helped her to expand her independence.

Christy, a member at the Villa Vista home, started to have a different kind of seizure over the past several months. After having an EEG, the seizures were diagnosed as non-epileptic seizures, likely due to stress. Christy was experiencing approximately 30 seizures per day. Once staff became aware of the cause, they focused on changing her environment so that it became less stressful. They also set up time for her to talk with staff about her concerns and frustrations. In doing so, her seizure activity has been drastically reduced.

Justin is an hourly member who lived at home with his parents when we first started working with him. It was a challenge to get Justin to go out in the community. Since moving into his own apartment however, he has been doing more. Recently, he went on his own to the Asian Market, which was a big step for him. He also went to a concert with a friend and his dad at the end of May.

Over the past several years, we have had nursing students from DMACC in Boone spend a couple of days each semester at our Aspen home. They use this experience as a learning opportunity, but it also exposes the nursing students to our services as a potential career path. We have been trying to set up a similar preceptor experience with our houses in Des Moines and recently have succeeded in establishing a partnership with the Urban campus of DMACC. The first group of their nursing students will be visiting Baker this month.

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