Submitted By: Tony Dibiagio | Partners For Quality
Victor Porch is a Senior Supports Assistant with Citizen Care, Inc. and has performed his duties with incredible compassion, consideration, and in harmony with the Personal Outcome Measures®. He works tirelessly for all the people supported within the agency, having performed various roles, and has helped many people achieve goals, and accomplish things that are important to them. He has supported people with dignity and respect as they experienced medical and psychiatric difficulties, and has consistently maintained the people that he supports as his priority.
While there are numerous examples of ways that Victor has assisted people to achieve their goals, there is one person in particular, Brandon, that Victor has supported to achieve a personal goal, to pursue on-going interests and hobbies that are personally interesting and satisfying, and to achieve greater overall physical health.
Brandon is in his early 20’s and very physically active. He is a sports fan, and enjoys being both a spectator and a participant. Brandon also had a personal goal of taking a vacation. Victor assisted Brandon with taking a vacation this year to Florida. There are obviously many details to consider when planning a vacation and Victor supported Brandon by not only spending time talking with him about where he would like to go, but also by taking the initiative and working with management to make the transportation arrangements, book the hotel, and plan an itinerary to include activities Brandon would enjoy.
Brandon had never flown prior to this trip, and had some apprehension about the flight. Victor helped to make Brandon feel more secure about flying, providing significant reassurance and encouragement. With Victor’s assistance Brandon was able to overcome his apprehension of flying and made it to Florida, where he enjoyed visiting various Disney Parks. Victor even had the foresight to help Brandon obtain a “Hop Pass” which enabled him to go from one Disney Park to the next and help him avoid some of the notorious lines for rides.
Beyond this vacation, Victor has supported Brandon to pursue his interest in sports. After having discussed with Brandon the various opportunities, Victor researched sporting leagues, planned transportation and staff support, and helped Brandon register for both a softball league and a hockey league. Learning how to skate was difficult at first, but Victor lined up a private coach to work directly with Brandon. Brandon has now been on the Steel City Iceburgs for approximately two years and greatly enjoys being part of a team where he has built friendships with team members. Whether it is his hockey team or his softball team, Brandon excitedly looks forward to games and practice. And although Brandon has not explicitly informed his support team that he wants to maintain optimal health, his participation in these activities (as well as some groups that he had been assisted by Victor to join at the local YMCA) has had tremendous health benefits, have increased his stamina and have helped him to lose some extra weight. Victor knows that Brandon’s definition of best possible health involves him being able to pursue his interests.
In addition to his hockey team, softball team, and his Florida vacation, Victor has continued to use his knowledge of Brandon’s interests, likes, and dislikes and solicited Brandon’s interests when planning unique recreational and/or educational opportunities. For example, over the past year Brandon has been assisted by Victor to participate in several charity walks, try his hand at woodworking in a local class, and even drive a backhoe for a day.
Another area that is extremely important to Brandon is maintaining his family relationships. Brandon’s family is large and very supportive, and Brandon is fairly independent with contacting them, primarily through his iPad. Brandon uses Facebook regularly and uses the Facetime function on his iPad to call family members. Victor helps Brandon to make sure that his iPad is in good working order and helps him to correct/trouble shoot technical difficulties so that Brandon can maintain his contact as frequently as he desires.
Victor works tirelessly to help people achieve their personally defined goals!
2017 Direct Support Professional Recognition Week
This article is part of a campaign during the 2017 DSP Recognition Week, to acknowledge Direct Support Professionals who are helping people achieve their individually-defined outcomes, through the use of Personal Outcome Measures®. This campaign was developed through a partnership between CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership and The National Alliance For Direct Support Professionals (NADSP).
Victor Porch: Working Tirelessly To Help People Achieve Their Personally Defined Goals