Stacy Joins Our Hillside House Family
 See that big grin? That's Stacy, our newest resident, a lovely young woman. Just 19 years old, Stacy moved to Hillside House in June from the East Coast, where she has lived with her grandmother since she was
a child. Despite this big
change, she is settling in quickly and loves the company of her peers. She is now attending Dos Pueblos High School with Dylan,
another one of our residents, and shares a room with MaryBeth, Yvette and Cindy.
Stacy is quite cheerful and
willingly participates in almost any activity at Hillside House. She especially likes to play Texas holdem with
Caesar on Mondays and to get goofy on Karaoke night. She is reveling in the California
weather, loves the outdoors and particularly delights in the ocean breezes. Although she
doesn't speak with words, she lets us know her feelings with body language, facial gestures and
laughter, and she has developed a great facility with the AbleNet
switch. We are happy to have Stacy in our Hillside House family.
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Physical Therapy Enthusiasts Get Celebrated
You know how good it feels when you go to the gym or a yoga class or hop on your bike? Not only your body but your mind and emotions feel better, and you function better throughout the day. Well, it's the same for our residents, only more so. Because of muscle contractions and limited mobility, regular physical therapy is essential to keeping them well in body and mind. But that doesn't mean it's any easier for them to find the get up and go to actually do their exercises than it is for you or me.
Client Services Director Gail Metzger came up with a nifty plan. Why not encourage the residents to fully participate in their Physical Therapy programs by offering prizes and a party for those who attend all of their sessions for a month?
This Thursday evening we celebrate the dedication of 18 residents with a festive party, cake and certificates of appreciation. Our residents are pleased with their success and so are we. Congratulations to our PT stars.
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Carolina Brings Experience and Enthusiasm
Hillside House welcomes new case manager (QMRP) Carolina
Schoenborn. Carolina joined the
staff at the end of July and already says she is really getting to know the
personalities of each resident. Carolina has an extensive background working in the field of
developmental disabilities, having been a case manager and QMRP for many years on the East Coast, as well as working in other capacities. She
moved to Santa Barbara for the masters program in counseling psychology at Pacifica
Graduate Institute, where she has completed her coursework and is now writing
her thesis.
What she enjoys about Hillside House is how much one-on-one
contact with the residents she gets here. She loves Happy Hour when the residents return from their day programs
around 2:30 in the afternoon. And
she is enthusiastic about the progress she sees with the residents in gaining
greater independence and new skills, such as learning to operate a switch, to manage
money, to identify their prescriptions, and to communicate their desires.
Carolina has an adventurous spirit, loves travel, has taught English in
Peru and studied Spanish in Ecuador.
She is also a talented photographer with a home studio, specializing in
interactive family portraits, group gatherings, landscapes and abstract
photography. She says she loves to
photograph people engaged in activities they enjoy and interacting with one
another, and she is looking forward to helping us take beautiful photos of the
residents of Hillside House.
Fortunately, we didn't have to say good-bye to Romma Padilla. Although she is no longer working as a QMRP, she still comes in some mornings to work with the residents. Right now,
she is taking more time to focus on her nursing studies, and she plans to work at Hillside House as a nurse.
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Remembering Craig: An Inspiration to All
 indomitable (adj):
brave, determined, and impossible to defeat or frighten
Craig Hyams had an indomitable spirit, but it was even more than that. He was one of the most upbeat, loving people you could ever meet, despite the fact that he was deaf and mute, had cerebral palsy, and lost a leg to his first of three bouts of cancer. Craig spoke with sign language, and his standard greeting was the sign for "I love you." He almost always had a smile on his face.
Craig first came to Hillside House when he was just a boy, and he lived with us most of his life until 1996, when UCP (United Cerebral Palsy) opened up a new group home and we encouraged him to move into more independent living. He continued to visit Hillside House each year for our annual Holiday parties and to maintain friendships here. So, it is with great sadness that we learned of his recent death. Our
residents are missing Craig. David S. remembers fondly going to Dodgers
games with him. Greg remembers how they loved to go bowling together and
how helpful Craig was to him and the other residents. You could often
find him and a few others laughing and sharing good times.
Craig was an inspiration to all of us. From each difficulty, he would bounce back and always found something to appreciate. He was a very social person and loved nothing more than to go downtown and people watch. He was also a sports enthusiast and, with a gleeful, competitive spirit would participate in the Special Olympics wheelchair races with his great pal Randy, another Hillside House resident.
UCP will celebrate Craig at a fundraising event on September 29, and several of the staff and residents from Hillside House will go to share our fondness for this remarkable man.
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Hillside House Aces Licensing Review
Liz Patricio, Director of Nursing  | Once each year the California Department of Public Health sends a team of nurses from their staff to ensure that Hillside House is in compliance with all of the regulations and procedures that qualify us to continue providing services as an Intermediate Care Facility for people with developmental disabilities (ICF/DD). Given the stringency and thoroughness of the regulations, it is common for most facilities to receive a few violations which they are then asked to correct. This year, we were pleased to receive only one correction and that one was unrelated to the quality of care for our residents. The review noted that our facility is aging, which we are all to well aware of, but they complimented us on upkeep of the facilities. All is well for our residents.
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