From Elyssia Stratton, CEO at Hallmark Youthcare
Happy New Year from Hallmark Youthcare!
This time of the year gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of 2024 and express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have played a role in making a positive difference in the lives of the children we serve.
As we reflect on the many things we are grateful for, I want to begin by expressing my deepest appreciation for our incredible internal team, families, and community partners who help us make a difference in the lives of children every day. We are profoundly thankful for our dedicated staff, who show up every day with compassion and commitment to provide the care and support our residents need. Equally, we are grateful for our corporate support from Acute Behavioral Health, and the outstanding community partners and families who collaborate with us working tirelessly to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for the children we serve together. We are especially grateful for the most important people in the building, our residents. They teach, inspire, and challenge us; but most importantly, they trust us with their care. And that is a very important decision that they make. A decision we do not take lightly.
We celebrate many accomplishments this past year. This includes increasing our capacity to serve children therapeutically and educationally, enhancing our ability to provide on-going and up-to-date training via a new learning management system, and building our direct care service teams to incorporate several new positions including milieu managers, a staff development coordinator, lead youth counselors, and nurse managers.
Throughout the past several months, Hallmark Youthcare began to implement the six principles of SAMHSA’s trauma-informed care approach (safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural/gender responsiveness). A multidisciplinary task force was formed and met for several months to assess and identify additional ways to ensure the six principles were embedded within all services provided at Hallmark. The task force conducted walk-through’s, interviews, and assessments and as part of training, invited a nationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care, Dr. Karen Harvey, to provide workshops to all staff. The task force concluded their work in late fall, with recommendations being implemented at the facility including an updated trauma-informed new employee orientation, training provided to all staff, and the start of Project Solid Object which is a comprehensive mentoring and training program for new youth counselors. As part of the trauma-informed care implementation, Hallmark also created a new program where we recognize those who truly exemplify trauma-informed care qualities and are recognized as a Trauma Champion with an associated award and gift card at our quarterly All Staff Meetings.
In keeping with providing trauma-informed care, the clinical team at Hallmark implemented an evidenced-based group model, Seeking Safety, to be provided to all units throughout the facility. Therapists were provided comprehensive training, and groups are successfully running. Another area key to the provision of trauma-informed care is assessment. Hallmark Youthcare is committed to data informed decision-making throughout the treatment process. All residents receive upon admission a trauma assessment which helps to inform their treatment plans. Residents are also provided on-going assessments to determine their progress within the program. Adding data to support our clinical team helps to improve the care we provide each and every day. In addition to these assessments, the clinical team is provided the option of attending trauma-focused CBT training to enhance their skills.
Consistent with SAMHSA’s principles of peer support, collaboration and empowerment, our focus is on identifying ways in which we can incorporate resident feedback into all aspects of our program. After having met with several residents one-on-one to hear what they felt could make their experience better, a great deal of information was gleaned from this resident advisory group This information resulted in important changes including a greater emphasis on home passes and family time, a more robust Assessment and Diagnostic program, a weekly “Movie Night” with candy and popcorn, and more food options, to name a few. We also started a Clean Unit Competition to reward units weekly for taking pride in their living space. Staff and leadership help residents learn how to properly make a bed, sweep, and tidy up any clutter. Prizes range from pizza parties, candy, ice cream, and new blankets! Two units win per week.
Our commitment to provide activities for our residents included ensuring our pool was ready to go for the warm months! Our pool was so popular this year that we extended our pool season for an additional month! (Thank you, Mother Nature!) Residents enjoyed daily pool time thanks to our wonderful staff lifeguards and the AT department who kept a consistent pool schedule and provided new swimwear to all residents.
Hallmark attended and supported many Virginia-based conferences and sponsored and participated in the Annual NAMI Walk with an enthusiastic team, including our fearless therapy dog, Moose.
At Hallmark, we take employee recognition very seriously. The Shout Out program at Hallmark is a long-standing tradition to recognize staff on a daily basis who go above and beyond! These staff are celebrated with postings and announcements over the speaker system, as well as being entered into drawings for prizes.
In the third quarter, we formed an Employee Recognition Committee that meets monthly to create new staff recognition ideas. This committee has representation from many departments. Hallmark hosted its annual Holiday Pancake Breakfast on Dec 19th with Senior Leadership serving all staff pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit and toppings! Yum! We had an excellent turnout and enjoyed sharing breakfast with each other. Staff were also able to enter drawings for terrific prizes including a 50-inch TV, Keurig coffee makers, echo dots, and other fun items.
Throughout the year and on all holidays, Hallmark hosts many fun events for residents, their families, and community partners. On the first day of Summer, Hallmark hosted its biggest community and family event of the year, the Summer Solstice! Over 30 families attended, as well as several community partners. Our Resident Cheer Team and Step Group both performed for the attendees. Our HR Director, Michael Cavalcante, was our grill master, while our wonderful dietary team served up the sides and treats! Candy and popcorn as well as fun accessories were served throughout the facility. Art and science projects were on display in the school hall. Fun and games ruled the day as the staff and leadership team helped keep things organized under the caring direction of our Resident Advocate, Gayzelle Thomas.
Our Secret Santa tradition is another longstanding tradition in which residents make a Christmas list and, without knowing which resident made the list, staff can select and fulfill those lists so the residents receive beautifully wrapped gifts on Christmas day. We also hosted families and case workers on Christmas Eve with an event including homemade hot cider and treats.
Hallmark Youthcare made a promise to the state of Virginia to meet the needs of as many youth as possible who require residential care. To uphold that promise, we have actively sought and listened to feedback from our community partners to better understand how we can focus our expansion efforts and enhance our services. In response, we decided to expand our program by adding 20 beds to our capacity in 2024. This expansion has enabled us to provide faster turnaround times for referrals and ensure fewer youth are waiting for admission, ultimately helping more children get the care they need in a timely manner.
We are excited about new opportunities in 2025 (including outpatient services—stay tuned!) and remain grateful for the collective effort that allows us to positively impact the lives of the children and families we serve.
We look forward to working with you in the coming year!
Sincerely,
