Brian Hansen
Executive Director
Fiscal Year 2020 ushered in a new decade and with it came challenges unlike any seen before. Spring Lake Ranch, like all organizations, faced many linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. This revealed a need to re-evaluate our setup and ensure we could continue offering exemplary services in a safe community. SLR rose to the occasion and successfully navigated this first part of the pandemic while simultaneously adding new program offerings and continuing our drive towards excellence.
Admissions
In May, we closed the Royce Street transitional house and folded it into our Cuttingsville Program. The already existing Elliot House structure was transformed into our new transitional program; the team put in huge effort and attention to detail to rapidly set up and launch the site. This program is modeled after Royce Street: a place where residents can move towards greater independence but is hosted in Cuttingsville where residents can take advantage of the larger community that exists on the Hill.
To keep our programs vibrant and filled our admissions team continuously reviewed prospective residents. Last year, the department managed over 783 inquiries which resulted in 42 visits and 39 admissions. The Cuttingsville Program remained on par with previous years with an average of 20 residents per month throughout. The launch of Elliot House showed promising results with five residents at the close of the year compared to the average of two residents Royce Street had been supporting.
Finances
The improving census goes hand-in-hand with equally improving financials. This past year saw a surplus of $117,000 in contrast with a deficit of $349,000 the prior fiscal year. Our budget for the new fiscal year plans for a $397,000 surplus. On the fundraising front, the Ranch received over $476,000 in donations which, in combination with our investment returns, allowed us to distribute financial aid to over a third of the residents and clients in our programs.
Programs
Spring Lake Ranch launched a new website this past year which allows us to showcase the uniqueness of our programs, the beauty of our campus, and the tremendous outcomes of our community. Our work crews are one such example of unique programming, and this past year have continued to generate and create exceptional results including the addition of bee keeping, chicken and pig rearing, and mushroom farming. A new initiative to become more involved in the local community was unfortunately cut short by COVID-19, but not before Shop Crew contributed numerous hours working on a Habitat for Humanity house in Rutland.
On the clinical front, SLR expanded our recovery services with the creation of a Recovery Coach position, which greatly widens residents’ access to individual recovery resources. The entire clinical team continued offering high quality programs throughout the year in the areas of individual and group therapy, psychoeducational groups, case management, family collaboration, team collaboration, recovery meetings, and individual recovery coaching.
Quality Assurance and Human Resources
To continually improve SLR’s internal systems and processes as well as to showcase our excellent standards we worked towards the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation. Additionally, SLR launched satisfaction surveys to both residents and families of our programs and saw a 4.4 out of 5 average rating.
I thank our staff, without whose commitment and professionalism none of our 2019 – 2020 accomplishments would have been possible. In an effort to increase equity, morale, job satisfaction, and extend tenure we revised our Human Resources Handbook which included the addition of several innovative benefits including flexible scheduling options, a remote work policy, and new paid time off and vacation possibilities. We are grateful for all that our team has been able to create, share, and support and look forward to continuing our mission-based work in the year to come.
