Resident Life

The Arches is a 10 bed, ICF/MR group home. Currently our group ranges in age from early 20’s to mid 50s. We have both men and women living and working at Arches. Our goal is to provide a safe and happy living and working environment that enables each resident to reach his or her maximum potential and level of independence.

Our house is set up with 6 single bedrooms and 2 double bedrooms. Each resident’s space is decorated and furnished based on his or her individual needs, likes, dislikes, and preferences. We have 2 large bathrooms with Arjo-Parker tubs and several smaller restrooms with toileting and changing facilities. Most of our activities happen in our large living room. This is an area for working on goals, doing physical therapy exercises, or just hanging out watching our big screen TV or doing other leisure activities. We also have 2 classroom spaces we frequently use to spread out in or to do more specialized exercises. When the weather is nice, we really enjoy getting to spend time on the patio in the back yard. 

  We work to make our residents’ lives as normal as possible. The typical daily activities are not too different from anyone else. Everyone is up in the morning, getting dressed and ready for the day. Breakfast is served and cleaned up with as much assistance from our residents as they are able to give. Activities are done throughout the day to build on skills and to learn new challenges. For some residents this means improving their use of picture communication, for others it is sorting like items, and for others it is identifying common objects in the environment. Every goal and activity is tailored to the specific needs and abilities of a particular resident. We all stop for lunch in the middle of the day before ramping back up into more activities and leisure times in the evening. After dinner, most residents engage in leisure time before cleaning up and getting ready for bed.

Independence is key at Arches. Each resident is expected to do as much for him or herself as possible. For some residents this means putting on clothing without assistance and helping with chores like trash and laundry. For other residents this means hand over hand holding the spoon and cup at meals. No matter the level of independence, everyone’s needs and abilities are respected with the utmost dignity.

Our residents enjoy going out in the community and doing all kinds of outings. We go out to eat, to the movies, shopping, to concerts, to festivals, to ballgames, to anywhere they want to go.  We also do special activities in the home to celebrate different events and holidays.  Our staff works hard to provide a fun atmosphere.

Life at The Atrium, Horizons’ children’s facility can be described as “busy”.  There are 10 residents on each wing, generally grouped together by age.

B Wing has the youngest children ages 7-19 years old.  These children use wheelchairs for mobility although you may see clients walking in the halls or in their classroom in gait trainers to explore their environment or to just to “get around”.  In the den area or in the classrooms some of the children are on mats for rolling activities, floor play or just to socialize together.  Some of the other residents are on mat beds, tilt tables or recliners as alternative positions. 

C Wing has the oldest group, high school age and young adults.   Just like teenagers and young adults this group loves Rap, fashion magazines, and sports. Most of these folks also use wheelchairs for mobility and need a lot of assistance in activities of daily living and personal care.   Most of their programming centers around sensory stimulation activities.  They also have many positioning needs with specialized equipment such as AFOs and other corrective devices.

D Wing residents are middle school and high school age residents.  They are always “on the go”.  Some of these residents can walk independently, but need supervision for their safety.   Some are mobile in their wheelchairs and some need total assistance for mobility.  Many of these residents are working on appropriate social skills and all are working on increasing their receptive and expressive communication skills.  Many use a variety of augmentative communication devices such as picture boards, voice output devices and switches to control their environment.  Some of these residents are learning to eat more independently and to increase self help activities as toileting, dressing and grooming.

All of the residents go to class daily.  Horizons also operates a private residential school.   The young adults have day program objectives and the other students work on Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals and objectives.  The Atrium has 24 hour nursing supervision. Nurses and medication technicians give medications and complete treatments throughout the day.  We even have a person who takes residents to the many, many doctors’ appointments that may occur weekly.  The Interdisciplinary team that develops the Individual Habilitation Plan include the teacher, nurse, Resident and their parent/guardian,  the QMRP (chairperson of the ID Team and supervisor of the direct care staff), psychologist, speech/language pathologist, dietician, physical therapy and the direct services staff.

Life at The Atrium is always exciting.  Each day is a celebration of learning new things and having many adventures.  The residents enjoy birthday parties, cookouts, and going to places in the community.  Everyone dresses up for The Prom and practice, practice, practice for Special Olympics. Special events as “Girl’s Night Out, an evening of manicures, facials, and massages, and “Boys Night Out” a night of ghost stories, scavenger hunts,  bonfires and Smores treats are such fun.

                              
                                                                                          Atrium residents like to learn and have fun!


                                                                                                                                                                                                                
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