The Way of The Arc Champion
Audrey Pouliot; Clinician, The Arc of Opportunity
Nominated by: Justine Buckley
I would like to nominate Audrey as The Way of The Arc Champion for March 2024. Audrey has been an integral part of Day Hab in the last few months. I have seen her provide effective clinical support on countless occasions, but what I really want to recognize is Audrey's quiet willingness to "go the extra mile".
Audrey models for the staff how to implement clinical interventions and when doing so, helps the team out a tremendous amount. She comes alongside them and helps with busing, groups, and transfers. She has quickly built a valuable and effective rapport with the Day Hab staffing team. This type of support with implementation of behavioral strategies is something I often see missed. Many a Clinician has written a high-quality behavior plan, and it stays a well written behavior plan. It never translates fully to the staff implementing it. That's not how Audrey does things. She writes the clinically indicated behavior plan beautifully, and then, she works directly with staff on implementation. Her teaching skills are exemplary, effective, and inspiring.
Recently, I have worked with Audrey to get a long-term participant of The Arc's day services enhanced funding (a 1:1 ratio). This participant is diagnosed with progressive Alzheimer disease and often exhibits some challenging behaviors that pose a safety risk to him and to others in the program. Audrey "took ownership" and led communication with residential providers and DDS. She was proactive with her communication, so it came as no surprise to this participants team when it became necessary to move towards an increased staffing model. Everyone was in the loop and on board. She also worked diligently with staff and directly with the participant to gain a further understanding of his clinical presentation. She implemented an effective strategy of having him enter the program through a different door so that his environment was orienting him to what was going to happen next. It seems simple, have him come in the Day Hab door instead of the front. None of us came up with this plan. Audrey did, because she "makes quality personal" and "practices the human touch". She formed a genuine relationship with the participant and took the time to "listen generously" to his non-verbal communication.
I could keep giving examples of Audrey's excellent clinical skills, but I also want to touch on Audrey's ability to "think team first" and "communicate. communicate. communicate". She has been an integral part of improving Day Hab's Inter-Disciplinary Team and has helped to unify the team towards The Arc's mission. She also seeks to understand how her work fits into regulatory parameters. I have gone through many MA Health regs/processes with Audrey that are what I will call "intense". Others may say boring. Somehow, she "kept things fun" and I always enjoy working with her. She has an amazing understanding of what it takes to "deliver legendary service" and I am very grateful that she is part of The Arc's clinical team!