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Health Reform Is Here to Stay

As the dust settles from the 2012 elections, access to services and coverage appears to be more feasible for Florida families’ with disabilities. That’s not to say that there won’t still be a constant supply of bumps and potholes ahead, but we are on the move toward our destination of equitable and fair services. Find out more how the Affordable Care Act may impact your loved one.

Team Hoyt Returns to Inspire Others in UCP Hartford’s 5K

This year’s UCP Hartford Life Without Limits 5k welcomes back Team Hoyt. The father-son-duo continues to inspire racers with and without disabilities to lead a “Life Without Limits.” Each dollar raised from the event supports summer programming at Camp Harkness. The residential summer camp just celebrated its 55th Anniversary. Come lace up your sneakers and get registered!

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Sunrise’s Commitment to Transparency

Transparency and accountability are hot buzzwords in today’s media. In general, transparency refers to “something that is easily seen by all.” From an operational perspective, this is a very high bar. For Sunrise, the principles of transparency are what lie at the core of our mission and allow us to best serve the people and families entrusted in our care. Six years ago, Sunrise made a pro-active decision to establish a Compliance Program and in doing so, we became one of the first organizations in the field of developmental disabilities to formally instate an integrity program.

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Miami-Dade County Supports Sunrise’s Community Elder Program Initiative

Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor, Russell Benford, attended Sunrise’s appreciation celebration hosted at our Adult Day Care Center off of Eighth Street in West Miami. Event highlights included a peek into the Elders’ daily activities such as rumba, dance, and aerobics along with ample opportunities to socialize with the smiling faces of the individuals who directly benefit from the County’s “bridge-funding” grant (which covers the “gap” in services while applying for Medicare eligibility.)

Coral Gables Police Athletic League Helps Old Dixie Nursery

We are all grateful to Coral Gables’ student volunteers for stepping forward to provide much needed help to people with developmental disabilities. We also appreciate their continued help in getting the word out to fellow Coral Gables students about Sunrise’s on-going beautification project opportunities. We look forward to working with PAL and other Miami-Dade students again in the near future! Check out their fantastic work and GREAT JOB TEAM CB-PAL!!

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Legacy of Labels

We live our lives surrounded by labels. We see them in supermarkets, in advertisements, and we even use them subconsciously throughout the day. However, we never stop to realize the dangers of using labels… especially as they apply to people. The only “appropriate labels” are those that HELP people get appropriate treatments and therapies to improve, protect and enrich lives.

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Calling All Social Change Agents

As a large health and human services provider and an advocate for the greater disabilities community, Sunrise joined other industry leaders in celebrating the landmark Supreme Court decision on the health care law last month. Without question, we are facing unprecedented challenges to our health care system. Aging baby boomers, a wave of young children with autism and the graying of the disabilities communities, all demand new 21st century solutions. We cannot continue to look back at the way things “used to work.” We must identify new approaches and be open to new ways of working to find effective solutions.

Sunrise Launches Crib Notes In Recognition of the 22nd Anniversary of ADA
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Sunrise Launches Crib Notes In Recognition of the 22nd Anniversary of ADA

In recognition of the 22nd Anniversary of the ADA and its ground-breaking federal policy milestone, Sunrise is launching our “Crib Notes” Project. Contributors are asked to use ONLY SIX WORDS to describe what disability services means to them. (for example, how did it change one’s life, what does it allow a person the freedom to do, how do services impact family members and the general public?, etc…. how far do the “ripples of community inclusion” travel?) The idea is to get the conversation started and to better understand the intangible value of an inclusive life.

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A Tale of Two Standards

The apathy that allowed Homestead’s recent Foster Care Brothel “business” to flourish runs rampant through many state health and human service agencies. “Blanket” policy and procedures are created and only arbitrarily enforced with little thought to their true impact on human lives. For example, two weeks ago, APD Secretary Mike Hansen spoke at the Family Café Conference in Orlando and he applauded Florida’s Foster Care System while pitching his proposal that APD use Florida’s Foster Care System as the “model” for oversight. His statements are reflective of a much more pervasive issue… over-confidence and a lack of a historical perspective along with inadequate internal checks and balances.

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Forgotten Social Duty

“Duty of the State” was a term coined by FDR in his 1931 speech on “The duty of the State toward the citizen is the duty of the servant to its master…. One of the duties of the State is that of caring for those of its citizens who find themselves … unable to obtain even the necessities for mere existence without the aid of others…. To these citizens aid must be extended by government—not as a matter of charity but as a matter of Social Duty.” Florida appears to have forgotten this historic lesson on responsibility.

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Letting Go is Never Easy

Why is it so difficult for us to let go of our children? It remains an unwavering fact that as soon as a newborn is placed in a parents’ arms, we must begin the process of “letting go.” All children want to have a voice in decisions that impact their lives. An intellectual disability should not be considered a barrier to one’s right to live independently. Letting go of a child — whether through graduation or for an adult child’s next step of independence — will always be the most difficult part of being a parent.

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Spring Brings “Season of Change” to RIVA

Sunrise affiliate, Resources for Independence of Virginia (RIVA), is excited to be part of the solution that will help Virginians with developmental disabilities become valued members of local communities across the state. RIVA shares Sunrise’s mission “to enable people to live valued lives in the community” and directly benefits from decades of experience implementing award-winning community inclusion models across the Eastern United States. U.S. District Court Judge John A. Gibney Jr. in Richmond, Virgina is expected to rule on a long-running case that would see four of the state’s five training centers closed and 1,000 people transition to community living. Expansion is on the horizon.

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Carnival Cruise Lines Honors Elders in West Miami

For the second consecutive year, Carnival Corporation & PLC generously donated sixty-five care packages to Elders receiving services at Sunrise’s Adult Day Health Center in West Miami. Carnival’s community project helps keep Elders with acquired disabilities engaged in the communities by recognizing the value and beauty of the contributions made by Miami’s Seniors.

Free Speech Lasts A lifetime

We live in an era of instantaneous, global communications, as such the power and the meaning behind our words are more important than ever. While we have the right to free speech, speech is not entirely free. There are always consequences for what we say, whether or not we realize the impact of our words. Words can change us as individuals.

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Sunrise Promotes Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week!!!

Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week is the first full week in May. Sunrise urges all staff members to commemorate and engage in Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week. At Sunrise, we remain committed to creating a work environment that promotes and encourages every employee to practice good work ethics, to adhere to all regulatory requirements and maintain our highest standards of excellence. “Do The Right Thing!”