Some people invest a part of themselves in whatever they do.
Stephanie Earle and Bhagawatiprasad Parmar are “investors” – working with developmentally disabled individuals, and taking their jobs to another level.
It is the extra care that put Earle and Parmar on the radar screen when the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) selected them as 2008 employees of the year.
They were among 23 individuals whom OMRDD Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter referred to as the “cream of the crop” at an awards ceremony held October 27 in Albany.
Parmar,
a licensed master social worker at Long Island Developmental Disabilities
Services Office (LIDDSO) is referred to as “Mr. B.” (Not to be confused with
PEF Trustee Olubiyi Sehindemi). His peers say Mr. B is able to bring clarity and simplicity to complex matters, disarm hostility, and counsel individuals and families with compassion, sensitivity and a keen wit.
“All who work with him can’t say enough about him,” said PEF Division 209 Council Leader Carol Ferrante. “He goes beyond his role.”
“The recognition really goes to all of my team,” Mr. B said. “The people in the unit where I work have created a culture of ‘can do.’ We focus on the client, within the available resources. Even though I was able to bask in this glory for a little while, I could not forget the fact it is because of the team we are successful.”
Challenges
The success lies in turning the lives around of behaviorally challenged individuals. Mr. B oversees about 40 people who live in intermediate care facilities and suffer from a myriad of psychiatric disabilities and sexual behavior problems.
“They come here with chronic conditions,” Mr. B said. “I have one case that is very challenging. The individual is very bright, but is a handful. Since this client was about six years old, he had sexual behavior problems. His mother was a drug addict and he lived with other dysfunctional families. Then he got involved with gangs and ended up in a facility run by the state Office of Children and Family Services.
“We are trying to work with him to remove his misconceptions about life and make a transition for him. We are hopeful he will come around.”
Going
beyondEarle, a community mental health nurse at LIDDSO, devotes her time to evaluating and assisting very medically frail children. She has about 300 children under her wing, from the Queens border to the tip of Montauk, and helps them to stay with their families through a program called Care At Home.
Earle communicates with their caseworkers, and sees to it these special-needs children can stay at home by arranging for their health care needs.
She also goes beyond what is expected of her.
Earle took one of her clients to a wedding. It was no ordinary event. She made sure the 35-year-old wheelchair-bound man was properly decked out in a tuxedo. He was unable to speak but was very aware of his surroundings.
Earl brought the young man to his mother’s home, a place he had not seen for 15 years. There and at his brother’s wedding reception, the young man was greeted by many family members and friends.
“It was so touching. He got to see all his relatives. We were so glad he had a happy time with his family,” Earle said. “He died shortly after the event. It still makes me choke-up just thinking about it.”
Earle said the most important thing is to treat the special-needs population with respect, and to take care of them as you would like to be cared for.
“Many can’t vocalize what they want. We are here to give them what they need,” Earle said. “It is knowing what is the right thing to do.”
Earle found out about her award when her peers took her to lunch.
“I was taken aback,” she said. “I was speechless, and I’m not usually that way.
