Indian Creek Foundation recently welcomed a new Director of Day Services to our family. Leslie Fisher may be new to this role, but she is no stranger to Indian Creek. A Lansdale native and North Penn graduate, Leslie came to work here in Behavioral Health Services after earning a degree in Special Education at Slippery Rock University.
Her family’s move to Berks County about 20 years ago led Leslie to a position in Day Program and Home & Community Services leadership in that area. Recently, that hometown pull was just strong enough to relocate the Fishers back to Montgomery County once again. When our Day Program position opened up, Leslie reached out almost immediately and turned out to be a perfect fit! We are glad to have her back and to put her many years of Day Program leadership to use in our development plans.
Organizational Culture is a Priority at Indian Creek
During her first period of employment at Indian Creek, Leslie appreciated the culture set by the leadership team. Time was set aside for staff activities on a regular basis in order to foster unity and positive relationships. She knew at that time Indian Creek is a different kind of organization, and she hoped that she would find the same type of culture when she returned.
Leslie was thrilled to discover just how much we have stayed the same, and how much we’ve changed! That same commitment to creating a positive work culture and positive care environment is still going strong. But we have also grown our programs, updated our facilities, and added to the valuable services we provide.
One thing that seriously impressed Leslie was the way Indian Creek adapted to continue providing services through the Covid challenges. We invested in technology to keep our residents and community members connected to our programs even when we couldn’t all be together on campus. Although remote participation is never ideal, it is a solid compromise when circumstances keep us apart. We are still striving to increase our staff levels so that all of our Day Program participants can get back on their preferred schedule, but we are moving in the right direction.
Leslie feels that going forward, our technology can be used in other creative ways. For example, when an individual is feeling overstimulated and wants to keep participating in a quiet room, we can make that happen with the push of a few buttons. She and the Day Services staff are brainstorming several other ways to use interactive media to keep daily activities engaging and fun.
Cultivating Enriching Programs
While our Day Program has a solid variety of activities, Leslie has some fresh ideas in the works. Our participants really enjoy programs that involve movement, like Tai Chi with Mark Cashatt and Music Therapy with Dave Antonio. We’ll keep those in the rotation, and we are hoping to add more live entertainers as well as community activities like bowling.
Crowd participation being a favorite, we’re changing some of our daily routines to get people up and moving as much as possible throughout the day. Many participants have expressed an interest in volunteering, visiting local parks, and pursuing employment. All of these things and more are on Leslie’s list to investigate and implement as resources and staffing allow.
Overall, Leslie truly appreciates the level of operations she stepped into when she joined the team a few months ago. “I just really love how well this program runs, how efficient and professionally it has been planned and executed over the years,” she shared. “It was a joy to step in and know that all the tools are already in place, and I just need to keep improving what’s already great.”
Adding to Our Great Team of Direct Support Professionals
When asked what will allow her to implement the plans she has for continued program development, Leslie said that it all comes down to having sufficient staff.
She said, “This is a high energy job, so you have to be on your game! But the level of activity here is really fun, and it’s a great place to come to work every day.”
If you are looking for a job where the day just flies by, where you spend time with true friends, and where you will find a great work culture, check out our Careers page. Indian Creek Foundation values each employee and shows it with a commitment to providing competitive pay, excellent benefits, career growth opportunities, and healthy work-life balance.
We are hiring Direct Support Professionals in our Day Program right now and would love to schedule an interview!