We hope that housing the newsletter on our external website, while password protected, provides an easy way for you to have access to informative and fun news! If you have any tips, news, or content that you would like to see in the Springs Staff Scoop, please feel free to email Stephanie Keister.
We’re pleased to announce that Becky Heldt has joined our Frisco office as Program Director. Becky comes to Mind Springs Health with a wide depth of experience in operations and administration, having held a number of senior management roles in the behavioral health industry in her home state of Wisconsin.
Becky and her husband, Andy, recently relocated to Summit County. They have a blended family of five adult children and two canine children, adorable Shih Tzus who are learning the ropes of being mountain dogs. In her spare time, Becky likes to ski and play hockey in the winter, while biking, hiking, and inline skating in the warmer months.
Welcome to the Mind Springs Health family, Becky!
On June 17, just days before this year’s Juneteenth holiday, President Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth (June 19) a federal holiday.
When President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the enslavement of African people ended in states controlled by the Confederacy. However, it wasn’t until the 13th Amendment was ratified in December of 1865 that slavery was finally abolished in the United States.
Many enslaved Africans had no idea that President Lincoln had even signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In Texas, one of the last states to rely financially on enslaved human beings, more than two-and-a-half years passed before enslaved people received their freedom.
Juneteenth commemorates the date of June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to demand that enslaved people there be set free. Until that time, the Union army had not had sufficient strength to enforce the emancipation of the approximately 250,000 Black people enslaved in Texas, the most distant such state.
Historic Juneteenth celebrations have included religious services, readings, inspirational speeches, and music. The popularity of the holiday lost momentum during the eras of Jim Crow, following emancipation. Despite being “free,” it simply wasn’t safe for many African Americans to celebrate the holiday. The holiday wasn’t widely, openly celebrated until after the civil rights movements of the 1960s. Today, many celebrate the day in much the same way as in the early days. Some celebrations are similar to the Fourth of July, with parades, street fairs, dancing, music, and cookouts with family and friends.
Gina Toothaker, Program Director in Steamboat Springs, helps honor, celebrate, and support the LGBTQ+ community at Steamboat Springs’ first Pride event!
Do you have a comment, story, or idea to share about diversity, equity, and inclusion? If so, we’d like to hear from you! We are encouraging everyone to ask important questions, to share thoughtful experiences, and to engage in meaningful conversation to help us all be better informed and educated. Click HERE to provide your submission.
James Wheeler recently used his ELoops FunNominal Funds to enjoy lunch with Sharon Raggio.
“Thanks James, for choosing to use your ELoops points to have lunch with me! I am better for our conversation.” — Sharon Raggio
You, too, can use your FunNominal Funds for lunch with Sharon or another member of our Executive Team. Don’t want to eat lunch with your favorite Executive Team member? That’s okay! They’ll probably let you pie them in the face instead!
Jeans days, PTO days, and MSH/WSH merchandise can also be purchased with your ELoops FunNominal Funds – sign up for ELoops if you haven’t already!
To sign up for ELoops:
“To all of our wonderful employees who contributed to this year’s successful Employee Giving Campaign – we truly appreciate you for not only the hard work you do daily, but for your compassion and willingness to support our funding needs.”
–Roger Sheffield, President, Mind Springs Foundation
“I decided to participate in the Employee Giving Campaign years ago, because of all the veterans I saw come and go at the Hospital. It broke my heart to see their pain, as they reminded me of my father, a Marine and Vietnam veteran who suffered greatly from undiagnosed and untreated PTSD. He died of natural causes in 2016, but I can only imagine how better his life could have been had he received the care and compassion that we provide here at West Springs Hospital and Mind Springs Health. Every year, I participate in the Employee Giving Campaign in memory of my dad, John Joseph Brunson, LC U.S. Marine Corps.”
— Fawn Brunson, Residential Case Manager, Women’s Recovery Center
Do you have a colleague that continues to amaze and impress you? Are they worthy of an ABCD or Customer Service Superstar Award? Show them your support with a nomination! They deserve to be recognized for their efforts.
Award nominations are due by Friday, July 9 and winners will be announced at an upcoming Town Hall and in the July Springs Staff Scoop!
Here are the links to the nomination forms and guidelines:
We’ve partnered with Medical Rehabilitation Consultants to provide employees with medical case management (for UMR policyholders). Click HERE for more details!
Western Healthcare Alliance is excited to announce a new Leadership Academy virtual session – The Art of Giving & Receiving Feedback. This session will be taught by WHA’s CEO, Angelina Salazar.
Mind Springs Health partnership with FEMA’s Colorado Spirit program has come to an end.
“If our team could sum up our time with the Colorado Spirit Crisis Counseling and Assistance Program, I think that I can speak for all of us when I say that the best moments were when we were able to help our communities. Thus, here are just a few moments of happiness and relief that our team was able to assist with during the COVID pandemic and through vaccination sites where our mental health techniques were able to shine. From teachers, grocery store workers, families, students, elders, to local businesses, we were able to provide support.”
— Danielle Hena, Garfield/Pitkin County Crisis Counselor)
Click HERE to read what Northwestern Colorado had to say about the Mind Springs Health Colorado Spirit team and program!
