2022 Executive Director's Annual Report

Dear Clients, Family, Employees, and Stakeholders:

I am pleased to share with you information from our 2021 – 2022 Annual Strategic & Business Improvement Plan and Outcome Summary. We consider this annual report a report card of how we are doing in support of the clients we serve, and how we can continue to improve the services we provide. We at The Spectrum Network believe we can always do better!

I am proud of the clients we serve and their progress, and the hard work of our employees to provide quality habilitation services and supports to the clients within our facility and Northeast Iowa.

The following is a short summary of our annual report:

1. Increase the number of job and work opportunities for clients served through our Community Employment program. TSN continues to find new avenues for our clients with Decorah businesses including two nursing homes, local contractors, and a local amusement center. Currently, we are working on a partnership with several area High Schools with the Special Education teachers to create a path for their students upon graduation from high school. TSN would guide graduates with the enrollment process in the programs needed so they are able to live outside of the parent/guardian’s home. Resources provided will also aide the graduate with employment and housing.

2. Build operational reserves capacity to the equivalent of four months of operations. Secure grant, foundation, targeted donations for projects, soft money opportunities to help fund operational expenses, one-time needs, or projects. Continue to look at the opportunities offered through the CARES Act and Federal funding as the result of COVID-19 to shore up our reduction in revenue 2020 – 2021. At the present time, we are operating 2 months operating reserve. Will continue to progress towards the goal of 4 months of operations.

3. Study and reduce or eliminate redundancy in policies, procedures, forms, and practices. Met and exceeded goal.

4. Client, family, and stakeholder satisfaction: Client, family, and stakeholder satisfaction with their experience with TSN is critical to the habilitation process. We are proud to report that 96% of clients, 90% of stakeholders, and 92.9% of TSN employees who completed surveys reported being satisfied with their experience and the services provided by TSN.

5. Client and/or family grievances: We are pleased to report that no clients or family filed grievances during the reporting period. We have an open-door policy and believe that continuous engagement in communication with clients, families, and stakeholders avoids issues escalating to formal grievance.

6. Follow up on critical incidents: Ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of the clients we serve at TSN is of the utmost importance to our organization. Staff complete incident reports when there are concerns for the safety and health of clients. Even more important is the timely follow up on any incidents of concern. We are proud to report our leadership completed follow up 100% of the time on any incidents of concern in a timely manner and implemented the necessary follow up and training to resolve the incident of concern.

If you would like a full copy of the Strategic Plan or the Annual Service Delivery Performance Indicator Analysis Report, or have any questions about this summary letter, you can email me Mike Meirick at mmeirick@thespectrumnetwork.org or call me at (563) 382-8401.

Sincerely,

Mike Meirick

Executive Director