Wood Lane audit perfect

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There was no reason to save the good news for last Thursday afternoon at Wood Lane because
there was only good news.A five-year compliance review covering hundreds of regulations had turned up no
citations."Your staff made us welcome, was very open with their responses. With all of the
information we looked at, there are no citations. That’s very rare and pretty-much unheard of.
Congratulations," Beth Chambers, compliance manager with the Ohio Department of Developmental
Disabilities, told a large gathering of staff.Chambers said it was evident to the six-person review team
that Wood Lane staff members do what they do every day and don’t just gear up for a review. "It is
not a short-term thing here." She said the DODD conducts reviews in all 88 counties and sees all
types of operations."My team is rejuvenated. We just had the best visit. Be very proud of what you
do," Chambers said.The review looked at Wood Lane Industries, the operations for Wood Lane, the
early-intervention program, Community Employment Services and transportation. It did not cover Wood Lane
School and Wood Lane Residential Services, which undergo separate reviews.Wood Lane Superintendent
Melanie Stretchbery said the review five years ago included a few citations. She said a low number of
citations, best practices and national accreditation are the things that have Wood Lane on a five-year
review schedule. Lesser compliance could result in more frequent reviews."We have great leadership
from the county, the commissioners and the community. They give us the support to do the right things.
This is an amazing county to help us to be able to do what we need to do," Stretchbery
said.Chambers ran through a long list of areas reviewed, citing service plans written for consumers, the
size of caseloads, built in support systems, medication administration, behavioral support, money
management plans, service delivery, ability to overcome personnel changes, transportation, having aides
on all buses and being proactive to build and maintain support in the community. She said despite the
high marks "there is always room for improvement.""In our individual interviews we found
that staff felt supported, confident and empowered. People know who to talk and people are at
ease," Chambers said.She said families seem happy with early-intervention efforts and said adult
day services and community employment provide "lots of options and choices. People are proud of the
work they do."Strechbery said the staff "has a sense of ownership. This is how we serve. This
is an incredible moment for us. We have worked long and hard for this."We know we are good but this
is not as good as it gets. The taxpayers should know that their money is being spent wisely, especially
since we just got that levy approved."Stretchbery told the review team the only ‘complaint’ she had
heard from the staff was a "wish to be able to spend more time talking to a state regulator."
She assured the board that the achievement "is a big deal around here and it’s the real deal."

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