May was a busy month here on the Campus of Caring as we threw two GS Connects events to connect our agencies with resources in Sarasota and prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. GS Connects is a time for partner agency staff to come together for a presentation and lunch, but also provides the time for us to talk and strengthen the community forged here on campus.
Our GS Connects program started off the month with a presentation on Banyan Pediatric Care Centers led by their Director of Community Outreach & Engagement, Danielle Vieira. The event introduced the campus to a neighboring resource and sparked a lively Q&A session.
Banyan Pediatric Care Centers are medical daycare centers that deliver skilled nursing services to medically fragile or technology-dependent children. The Centers serve Medicaid-eligible children from the ages of birth through 21 years. The conditions these clients may have can also be psychological; as long as the child’s diagnosis requires medical support, they are eligible for Banyan Pediatric Care Centers. The trained staff and nurses provide specialized supervision for each child’s needs, including services like nursing, therapy, and educational activities.
This specialized daycare service provides support that can be important for many of the organizations on the Campus of Caring. The unique, medically trained form of childcare is not only an incredible resource for the child in need but also for their family and caregivers. These hours of daycare allow parents to work, pursue education, or just to get some well-deserved rest - all while knowing their child is receiving the best care possible.
The presentation ended but the conversation went on, as our campus staff had many questions for Danielle. In this event, we were able to see one of the main goals of the GS Connects series in full display. Connecting and truly collaborating can be difficult to do when work is demanding enough on its own. The GS Connects series provides the time and space to focus on the connection that makes our Campus special. The conversation and engagement we saw wouldn’t have been possible without our presenter for the day. With Danielle’s knowledge and experience, she expertly answered every question that came up and paved the way for further discussion.
We didn’t stop there; our second event of the month was GS Connects: Disaster Preparedness, led by Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Ed McCrane, who helped agency staff get ready for the upcoming hurricane season.
Learning how to get ready for disasters is of course important for anyone, but providing our campus staff with those tools is critical to their work. Victims impacted by natural disasters face issues that require human services provided by our partner agencies. Access to housing, healthcare and mental health services are all urgent needs following disasters that our campus agencies provide. To arm partner agencies with the tools and confidence to keep themselves safe and contribute to recovery, this GS Connects was a valuable addition.
The Emergency Management Department is tasked with making comprehensive plans in the event of disasters and connecting the appropriate services. Their small team works with other organizations to implement the plans they set in place. They are responsible for things like providing advance notices of oncoming dangers, running shelters, guiding emergency response teams, and making sure that all of this can be done in the worst of circumstances. When an emergency isn’t in progress, they educate the public, as preparation is the most important part of getting through disasters. We were grateful to have this presentation come to our campus and to have it given by someone with as much experience as Chief Ed McCrane.
Ed McCrane began his duty as the Emergency Management Chief for Sarasota County on Friday, October 21st, 2005, while the county was in the three-day cone for Hurricane Wilma. While it may seem like a daunting first day, Ed’s resume was already full of experiences to draw on in such a crisis. A U.S. Army veteran of 22 years, his experience includes Multi-National Force & Observers, Sinai Egypt, Operation Just Cause in Panama and JTF 94-95 Operation Sea-Signal, Cuban mass migration in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After the attack on September 11th, he was instrumental in training the Florida National Guard to work in Florida’s airports, seaports, and nuclear power facilities. Prior to FDEM, Ed was a Military Support to the Civil Authorities Coordinator for the Department of Military Affairs, Florida National Guard. In that role, he coordinated military support operations during emergencies for Florida counties. After many years of serving his country, Ed became a certified Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM) and has been using his extensive experience in emergency management to keep Sarasota and its residents safe. While serving as Emergency Management Chief for Sarasota County, Ed has served as the Incident Manager or part of the Unified Command for three Major Hurricanes, seven Tropical Storms, one Tornado, the H1N1 Pandemic, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The staff at Glasser/Schoenbaum have done a great job of connecting the many organizations on campus and creating a space that sparks collaboration. This sense of community extends to staff and clients alike, helping to break down barriers and leading to innovative ways to serve the community as a whole.
Real estate is one of the greatest costs in a business budget. Our partnership with The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center allows more money to go towards our mission. And what better place to house our office than on a campus with nineteen other outreach agencies.
As a small organization with a staff of two, employee safety was a big consideration when we were looking for office space. We did not want our employees to be in a place where they were alone. Being on the GSHSC campus has been great because there is a whole community of like-minded professionals.
