Gammon Academy at Lancaster

Lancaster is a program for boys and girls located in the White Mountains of NH. While licensed for 24 youth, the program typically serves approximately 12 youth at any given time. The target population of this program is youth with neurobehavioral challenges. At times, youth with other needs may be served in this program in order to provide treatment in or near the home community for youth with family in the North Country. This small program provides highly individualized treatment for each of the youth and families served.

Treatment Philosophy

Each child has an Individualized Treatment Plan, which provides specific interventions to meet the needs of each child within the three categories. The children have an individual schedule to meet their needs and are grouped with other children with similar treatment recommendations. The program’s structure includes a daily schedule with staff assigned to different activities according to the staff’s ability and training. The unit supervisor conducts a shift briefing at the beginning and a debriefing at the end. The unit supervisor also facilitates a community meeting at the beginning of the shift to review the schedule with the children and staff. At this meeting, the children, the staff, and the location of the activity are identified.

Each resident has a treatment plan developed by a multi-disciplinary treatment team within 30 days of admission. The plan is reviewed monthly for the first three months to monitor progress toward the stated goals and objectives. Depending on the child’s progress, the treatment team plan review process converts to a three-month cycle. The team members from the Easterseals NH program include a Director, Medical Liaison, Treatment Coordinator, two Case Managers, School/Residential Staff, a Clinician, and three unit Supervisors. Depending on which professional has the expertise needed to deliver the services needed for each case, they would provide the interventions to the child and family (a generalist approach). The team works closely with the residential and educational staff to ensure that the treatment goals are addressed.

During sleeping hours, there is three awake night staff members scheduled to provide supervision. The educational program supports the residential program by starting the school day in the residence, assisting children with daily living skills, and preparing for the transition to school. At the end of the school day, the educational staff transitions the children to the residence and provides support to the residential staff. The educational and residential staff have the same Employee Training Plan to document training in programming and treatment. Staff meetings are held bi-weekly, on Wednesdays, with a combination of Residential and Educational staff to promote teamwork and consistency of programming. Based on the treatment plan, residents are provided with several clinical and rehabilitative services. Individual therapy is provided to each resident, usually at least once a week.

There are specialized groups addressing such issues as:

The Treatment Team provides family work. A clinician is assigned to provide this service when family therapy is identified as a needed intervention. A case manager works with the family if the family needs non-clinical supportive services. At times, more than one professional may provide service to the family to meet their needs.

Easterseals has an on-call, 24-hour emergency support system. It is a two-tier system that starts with the Case Manager and/or Clinician, who responds to emergencies either directly or by involving on-call administrative staff to ensure that the proper support is provided. A nurse is on-call for medical emergencies.

The Independent Living component is coordinated by the Family Outreach Workers responsible for age-appropriate residents and addressing the Certification requirements in this area. Family Outreach Workers individualized the resident’s acquisition of adult living skills.

The children are involved in local community recreational activities coordinated by the Director and Unit Supervisors. The children volunteer at local community centers depending on the child’s plan. Depending on their abilities, vocational activities are part of each child’s plan. These activities range from hand-over-hand assistance in washing tables to maintaining outside employment. The children have weekly allowances and earn additional money for the completion of chores. The program teaches the children money management skills.

Educational Program

Depending on the needs of the residents, educational services may be provided on-site by attending the Easterseals NH Lancaster School. The NH Department of Education approves the facility as a Special Education School. Easterseals is also flexible in transitioning and/or maintaining residents in local public schools.

The Lancaster Residential Program has combined services with its Educational Program to create teams that consist of a Treatment Coordinator, Clinicians, Case Managers, Residential Instructors, Teachers, Teacher Assistants, and specialists (Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Vision Therapy, etc) to facilitate treatment.