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Darcy Meagher Receives 2017 MOHR Greater MN Enrichment Focus Award
Direct support professional Darcy Meagher of Functional Industries, Buffalo, has received a statewide Direct Support Professionals Award for exceptional performance in serving people with disabilities from the Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation. Meagher, who works as a program coach for people with high medical needs, is the winner for the Enrichment Focus category for greater Minnesota.
In her short time at Functional Industries, Darcy Meagher has made a great impact on the individuals served at Functional Industries! Darcy was hired to work with individuals with high medical needs, but her impact has been felt throughout our company.
Darcy models for other employees exactly how we want the individuals we work with to be served. She listens to their preferences, and seeks creative ways to implement plans to provide for those preferences. She primarily works with people who have issues with mobility, speech and health but she is able to work around those barriers to help people achieve the independence that they desire. She ensures that we are doing things WITH the people we serve, rather than FOR them. Her commitment to person-centered planning is unmatched. If individuals want to get out in the community, she makes it happen. If they want to work, Darcy makes it happen. Darcy does not look at individual’s disabilities but instead their abilities. She utilizes individuals’ abilities to connect them with their communities and with activities and jobs that utilize those abilities. Darcy does not take no for an answer. If someone says that an individual is not capable of doing something, Darcy will find a way to prove them wrong. This has led to increased skills for the individuals we serve. Going forward, Darcy will be instrumental as Functional Industries prepares for the coming changes to our service provision models.
Darcy is the first person to volunteer to help if staffing is short in other departments. She fills in on community crews as needed, with very little notice. She assists with production and never hesitates to jump in to help her coworkers even if it’s not “her job”. She has trained as a bus driver, and is willing to drive any of our transportation routes as the need arises. As the lead staff in her department, she anticipates the needs of the other departments in her building and has already started to think about how we can juggle staff to fulfill all of our needs as efficiently as possible. With the current staffing concerns, this makes Darcy a huge asset to her supervisors and coworkers.
As the parent of a disabled child, Darcy has a unique perspective for recognizing the needs of the individuals and their teams. Darcy is warm, caring, kind, and willing to go far above and beyond the call of duty. I believe that there is nothing that Darcy wouldn’t do for the individuals that she works with. She does this at Functional Industries, and also for the residential provider that she previously worked for and has maintained on-call status with.
Darcy said she’s the type of person who likes stress and emergency settings, and is very calm and willing to take on new responsibilities. Before coming to Functional, she worked for five years in a group home. “I communicate through laughter, just talking with them. If it’s not verbal, it’s pictures. I just get a feel for what they want.”
The pay rate isn’t an issue for Darcy. “I go because I like what I do. I like helping people with disabilities. That’s my way of life.” She said the participants she serves are always in her heart, and that she thinks about them constantly.
Please join the Functional Industries’ team in congratulating Darcy on this award!