About Higginsville Habilitation Center (HHC)
and Northwest Community Services (NWCS)

Location

Employment Opportunities and Benefits

Parent Association

Staff Development and Training

Visits, Tours, Internship

Services Provided

Department of Mental Health

Services Provided
by
Higginsville Habilitation Center
Home Page

Referrals for Admission

Referrals for admission to Higginsville Habilitation Center are initiated by contacting one of the North District Regional Centers at either Kansas City Regional Center and/or the Albany Regional Center. Addresses follow:

Albany Regional Center  

809 North 13^th, Albany, MO 64402
(660) 726-5246, TDD (660) 726-5844, FAX (660) 726-5612

Kansas City Regional Center
821 East Admiral Boulevard, PO Box 412557, Kansas City  MO 64108
(816) 889-3400, 1-800-454-2331, TDD (816) 889-3326
FAX (816) 889-3325

(Back to the Top)

Living Accommodations

  

 

The Higginsville Habilitation Center primarily serves an adult population who exhibit physical, behavioral, and/or developmental challenges. The facility is divided into specialized units of service providing individualized support to all individuals living on the campus of  HHC and Individualized Supported Living homes in the community. On the HHC campus there are three one-story buildings, offering private bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry, bathroom, and medical treatment rooms accommodating a total of 81 individuals. Six eight-bed group homes provide living environments for an additional 48 people.

  

 (Back to the Top)

Habilitation Services, Support, and Activities
The Higginsville Habilitation Center provides a full range of services and supports to enhance the independence of the ladies and gentlemen who reside both on campus and in community homes. Our guiding principles support a quality of life that values the potential in all people and their right to a life full of choices and achievement. Through quality treatment and habilitation,  we promote behaviors, attitudes, and skills necessary for total community integration.

The Higginsville Habilitation Center provides individualized services and supports through the development of integrated habilitation plans based on a person centered philosophy. The person being supported is the focus of all planning and the path they take toward independence is supported by our facility.

Teaching people to lead independent lives that allow them to successfully blend into the fabric of our society is basis of our philosophy. A highly trained staff of professionals and para-professionals provide habilitation supports. Training is individualized for each person and is designed to meet their specific needs. Learning in all environments and instruction within the context of a person's normal rhythm of life is a vital aspect of growth.

(Back to the Top)

NWCS Certification Principles
The Certification Principles, developed by the Department of Mental Health, comprise the guiding philosophy that is followed by those providing supports, services and activities to people receiving Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waiver funding, including people with developmental disabilities who live in their own homes.

The Principles are outcome statements that define the quality of life valued for all people, including those with developmental disabilities, and they emphasize community membership, inclusion, choice, contribution, self-determination, rights, dignity, respect, health, safety, comfort and security. These Principles reflect Northwest Community Services’ main goal for people supported in their own homes. Employees are trained in the Principles so they are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to support people in achieving the desired positive outcomes in their daily lives.

(Back to the Top)

Recreation
A variety of recreational activities are provided to reinforce the appropriate use of "free time" and to develop the physical, social, and life skills to participate in the community. A full schedule of recreational activities are designed to reinforce both individual and group learning. An indoor swimming pool provides recreational opportunities that are not often found in congregate living situations.

   

(Back to the Top)

Physical Therapy
The Physical Therapy Department is an aggressive therapy department that strives to improve the mobility skills and independence of individuals we support. The department is headed by a Registered Physical Therapist who has over twenty-five years of professional experience and is supported by three full time staff. Active involvement with physicians is ongoing. Staff have the rewarding opportunity to make a positive difference in the quality of the individual’s lives. Therapy staff take a personal and direct approach to meeting individual’s needs and goals.

   

(Back to the Top)

Occupational Therapy and Technical Assistance Department
The Occupational Therapy Department & the Technical Assistance Department combined their services in January of 1998 in order to provide in-depth sensory integration support for the people who live at HHC.  Sensory integration is the process the brain uses to organize all of the input from the environment surrounding a person.  When the sensory system is functioning adequately it allows that person to make an appropriate response.  The Sensory Integration Program addresses the tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, visual, auditory, gustatory, and olfactory senses as well as the needs of each individual.

  

Occupational Therapy takes an active roll in the assessment and adaptation of the equipment and environment needed to improve dining skills. Adaptive eating equipment is designed for use by individuals with specific dining needs. Another important aspect of the department is the oversight and prevention of choking for individuals who have difficulty with dining.

OT includes looking at mealtime skills, daily functional skills, and extensively at sensory processing abilities:

• Chewing or swallowing problems
• Special spoons or plates which would help a person to eat more independently
• Reaching, grasping, coordination, or  changing body position for different tasks
• Dressing, combing, or showering themselves
• Organizing and preparing to go to work, school, or participating in an activity

Sensory processing is the basis for all behaviors. When there are sensory processing problems, they will mask all kinds of underlying abilities.  There are many activities and strategies that can improve sensory processing abilities and greatly improve the quality of life for many individuals.

The Technical Assistance staff provides direct and indirect support for individuals who have Autism, Deaf, Deaf-Blind, or numerous other sensory integration and specialized needs.  The Technical Assistance Department is involved in the DMH Deaf and Linguistic Services State Wide Team, the Greater Kansas City Deaf-Blind Task Force, Missouri’s state Deaf-Blind Task Force, the DMH Autism Project, and the federally funded Deaf-Blind Project.  Experts from these various groups provide workshops and training at HHC from time-to-time.  The Technical Assistance Department is only one of two sites in Missouri that provides Auditory Integration Training by a practitioner who has been trained by Dr. Guy Berard, MD, AIT is provided on an as-need basis at HHC.  Consultations and on-going support for various types of assistive devices is also provided.

(Back to the Top)

Psychological Services
The Higginsville Habilitation Center’s personnel working in psychology are committed to the practice that psychological/behavioral supports must stem from a strong person centered base which places respect for the person at its core and ensures that any attempt to change behavior must be coupled with protection of the person’s human and civil rights. The goal is to help the person learn appropriate behaviors that will assist them in their own personal goals, help them make responsible choices, and minimize the problem behaviors that impede their ability to live more independently. Intervention and supports are developed for individuals whose challenging or problem behaviors threaten their safety, the safety of others, or interfere with their ability to achieve social, vocational, and residential independence. Individual counseling is provided to those persons who request such services and/or have identified needs that can be addressed with such therapy. When necessary, psychiatric consultation is provided to meet more severe challenges.

(Back to the Top)

Dietary Services

The Dietary Department is dedicated to improvement of the nutrition of all individuals residing at the Higginsville Habilitation Center.  The department has 24 full-time employees.  It is headed by a registered dietitian who is responsible for planning nutritionally adequate menus, and overseeing the preparation of meals.  A clinical dietitian is actively involved with the nutritional education of staff and individuals supported by HHC.  The clinical dietitian works with staff and individuals on diets and exercise programs.  The Dietary Department has the opportunity to host a Dietetic Intern once a year for two months.   We are able to help prepare the intern for a career in dietetics, specializing in nutritional care for individuals who are developmentally disabled.

(Back to the Top)

Vocational Services
The mission of Vocational Services is to teach and promote vocational skills that will enable the people we serve to become more independent and self-sufficient. Our workforce is made up of individuals with developmental disabilities who need the opportunity to develop their skills to the fullest extent. We teach skills in a variety of ways, including doing contract work for businesses, creating and producing our own products and crafts, through work teams that do mowing, gardening and housekeeping, and through individual employment opportunities.

(Back to the Top)

Center Industries
Stuck with a job and you have neither the workforce or the plant space to do it? What do you do? Take time out to hire temporary employees? Rent additional space?

Why not call Center Industries? We can handle your job.

• We have a workforce of 80 capable and motivated individuals and can expand that to over 125 with a phone call.

• We can pick up and deliver your product within a 60 mile radius.

• We have an established reputation for quality, quantity, and professional service.

• We’re located in an adaptable setting that can meet most special needs of a product or your specifications.

Experience

We have experience in the following production tasks: assembly and  disassembly, sealing, packaging (display and bulk), envelope stuffing, mailer assembly, banding, gluing, counting, collating, label removal, sorting, shrink-wrapping, folding, reclamation, labeling, cutting, stapling, mailing lists.

We are willing to tackle your job

If you have a job not listed above, allow us the opportunity to explore the possibilities. We are always open to new training options and your job might be the experience we are looking for.

Competitive Bidding

When you contact us, we will review your expectations and our production schedule and then provide you with a competitive bid within four working days. You can review the bid with our production manager and visit our facility if you desire.

A motivated workforce

Center Industries is a vital part of the vocational services program at Higginsville Habilitation Center. Through employment with Center Industries, our employees gain valuable experience not only in practical skills, but also in dealing with fellow employees, dealing with an employer, and dealing with the expectations of the workplace. Some of our employees have taken these skills and left Center Industries for employment on a competitive basis in the private sector. This has enabled some of them to leave the Habilitation Center to live more independently as contributing members of their communities. To many of our employees, it’s more than a job, it is a promise of independence. Our employees will tell you….