Denesha Honored with Harry E. King Award

OGDENSBURG – One of the longest tenured volunteers in the history of the United Helpers organization was honored at this year’s annual meeting with the Harry E. King Award, an award named for another long-time volunteer of the organization.

Susan Denesha of Dekalb Junction, who has been a United Helpers volunteer since 2005, was surprised with the honor earlier this month.

Mr. King’s daughter, Marti MacArthur nominated her for the honor. 

“My father was quite soft spoken, yet always spoke up when he had something to say, had a great sense of humor and belonged to many community groups. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He was loved because he helped anyone who needed it and expected nothing in return,” Mrs. MacArthur said. “You could use those same sentiments to describe Sue. He would be honored to have an award in his name presented to someone like her.”

According to United Helpers Rehabilitation and Senior Care Vice President of Operations Timothy Parsons, Mrs. Denesha’s time with United Helpers began when her father was a patient at the United Helpers Canton Nursing Home.

“Her journey with us began as a result of her wanting the best for her father, but she has continued on with us and quite literally helped enhance the quality of life for hundreds of North Country seniors along the way,” Mr. Parsons said.

In addition to assisting activities staff on lunch outings and field trips, Mrs. Denesha has been preparing and serving home cooked meals for residents multiple times each month for nearly 20 years.

“Our residents look forward to these meals perhaps more than anything on the calendar,” said Activities Director Patience Boswell.

In addition to being an active volunteer herself, Mrs. Denesha also helps recruit other volunteers for activities. Mrs. Boswell said she would bring in so many volunteers, that they eventually named Mrs. Denesha Volunteer Coordinator.

“We give her a list of our activities every month and she makes sure they all happen by supplementing our staff with people from her roster of volunteers,” Mrs. Boswell said.

Prior to presenting Mrs. Denesha with the award, Mr. Parsons read through a lengthy, but incomplete list of ways she has helped the facility including leading an Alzheimer’s support group, participating in resident council meetings, fundraising, casino outings, lunch outings, arranging for preferred seating at the county fair, bake sales, help with trick or treating, and more.

“Sue is our biggest cheerleader, but will not hesitate to inform us when we can do better for our residents. She makes it possible for us to offer more activities and programing,” Mr. Parsons said. “She inspires us all to do more and be better people.”

This was third time the Harry E. King Award has been awarded, previously going to Dr. Edward Gordon in 2020 and Wayne Ladouceuer in 2017.

Mrs. MacArthur established the award in honor of her father as a way to recognize outstanding board members.

According to the award’s description, written at the time it was created, “The award is not an annual award by definition. It is to be presented only rarely, in the case of a desire to recognize a volunteer to UH who is virtually unrivaled and exceptional in his/her commitment to UH and his/her service to UH’s residents, clients, and families.”

For only the third time in the award’s history, the Harry E. King Award was presented. Susan Denesha of Dekalb Junction received the honor at this year’s annual meeting. Mrs. Denesha has been a volunteer with United Helpers since 2005 when her father was a resident at the United Helpers Canton Nursing Home. From left, United Helpers Management Company Board of Directors member Marti MacArthur, Rehabilitation and Senior Care Vice President of Operations Timothy Parsons, Mrs. Denesha with her husband Larry Denesha, and Activities Director Patience Boswell.

United Helpers RiverLedge Campus now has Six EV Charging Stations

OGDENSBURG – Thanks to a grant of more than $22,000 United Helpers was able to install six Level II charging stations at its RiverLedge Campus in Ogdensburg.

United Helpers RiverLedge Campus is located just off State Route 37 at 8101 State Route 68. The chargers are available for members of the public to use whether they’re locals or traveling through the area. 

United Helpers employees may also use the stations to charge their vehicle during the workday. United Helpers Behavioral Health and Life Skills Director of Residential Services Kim S. George takes advantage of this opportunity almost every day.

Ms. George drives a Toyota Rav-4 Hybrid, meaning her vehicle can use gas, but she prefers to use the vehicle’s electric battery when possible. “Being able to charge my vehicle while I’m at work is beyond convenient,” she said.

The stations do charge 35 cents per kilowatt hour, but Ms. George said that’s still cheaper than gas and in line with what other stations in the area are charging.

According to JD Power & Associates, an electric vehicle with a range of 300 miles would use between 75 and 100 kilowatt hours meaning a full charge is less than $30.

JD Power & Associates also notes a Level II charger, such as those located here can fully charge a completely drained battery in roughly four hours.

Payment for the service is conveniently done entirely through the EV Connect app, which may be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play. A credit or debit card is then linked to the app with payment deducted at the time of the charge.

United Helpers Director of Facility Operations Rick J. Pirie said he’s glad to see United Helpers installing EV charging stations.

“With electric vehicles becoming more and more common, even amongst our staff, it’s important for people to have a place where they can charge their vehicle’s battery,” he said. “With these charging stations located conveniently just off of the highway people can stop by to charge their vehicles and then be back on the road in no time.”

Ms. George who travels from Massena to Ogdensburg for work each day said her car will reach a full charge in 2.5 hours for less than $6.

Sparx Construction and General Contracting completed the work for this project. 

United Helpers Behavioral Health and Life Skills Director of Residential Service Kim S. George connects her car to the newly installed EV charging stations at United Helpers RiverLedge Campus in Ogdensburg. RiverLedge is located just off State Route 37 at 8101 State Route 68.

Memory of Charlene Hall to Live on Through Charlene's Fund

OGDENSBURG – For more than 40 years Charlene Hall received care from staff at United Helpers, whether it was at Cedars Nursing Home in Ogdensburg or at one of several different Individualized Residential Alternatives (IRAs).

During that time she made an impact on the lives of those who cared for her as well as her housemates. Now thanks to a generous gift from her family, that impact will continue for many years to come through a scholarship fund that bears her name.

Charlene’s cousins Russell and Peg Hall, of Gainesville, Fla. created the fund as a way to say thank you to all those who cared for her over the years prior to her passing in January. 

Peg and Russ Hall with a photo of Charlene

“We were always impressed with the level of care Charlene received,” Mr. Hall said. “We were particularly impressed with the caregivers who chose to make this their life’s work.”

The fund, which was created with the assistance of, and is managed by the Northern New York Community Foundation, is designed to help direct care staff attend webinars, seminars, conferences, and even earn additional certifications that may bolster their careers and enhance the services provided by United Helpers.

Misty Thomas, a Licensed Master Social Worker at the Behavioral Health Clinic in Canton, is the first employee to utilize these funds. She will be attending a six-day class where she will earn certification enabling her to provide EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy. United Helpers currently does not have a provider on staff who can perform this service.

According to EMDR Institute, Inc., EMDR therapy is a valuable tool used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Information from the Institute’s website, emdr.com, states, “Some studies show that 84%-90% of single-trauma victims no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions. Another study, funded by the HMO Kaiser Permanente, found that 100% of the single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer were diagnosed with PTSD after only six 50-minute sessions. In another study, 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD in 12 sessions.”

“I want to help provide more access to trauma focused therapies in an effort to reduce mental health triggers, increase physical health and wellness, improve client safety and relationships, and increase the effectiveness of established mental health care,” Ms. Thomas said. “This opportunity offers me a chance to help my community and my clients by having additional education and therapeutic techniques to support the needs in our area.”

Charlene was born and raised in Watertown, living a typical childhood until an abscess on her brain at the age of four stunted her growth and development. Mr. and Ms. Hall say despite the physical impairment, their cousin “had a sharp mind and a quick sense of humor.”

The Halls say she lived with her parents until shortly after her mother’s passing in 1976. It was at that point, Charlene moved into Cedars Nursing Home. When United Helpers opened its first Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) in 1982, her care then transitioned to what is today known as United Helpers Behavioral Health and Life Skills. That portion of the company operates 11 IRAs across St, Lawrence County.

Charlene continued to enjoy visits with her father until his passing in 1996. According to her obituary, she always enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and going out to eat.

Assistance from Charlene’s Fund is available to anyone working at United Helpers in a “direct care role.” “We thought it was important for them to have staff development opportunities without finances being an obstacle,” Ms. Hall said. “There are people out there waiting for an opportunity to make things happen and we hope this fund can help with that.”

Assistant Director of Corporate Services Jordan Downing-Duke presents Licensed Master Social Worker Misty R. Thomas with a certificate from Charlene’s Fund. Each recipient of assistance from this fund will be presented with a certificate, which also includes a picture of Charlene Hall, for whom the fund is named. From left, Mrs. Downing-Duke, Ms. Thomas and Lead Social Worker Daniel Knight.