Annual Report
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UCFS 2007 Annual Report
Dear community partner,
The bright, vibrant color of this annual report is reflective of the energy and enthusiasm in our organization as United Community & Family Services (UCFS) enters a milestone, our 130th year of service to our community.
As with any team reaching a significant anniversary, UCFS took this opportunity to reflect upon our mission and vision, refocusing on both. In addition, through a thoughtful strategic planning process, we defined ways to better position our organization to meet the needs of a community that is literally transforming around us.
A refreshed brand...change is good:
We began this year by taking a careful look at our brand and community identity. In addition to refreshing our well-known head-and-heart logo, we introduced the next generation of our corporate name — UCFS. From our origins of United Workers, we transformed the most recent iteration of United Community & Family Services to the consumer and referral-friendly, UCFS. This four-letter brand will be used as a prefix on all programs, better associating our eldercare, employee assistance and other divisions with the parent organization.
We built a new website, new service brochures and other resources around this change in brand. Our goal was to position UCFS for two significant advancements that began in 2007, and will see fulfillment in 2008 — the opening of a Griswold Health Center and the $3 million renovation /expansion of the UCFS Health Center.
Griswold is second only to Norwich as the town of origin for clients of the UCFS Health Center. The opening of this satellite location, providing a full-range of behavioral health services and primary care, will meet the needs of an underserved population and reduce the strain on the Norwich-based Center. In recent years, UCFS has expanded service areas along the shoreline and to Colchester. It is a natural progression for us to look north of Norwich in fulfillment of our mission.
The eight-year-old UCFS Health Center located at Meadows Shopping Plaza is beyond capacity. In just two years, the Center has gone from 43,000 visits annually to over 52,000 by the close of our 2007 fiscal year. The Griswold site will partially alleviate the impact of this increased traffic, but to reduce the current waiting list and meet future community growth, considerable renovation and expansion of the Health Center is mandated.
Chuck Seeman |
Jon Kodama, |
With the conversion of 2,460 square feet of clinical space, (formerly occupied by the Thrift Shop), we will be adding five new medical exam rooms, two new dental treatment rooms and four new behavioral health offices. We will also be renovating existing space for more private and comfortable waiting areas, more welcoming and efficient reception center, adequate medical records room, and new office space for additional care providers. It is our goal to improve access to care, to reduce wait times and to assure an overall positive client experience.
$1 million of the $3 million resources required to complete construction has been achieved through State bonding with another $500,000 pending. With a strong case for support, further funding will be lobbied for at the State level and UCFS will be seeking community support for the balance. Our "Healthy Community begins with U" appeal for the UCFS Health Center launches at the close of 2007, and a dedicated campaign committee plans to raise community-based pledges by this time next year.
In the same manner we consider it our responsibility to expand the Health Center in fulfillment of our mission, we consider it our responsibility to honor the historic properties entrusted to our care. The Rock Nook Building on the Norwichtown Green is in the final stages of a $1 million makeover. The home of our community-based Behavioral Health Services, this former orphanage will reopen later this year and it gives us all great pride to see this property fully restored. Plans for the expansion of the Ross Adult Day Center were recently completed and in the coming months the existing space will be renovated for greater client comfort and easier access.
Whether being displaced for construction, taking on new tasks, or supporting the need for additional meetings to maintain communication, the outstanding efforts of this past year could not be reported if not for the dedicated men and women who are the heart of UCFS. On behalf of a grateful community, we thank you.
We also extend thanks and best wishes to Julie Shaw, our long-standing CFO who relocated with her family to New York at the close of our fiscal year, following 8 years of service. UCFS continues to maintain a modest, but positive balance — a trend far different from a growing annual deficit of a few years ago.
In closing we are pleased to report that through prudent fiscal oversight, thoughtful planning, investments in facilities and developing systems, UCFS is well-positioned to be of service to a united...and changing...community for years to come.
Best regards,
Chuck Seeman,
President and CEO
Jon Kodoma,
Chairman of the Board
