I love late spring. The grass is green, flowers are blooming and there is a wonderful sense of growth and vibrance. This is a time of growth for KidsTLC as well. In our last mindful minute, we talked about a wonderful new expansion opportunity that we are embarking on, opening a new facility on our campus that will add 50 new beds to our Psychiatric Residential Treatment services. This growth is desperately needed due to the long waiting lists in the state for children and families to get the services that they need.
As we all know, sometimes growth comes with growing pains, and this expansion has been no exception. Our staff, whether direct care, therapists or facilities folks, have done an amazing job adapting to a new space that is unlike our other residential spaces in many ways. Everything from having classroom spaces in the building to finding ways to dampen the excess noise caused by the hard flooring in the wider halls, our problem solvers have done everything necessary to make sure that our clients have the right environment for their safety and healing. Speaking of amazing staff, another growing pain that we share with seemingly everyone else right now is being able to hire enough outstanding people. With the very competitive labor market we have currently, our Human Resources staff have done a great job thinking outside of the box and getting really creative to ensure that we are hiring enough staff to allow us to continue to grow.
Despite any minor growing pains we may experience, we know that it is all worth it so that we can bring hope and healing to those children and families that are looking to KidsTLC to transform their lives. It is our mission and with the awesome, creative people that work here and our fantastic, generous partners in the community, we are able to continue to grow and help even more of those in need.
Shannon Wickliffe, KidsTLC Chief Development Officer