Opportunity Village of Clear Lake and Northwoods Living of Fort Dodge are pleased to announce a joint venture between the two agencies effective Jan. 1, 2010.
Northwoods Living has been providing services to people with disabilities in the Fort Dodge area since 1989. The Village, opened in 1971, offers similar services throughout North Iowa.
The two agencies offer several similar service types, including Intermediate Care Facility/Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR) homes, Home and Community Based Services Supported Community Living (HCBS/SCL), Habilitation, and Organizational Employment.
Northwoods Living offers additional Community Support Services that are new to the Village, including Financial Management and Homelessness Assistance. Financial Management services assist individuals who receive a government benefit and have been determined to need minimal help managing their finances. Homelessness Assistance offers short-term support to persons with disabilities who are facing a homelessness crisis.
The combined agencies will employ approximately 664 staff and offer varying levels of service to nearly 950 individuals in North Iowa.
“Northwoods Living has strong leadership and is fiscally sound, so it’s a good partner for Opportunity Village,” said Village CEO John Severtson. “It will allow people more choices about where they live and how they receive services. It will improve the efficiency of our service delivery. This also will strengthen our ability to provide supports like training to staff and business functions.”
Severtson said both agencies share similar philosophy about service delivery and will provide continuity of services, so individuals served won’t see a big change.
Northwoods Living was established by Trinity Health Systems in 1989 in order to allow individuals with disabilities to receive services in their own community.
“As Northwoods Living is celebrating its 20th anniversary of providing services and supports to individuals in the community, we look backwards with great humility and appreciation to the leaders at Trinity Health System who had the foresight to understand the needs of people with disabilities and support the establishment of services to meet those needs,” said NWL Executive Director, Linda Smith.
“As we look forward to the intense challenges of the future for both health and disability services, the time is right for both fields to focus on and specialize in their respective core services,” added Smith.
Northwoods Living recently approached Opportunity Village to inquire about becoming a joint venture. The combination of the two agencies was announced to employees on
Sept. 24 and will be discussed at the Village’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, Oct. 4.
Currently, Northwoods Living is an affiliate of Trinity Health Systems. “We are pleased with the potential merger of Northwoods Living and Opportunity Village. The two agencies operate with similar missions and values. This partnership will offer additional resources and opportunities to both agencies,” stated Tom Tibbitts, CEO of Trinity Health Systems.
For more information about Opportunity Village, go to www.oppvill.org. Northwoods Living’s website is at www.northwoodsliving.org.