Sara’s Garden HBOT: A Cert Above

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) requires nurses to have a heightened degree of patient assessment skills, advanced knowledge of specific disease processes, and the technical abilities not seen in any other nursing environment. Created in 1985, The Baromedical Nurse’s Association encourages nurses to work on becoming Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurses.

The Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse (CHRN) certification indicates a higher level of training and experience than a Baromedical nurse and signifies that a registered nurse has: made a commitment to provide the best possible care to hyperbaric clients/patients, understands the value of education and nursing research in the hyperbaric community, and has taken the necessary steps to advance her/his career in hyperbaric nursing.

In order to become a CHRN, the registered nurse must have completed a National Board of Diving and Medical Technology approved course and have a minimum of 480 hours of clinical experience working in the hyperbaric area over a two year time frame. The course is a 4 ½ day intensive education that provides the nurse with all the knowledge needed to work safely in a hyperbaric clinic or unit. The certification test must be taken and successfully passed in order to use the CHRN behind a nurse’s signature.

Here at Sara’s Garden, three of our registered nurses have successfully passed the difficult certification exam and are now considered Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurses. We have a fourth RN who will be taking the course this year and then she will be able to sit for the exam. Sara’s Garden has a total of four (4) RNs and one (1) paramedic/EMT that work in the hyperbaric clinic. It is amazing for a facility our size to have so many CHRNs on staff.

Any client that comes to Sara’s Garden for hyperbaric oxygen treatments can be assured that the nurses working here are very committed to continued education and to providing safe care while in our care.

NHA Holds Amazing Holiday Hoedown

The NHA students celebrated the holidays with family & friends at a Down Home Christmas Holiday Hoedown!

Thank you to all of our cowboys and cowgirls for stomping and dancing their way into our hearts and offering family and friends another reason to believe in Christmas miracles at New Horizons Academy’s 2023 Annual Christmas Musical and Holiday Hoedown on December 12 at Pettisville Missionary Church.

This down home, toe tappin’ country Christmas was made possible by our talented students and dedicated NHA staff and teachers, especially Music Teacher and Director Melissa Valentine. Without all of her hard work, vision, dedication, and creativity, the show would not have gone on. She found or created the absolute perfect role for each of our students’ abilities and personalities and corralled and coached over 100 of our special needs preschool to high school youth through the entire holiday hoedown.

This year, we may not have had a white Christmas; but we sure had a ROCKABILLY one, complete with cowboys, reindeer, square dancing, and even Elvis himself (Well, actually, double the fun with TWO Elvis impersonators!). Who would have thought that Christmas spirit was so wrapped up in country Rockabilly style? NHA, that’s who!

If you missed this special Christmas show, check out all of the photos on New Horizons Academy’s Facebook page HERE or check out our YouTube channel for your own special, encore performance HERE.

Grounding our HOPE with GRATITUDE

On Tuesday, November 28, 2023, Sara’s Garden hosted it’s very first “Grounding our HOPE with GRATITUDE” event. This event was created to share our sincere gratitude for all the support in helping those we serve reach their fullest potential. We had over 50 people in attendance and the room was filled with love, laughter and tears.

During the event, we were blessed to have personal testimonies from hyperbaric clients along with past and present students from New Horizons Academy. Our goal was to thank everyone for the opportunities and services that we have been able to provide for our clients, students and families. This could not have been possible without the love and support from family, friends, community partners and members.

Special thanks to the clients, students, staff, family, friends, community members & advocates that made this event so special. We also want to thank Everence Financial for the Special Grounds Everence Blend coffee gifts that each person received.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Melody Beattie

NHA Coffee Fundraiser a Huge Success

New Horizons Academy held their very first Special Grounds Coffee Fundraiser to support both our Wauseon and Springfield campuses. We had 84 students participate in this fundraiser and they sold 1,220 bags of coffee!

Our students not only sold 1,220 bags of coffee, but they assisted in labeling all the coffee bags sold and helped sort and organize the bags of coffee for parent pickup/delivery of the coffee bags.

Since our students’ scholarships only cover a portion of their academic, behavioral and therapeutic services, all fundraising proceeds will be used to support our students’ emotional and mental health through stress management, relaxation, sensory, problem solving and behavioral activities.

We are very thankful for the time and effort that was put in from the students and their families during the NHA Coffee Fundraiser. Thank you to everyone who bought a bag of coffee or donated to the school.

Special Grounds Coffee takes pride in getting the freshest roasted coffee in your hands. We hand-roast green coffee beans locally to ensure fresh, rich flavors while blending cultures and tastes of the world into each cup. In addition to providing much needed vocational experience to individuals with disabilities, Special Grounds invests back into the community through programs like our Coffee FUNdraising Program to benefit other schools and non-profit organizations.

If you know a school or organization that would be interested in doing our Special Grounds Coffee FUNdraiser, please contact Tara Dumas at 419-335-7272 or email at [email protected].

Thank you again to everyone who supported our very first NHA Special Grounds Coffee FUNdraiser!

Sounds of Music

Did you know that we have a beautiful sanctuary room at Special Grounds Coffee? Did you also know that it is the perfect place for schools to come and share their students’ musical talents?

We have recently been blessed to have Pettisville School’s Noteworthy singing group and jazz band come and perform in our sanctuary at the coffee shop, where family, friends, customers and our NHA students were able to sit and listen to the beautiful voices and musical talents from of one of our local schools.

If your school is interested in coming out and sharing your students’ talents in a safe and beautiful setting please contact Tara Dumas at 419-335-7272 or [email protected].

Handcrafted Hope Sale at Special Grounds

Mark your calendars! Our New Horizons Academy students have been working hard on new items made from the burlap coffee bean sacks from Special Grounds Coffee and they are planning on having a sale. With March being Disabilities Awareness Month, we wanted an additional opportunity for our students to display their creative sides through our Handcrafted Hope program.

Event Date:	Thursday, March 28, 2024
Event Location:	Special Grounds Coffee Co.
Event Address:	854 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon, OH
Event Time:	9:00 am – 11:30 am

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All proceeds from this event will be used towards the purchase of additional life skills and vocational equipment for our students at New Horizons Academy, providing additional opportunites for our students to lean new skills and helping them reach their full potential.

2024 Summer Programs

Our 2024 Summer Enrichment programs are quickly approaching and we are currently taking registrations for both our Wauseon and Springfield locations.

2024 Summer Program Dates:

Wauseon: June 3-28 (Registration deadline is May 1)
Springfield: July 8 – August 2 (Registration deadline is June 1)

If you are considering either of these programs, now is the time to register and arrange funding.

Sara’s Garden offers amazing summer intervention programs for children with disabilities. These month-long programs deliver inclusive therapies that provide interventions for individuals with a variety of conditions and disabilities.

Our caring and experienced staff of licensed therapists, conductors and paraprofessionals create unique, intensive therapy-based programs that are tailored to the needs of each participant and are designed to enhance your child’s developmental skills. This approach not only helps your child to work towards greater independence, it also keeps the regression of skills and development that typically occurs over the summer months at bay.

Goals of these programs include:

Improving Interpersonal Skills:

Relationship building
Responding to his/her name
Learning the names of peers
Basic conversation skills
Behavioral skill development

Improving Fine and Gross Motor Skills:

Range of motion
Sitting and standing
Walking and transfers
Self feeding
Independent living skills

Improving Language Skills:

Vocabulary knowledge and understanding
Basic concepts
Following verbally presented directions
Improving story comprehension
Improve Reading/Writing Skills

Improving Social Skills:

Greetings
Turn Taking
Initiating communication
Informing and directing others
Requesting

Our summer intervention programs also provide support for children who use augmentative communication systems (low tech or high tech) who have language and literacy skills and need more experience with peer to peer social skills.

We serve clients with (but not limited to): ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, CDKL5, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Near Drowning, Seizure Disorders, Sensory Processing Disorders, Spina Bifida, Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Additional information is being compiled on potential funding and grant options for families in need of financial support.

For more information, please contact Ronda Rupp at 833.668.7272 or via email at [email protected].

NHA Now Accepting Applications for 2024-25

All three New Horizons Academy (NHA) locations are NOW accepting new student applications for the 2024-2025 school year! NHA is so pleased to announce that it is accepting new student applications for its regional special education PK-12 school campus at 220 Lawrence Ave. in Wauseon, its Greater Toledo Area Campus at 6201 Trust Dr. in Holland—just off of Airport Highway, and its new Career Center and Special Grounds Coffee Shop at 854 S. Shoop Ave. in Wauseon. Currently, NHA serves special education students from over 25 different school districts from across nine Northwest Ohio counties. Call TODAY to find out more about NHA and its academic and vocational programs. Classes begin in August, so begin the enrollment process NOW.

If you are looking for the right special education placement for your preschool to high school student, a place where your child feels like he or she fits in, consider NHA in Wauseon, our Holland or Springfield Township Campus, or through the new Career Center. At NHA, kids come first. We exist for our students; our students do not exist for the school. Students don’t have to fit into the classes. The classes and programs are designed to meet the student’s individual needs. Please visit us today, and see if we are the right fit for your special needs student.

NHA’s Wauseon & Springfield Township Campuses:

Are regional preschool to 12th grade special education schools
Have a 1:2—staff to student ratio
Specialize in individualized, personalized education
Provide strong academics, community involvement, life skills classes, and vocational training
Offer early intervention, (EI) conductive education (CE), sensory integration, occupational therapy (OT) & speech/language pathology (SLP)
Participate in the College Credit Plus (CCP) Program
Are Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Schools
Accept both the Autism & Jon Peterson Scholarships as payment in full.

NHA’s Career Center & Special Grounds Coffee Shop:

Prides itself on small classroom sizes (4-7 students)
Works with young adults up to age 21
Targets functional academics, vocational skills training, and work study placements
Provides on-site work study placements through its Special Grounds Coffee Shop including kitchen and food prep, counter and customer service work, and maintenance and cleaning
Helps transition high school students and special needs young adults into community work study programs
Provides job coaching and transportation to community work sites
Community work site partners include Ace Hardware, Chief Supermarkets, the Fulton County Airport, Goodwill Industries, Home Restaurant, Bittersweet, and Grieser Trucking with others coming on weekly.

Our mission is to help your child achieve the greatest independence possible through early intervention programs, classes, community activities, life skills training, vocational placements, and job coaching.

Steps to Enrollment:

Call the school at 419-335-7272 for more information.
Submit a copy of your child’s IEP & ETR for review.
Schedule a school tour, interview, and student assessment.
If accepted, complete student enrollment paperwork, and provide proof of residency.
Complete and accept the Autism or Jon Peterson Scholarship.

For more information on New Horizons Academy or to schedule a tour, contact Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp at 419-335-7272 or via email at [email protected].

2023-24 NHA Yearbook Sponsorship

We are so thankful to our sponsors for making this past year’s yearbook project possible.

Our goal is to once again provide our students and their parents with this very special memento. We hope to raise funds through sponsors in order to keep the costs of the yearbooks as low as possible, so that more students and their families will be able to afford one.

We invite you to consider being a sponsor of this very special project!

We also gladly accept general donations for those not interested in being recognized as sponsors.

COST: $150.00

This level of sponsorship includes a 3.75″ x 4.25″ (approx.) color advertisement in the yearbook, recognition on our website and recognition on social media with a link to your business’ social media page or website.

DONATE NOW

COST: $90.00

This level of sponsorship includes a business card sized color advertisement in the yearbook and recognition on our website.

DONATE NOW

COST: $30.00

This level of sponsorship includes your business or name listed in the yearbook and website.

DONATE NOW

Advertisements are requested to be received by April 30, 2024.
Ads can be emailed in .jpg/.jpeg format to [email protected].
Ads may be dropped off at Sara’s Garden or New Horizons Academy.

Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. We’ll send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.

The Journey to Discovering HBOT

Bacteria called group B Streptococcus (group B strep, GBS) commonly live in people’s gastrointestinal and genital tracts. Most of the time the bacteria are not harmful and do not make people feel sick or have any symptoms. Sometimes the bacteria can invade the body and cause certain infections. How people spread GBS bacteria to others is generally unknown. However, experts know that pregnant women can pass the bacteria to their babies during delivery.

Doctors worked to treat Kara’s GBS infection while she was in labor. Unfortunately, they did not realize that the infection had already spread to her baby’s placenta until it was too late. While she was giving birth, Kara’s baby girl, Melody, became stressed and she lost oxygen to her brain as her heart rate dropped from 140 bpm to 30 bpm. Kara’s OB was not yet in the building and by the time they got a specialist to her, Melody had been without oxygen for over 20 minutes.

Due to the trauma from the delivery, Melody has had to deal with a host of conditions and setbacks; most notably that of the condition Lissencephaly. Lissencephaly is a rare, brain malformation characterized by the absence of convolutions (folds) in the cerebral cortex. The word lissencephaly literally means “smooth brain.” Lissencephaly is caused by defective neuronal migration during embryonic development, the process through which nerve cells move from their place of origin to a permanent location within cerebral cortex gray matter.

The Lissencephaly caused Melody to have severe seizures resulting in respiratory distress affecting her lungs. She has difficulty swallowing, muscle spasms, slow physical development, and significant psychomotor impairment. Melody is not able to do daily tasks and is dependent on her parents to help her with all her physical needs.

Melody’s journey to discover Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) at Sara’s Garden happened completely by accident. When Melody was six years old, her parents began searching for possible schools that could meet Melody’s needs and help in her continued therapies, intervention, and development. They arrived here to check out the school, New Horizon Academy. While meeting with the admissions coordinator, they learned all the services that were available between the school and Sara’s Garden. They were intrigued upon hearing about the benefits that HBOT treatments could provide. They were willing to try anything if it would help alleviate Melody’s seizures, improve her muscle tone, and reduce her muscle spasms. Little did they know how much it would help her.

By the second day of treatments, they started noticing significant changes in Melody. The muscle spasms and twitches that she had plagued Melody her entire life began subsiding. Melody’s muscle tone had always so tight and caused her so much discomfort that she would fight her parents to wear her AFOs or even sit in her wheelchair. By the end of the first week of treatments, they noticed a complete change. Melody was now wearing her AFOs 5 hours a day.

Melody did 20 treatments during her initial visit to Sara’s Garden in October. They returned a few months later in February for an additional 10 treatments and followed up with 20 more treatments the following June. Her family cannot believe the amazing results they saw in her. Even her therapists back home were shocked at the results upon seeing her again. She is now thriving at accomplishing tasks. Before coming to Sara’s Garden, Melody had never walked, talked, ate independently, or played with objects. This was the first school year where she has accomplished virtually all her IEP goals. Her motor skills have improved to the point that she is now pulling objects out of a bucket and making purposeful movements in her gait trainer (even moving it on her own). She no longer has severe muscle tone issues and has been using communication boards to effectively communicate with those around her.

Her sleep habits improved as well as she began sleeping throughout the entire night. This was the first time in her life that she had ever slept so well. Melody is now more alert and awake throughout the day. Most exciting, is that Melody had experienced multiple seizures leading up to her time at Sara’s Garden. She has now gone six months without any seizure activity after completing her treatments.

Melody’s mom stated, “The staff here at Sara’s Garden has been hands down amazing and supportive. Trusting them to take care of my baby girl was so hard because she had never away from us. They understood our fears and accommodated our needs. They were so easy to talk to and made the whole process so much easier for us. I appreciate everything they are doing at Sara’s Garden and will continue to come back to keep pushing our daughter to advance even further. It’s so worth giving HBOT a try!”

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Melody’s family now has hope for a more independent future for their daughter! No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… for this and many other conditions. HBOT is treatment without drugs… without surgery… without pain.