Clarified:Life Quest donates assets 092418

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

On Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, Life Quest Executive Director Debra Frasca spoke to those receiving the remaining assets of the 45-year-old organization, which had provided services to the disabled and had a successful early intervention program for children from birth to five years of age. This year, because the state said it wanted two options for the disabled in Grant County, it funded another provider of services for early intervention.

Frasca explained to the Beat: "The funding remained the same with the introduction of the new provider, Amplified Therapy Inc., in July of 2017. From May of 2015 through June 2018, Amplified was the exclusive sole provider of our therapies for the early intervention program. When they were awarded the contract, along with Life Quest, they ended their contract with Life Quest, took all their therapists (which were all our therapists), recruited away most of our trained staff and 75 percent of our families made the decision to go with them. With those moves, they opened up their program. These three events combined, are what, in part, contributed to our inability to stay open and fiscally sound."

"It is extremely difficult to find Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapists in the rural southwest," Frasca continued. "With our program so significantly reduced it proved problematic to find enough therapists to work for us to grow our program back again. Historically, our early Intervention program carried the financial burden of the organization and had done so successfully for many years. The sudden introduction of Amplified as the second provider into the four-county region (where Life Quest had been the only provider of early intervention services for over 25 years) proved financially detrimental to us. Life Quest did not have the reserves to carry us through the next couple of years to try and build our program up again. That along with no changes in the reimbursement rates from the Department of Health in many many years…proved to be the perfect storm that in the end made it necessary for our Board of Directors to make the very hard decision to close Life Quest.

"The very prudent decision by the Life Quest board to close when we did…is what allowed Life Quest to ensure all employees were paid though the transition, to pay all our outstanding bills, and to sell our building before risking going into debt or worse, going bankrupt," she concluded. "In the end we now have a legacy to carry on the Life Quest name and good will through the gifts that were given out on Monday, Sept. 24."

"We are gifting the remaining assets to five non-profits," Frasca said at the gathering on Sept. 24. "We have also sold the building to the Silver City Co-op."

The first check went to the Western New Mexico University Foundation for scholarships. WNMU President Joseph Shepard accepted the check on behalf of the foundation. "A second year student who is majoring in special education (there are other additional criteria) and/or a student with a disability who is studying in any major that WNMU offers."

"The university is made up of the community," Shepard said. "You've said: 'Let's figure out a legacy.' Your vision will carry forward. Students will benefit from this scholarship money."

The second check went to Barrett Brewer, executive director and founder of the Grant County Community Foundation. She said the foundation is pleased to receive the money.

"Deb has served for the foundation board for the past three years," Brewer said. "We did establish an endowment, so we can give a lasting legacy for Life Quest. The income will be directed to the field of interest that Life Quest designates."

Dr. Barbara Mora, pediatrician, accepted a check for Supporting People in Need (SPIN). She said she was a member of the Life Quest board of directors in the 1980s. "Life Quest has meant so much to children and their parents. SPIN is working on housing for those former Life Quest clients who cannot live alone."

The fourth check was presented to Terry Anderson of the Community Partnership for Children. "On behalf of the partnership, I thank you. We are connecting child care providers into a network to reach out to children in need."

The last check wen to Dave Baker of Bikeworks. "We are excited about the potential for this funding. We want to make bicycles more accessible, especially adapting them for those with disabilities."