Celebrating 50 Years of Helping Residents of the Arizona Training Program in Coolidge
Gwen Palmer at ATPC.
Devoted caregiver Quindia "Gwen" Palmer.
December is known as the season of hope, joy, peace and love, which is a perfect time to celebrate the recent 50th anniversary of long-time DES employee, Quindia "Gwen" Palmer.
As a young woman, Gwen had a career goal: "I just wanted to be helpful and useful, and do something that I would be proud of." As a teen, she held summer jobs at DES. After graduating from Coolidge High School, Gwen started a permanent position at the DES Arizona Training Program in Coolidge (ATPC) on her birthday in 1973.
Vintage photos of ATPC circa early 1970s.
Originally named the Arizona Children's Colony, ATPC first opened its doors in 1952 as a placement facility for children born with an intellectual or developmental disability. Since that time, it has served more than 3,000 individuals with developmental disabilities. At its peak, it was home to 1,200 Arizonans. The facility stopped accepting new admissions in 1979, and today, 55 individuals still call ATPC home.
Gwen has witnessed numerous changes at ATPC as well as with the DES Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) over the past 50 years. A significant change has been in the area of training. As a young direct care worker, Gwen would ask many questions on the job to better understand why things were done the way they were. Then, ATPC had experienced trainers come in to teach the employees how to work with the individuals served at ATPC on a professional basis.
"When I first started here, some of [the residents] couldn't hold a cup, hold a spoon–they couldn't even hold their heads up. They trained us and we could train [the residents]. That's a good thing." As the years passed, Gwen began seeing changes in the residents that she worked with on a daily basis. For example, "They were learning how to hold their arms up so I could put their shirt on or a blouse."
Unidentified caregiver holds an ATPC-resident child.
Another welcomed change was in how the residents were dressed and groomed. At one time, all residents wore the same colored tops and bottoms, and their hair was cut in a standard style. "You didn't know a girl from a guy," said Gwen. Eventually, the uniforms were replaced with nice slacks, shirts or blouses, tennis shoes and/or dress shoes. Also, a beautician and barber were brought in to handle hair grooming.
Most of her tenure at ATPC has been as a direct care worker or Habilitation Technician II. She and her coworkers cared for up to 60 individuals each day, and helped them with eating, dressing and administering medication. ATPC staff also accompanied residents on field trips to places like the State Fair, the zoo, restaurants, movies, and a Christmas Feast of Carols performance. In more recent years, Gwen transferred to the Laundry Unit where she's still able to help the residents.
As the oldest employee at ATPC, Gwen is happy to offer counsel and encouragement to her younger colleagues. She cautions, "If this is not your passion, don't get into this profession." She's also quick to remind everyone on staff, "Whether you mop, strip or wax the floor, you are still doing something for the members."
Thank you, Gwen, for your 50 years of devoted service and helping to fulfill DDD's mission to empower individuals with developmental disabilities to lead self-directed, healthy and meaningful lives!
