It was a perfectly quiet September morning for Coltrane and Zola, Christopher Bogart’s pets who by day moonlight as therapy dogs at his Darien office; an oasis of sorts in advance of the bustle of kids who would come through that afternoon, a few perhaps who could use a friendly tail wag or two.
At The Southfield Center for Development, calm and friendliness are in ample supply — not just for those children and teens, but for the staff who help them with any number of developmental needs to overcome challenges they encounter at school or in the community.
Bogart, 58, has built a culture that makes The Southfield Center the Hearst Connecticut Top Workplaces No. 1 winner in 2019 for small employers, with an eye on taking the edge out of what can be a stressful job while helping staff eliminate the pressures absorbed by families.
Bogart founded the center in 2009, focused on the developmental and treatment needs of children. (See a Q&A with Bogart, page XX)
He has built up The Southfield Center to a staff of 40 as the clinic as expanded in its original building on Old Kings Highway North in Darien. The center recently opened a satellite office in Wilton, near the high school.
“We now have about 1,000 open cases and we have contracts with all the school districts in the area — Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Wilton, Ridgefield — to provide either individual therapy services or testing services or consultation for staff professional development,” he said. “We take a lot of private referrals from doctors in the area.”
For the people who work at The Southfield Center, atmosphere is important given the stresses that they help children and their families...
from Business https://www.ctpost.com/topworkplaces/article/No-1-Small-employer-Southfield-s-culture-of-14464656.php
No comments:
Post a Comment