Exceptional Persons, Inc. and One Vision Developing Partnership

posted by Chris Sparks on Wednesday, April 17, 2019

As an important part of the Exceptional Persons, Inc. (EPI) family, we wanted to share with you a developing partnership with a long-term collaborator, One Vision, head quartered in Clear Lake.

Drawn Together by a Common Vision, Shared Spirit & Strong Commitment to Quality

Both EPI and One Vision are healthy, viable, successful organizations now and into the foreseeable future. Both serve similar populations of people in need of support to live successfully in their communities.

Our two organizations have been close collaborators for many years - drawn together by our common vision of inclusion, a shared spirit of innovation, and strong commitments to quality service . We're exploring what our two organizations might do together through a partnership.

Moving Boldly into the Future

The developing collaboration comes as a direct result of dramatic changes in the service and funding environments, both at state and national levels. As we've been sharing, funding pressures and regulatory expectations, including requirements of managed care organizations in Iowa, are causing many organizations to look for innovative ways, such as partnerships, to be strong into the future.

Our motivation is to keep the promises we've made to our customers - to moms and dads, our staff, persons served - to ensure each can count on us well into the future.

Stronger Together

We believe our organization's strengths and needs mesh in a way that will allow us to be stronger together, to offer diverse services, to respond to challenges, and to grow.
 

• Strengthen our Workforce - Today and Tomorrow: Both organizations are united by their commitment to workforce. We need every great staff person we have and are not looking for efficiencies by way of position reduction. Rather, we see our organizations working together to focus on recruitment, career ladders, succession planning, and retention of our workforce.
   
• Secure our Future: Financial stability in our current environment is significantly influenced by how effective we are with relevant public policy and reimbursement structures (think Medicaid funding and how providers get paid). Together we can create a more effective platform to be heard, to advocate, and to have an impact on these important decisions that affect our organization and the services we're able to offer you.
   
• Diversify and Grow our Services: Together we will have capacity to launch new and needed services. 

Through Next Steps Our Focus Remains

Through this process our dedication to persons served, to our valued stakeholders, and to high quality service remains our central focus. So much so, it's our desire to ensure very little disruption in day-to-day activities and services received.

Our relationship with One Vision will continue to be defined over the next several months. Currently we're in the early stages of sharing leadership staff, both boards of directors have signed a letter of intent, and a consultant has been engaged.

Over the next several months the consultant will guide our organizations though proper due diligence and consideration of various partnership models. We'll be working to keep you updated - primarily through electronic communications. General information will also be available on our website.

Remaining True to Our Heritage

At a time of great change such as this, we reflect on the innovative, fearless, collaborative spirit that drove our founders in 1957. They created services when none existed and developed critical partnerships all while remaining focused on the vision.

Like our founders, we're fundamentally focused on persons served and their families. And, it's those same core values that motivate us today - to continuously look towards the future, strengthen our organizations so we can more assuredly offer the stability you deserve.