Page 31 - BusinessWest Women of Impact 2020

Sue Stubbs, pictured with Allie LeClair, assistant director of Prospect Meadow Farm in North Hatfield, says the farm and its store have been revenue generators in addition to the farm’s therapeutic benefits.
Among its many innovations over the years, ServiceNet:
• Established Prospect Meadow Farm in Hatfield, a working farm — staffed by individuals with developmental disabilities or autism — that has become one of the largest producers of log- grown shiitake mushrooms in Western Mass.;
• Created two multi-faceted enrichment centers for people with brain injury, which provide intensive rehabilitation services in partnership with area universities’ training programs, as well as social networking, programming in fitness and the arts, and opportunities for community service — a model that has become
a standard across Massachusetts;
• Has become
the first mental- health agency in Massachusetts to adopt an integrated
electronic medical record, using aggregated data to track the impact of various outpatient clinical services over time;
• Partnered with academic leaders at area universities on applied research projects with ServiceNet’s own research team;
• Launched the Western Massachusetts PREP (Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis) program, an intensive, evidence-based day program for young people, designed to speed recovery and help prevent long-term, chronic
mental illness; and
• Developed intensive residential programming
for individuals with developmental disability who have also been diagnosed with mental illness. “Some agencies keep doing the same thing
for years and years, and they have one mission, and it’s narrow, and that’s all good,” Stubbs told BusinessWest. “When someone comes to me with an idea or a need that’s been identified and nobody else is stepping up, we’ve had a tendency to try to problem-solve and step up.
“That’s how we’ve grown,” she continued. “We’ve been open to new opportunities, always looking at the next thing coming down the pike and asking, ‘how can we meet a need or take advantage of an opportunity?’”
Calculated Risks
She’s always done so with an entrepreneurial mindset, thinking like a for-profit business might, with an eye toward calculated risk taking and a willingness to seize opportunities for growth and diversification when they come into view rather than remaining on the sidelines and playing it safe.
Take, for example, day programs for people with acquired brain injuries. There were no
such facilities in the region, said Stubbs, before ServiceNet began developing its own — and the state changed its outlook on the need for such programs. While services existed for people with developmental disabilities, she noted, “brain- injury patients usually ended up in nursing homes, where they weren’t getting the help they needed. The state now funds those services.”
Another example is Prospect Meadow Farm, which was developed around the value of
Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” -Serena Williams
HCS Head Start would like to congratulate the 2020 Women of Impact honorees.
Women of
IMPAC
30 Madison Avenue, Springfield, MA hcsheadsart.org
Congratulations from your team
Sue Stubbs
President & CEO
Woman of Vision Woman of Influence
omen of
MPACT
PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST
oman of Impact! W
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BusinessWest
Women of IMPACT IMPACT A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 A31
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A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST Women of
WOMEN