Caring, Kind, and Compassionate – Meet Marsha Tyhurst
Marsha works as a DSP in our Central Ohio region. In 2024, she was nominated and won an award from the Ohio Provider Resource Association (DSP of the Year) and the Ohio Health Care Association (ID/DD Excellence Award) for her commitment to serving individuals. Through her strong character display, she continually demonstrates the mission of Echoing Hills to revolutionize the lives of those we serve.
We invite you to read her nomination.
NOMINATION
With eleven years of experience, Marsha has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the well-being of the individuals we serve. She is exceptional at getting the individuals together to do activities when they are awake, as Marsha works the third shift.
Marsha is known as the after-hours handyperson because she often fixes things that we didn’t even know were broken or needed fixing. She also recognizes when current items are not working for an individual’s needs, searches for solutions, and then sends them to her supervisor to address. She leads by example by showing up to work when scheduled and maintaining a persistent work ethic, encouraging others to do the same.
Marsha encourages individuals to advocate for what they want by guiding them to pick their clothing, food items, and places they want to go. For example, an individual wanted to go to a concert, and Marsha helped him identify who he wanted to see. He has not yet gone to the concert, but we are hoping to get him to one when they are nearby.
Marsha enjoys working with individuals who cannot currently walk but are working towards walking again. Additionally, she loves researching different adaptive equipment to make this possible and will work on it with them. One individual would like to strengthen her legs – Marsha assisted her in finding a stationary foot pedal-only type of machine (typically would fit under a desk) so that this person could sit in their wheelchair and pedal whenever they wanted. She is an overall favorite staff member, according to the individuals. Everyone who lives here loves Marsha!
She showed compassion when an individual became ill after returning from a trip by volunteering to fly to Colorado to stay with him in the hospital. Marsha displayed patience as it was her first time on an airplane, her first time in Denver, and her first time taking an Uber. She remained at our friend’s bedside for almost three days, sleeping only one night. She comforted our friend during his stay by helping hospital staff with the individual’s personal care needs.
After his condition worsened, she gave the hospital staff critical information to provide the individual with the best care possible. Our friend passed away early in the morning of the third day, and Marsha was there through it all. Going out of her way to help an individual through their final hours is a gift beyond measure. An example of devotion and love, Marsha is committed to the work of a DSP.
Congratulations, Marsha, on this well-deserved recognition!
https://www.opra.org/aws/OPRA/pt/sp/dspohio
https://www.ohca.org/
