Abilities Care Approach to Dementia

By Teresa Martin, DOR, Cloverdale Healthcare Center, Cloverdale, CA

 One long-term resident (J.K.), living in the facility for more than a year, had been originally admitted following a knee replacement surgery. Prior to this time, she was living alone independently in the community. The patient suffered from depression and refused rehabilitation services.

 

After two to three weeks, the patient was transitioned to an FMP and continued to refuse care. She chose to remain bed-bound essentially for the next 12 months, refusing all out-of-bed activity and frequently stating she wanted to just die. After multiple attempts at resuming rehab services over the year and the patient continuing to refuse, she was reviewed at one of the Abilities Care Workgroup meetings. The staff and Abilities Care Workgroup were able to see the benefits of this program for their residents. She was referred in the hopes that the program could make a difference and that our Abilities Care therapist, Amanda Grace, could work her magic and re-awaken J.K.'s spark for life.

 

Amanda evaluated the patient and completed an ACL test, with the patient scoring in the low 4s. This information told us that from a cognitive perspective, J.K. should be able to complete basic self-care tasks and meaningful activities that were simple and familiar to her. The Life History Profile was also completed, and it was identified that the patient loved flower arranging and was a florist in her career. Amanda brought in fresh flowers and requested that J.K. create a corsage and boutonniere for Amanda's son's senior prom. J.K. became immediately brightened, animated, engaged and talkative and was proud of her ability to teach the skill of making a corsage to Amanda. It was a true transformation for this patient!This moment of trust was the beginning, and Amanda later enticed her out of the bed to "inspect" the facility garden.

 

Once out of bed and moving about in the facility in her wheelchair, J.K. began to respond happily to the greetings and positive comments from facility staffand residents.She is now getting out of bed every day and has verbalized a strong desire to resume ambulation.She is now on an active PT program and thriving! .  

Working With Cognitively Impaired Patients

By Tamala Sammons, Therapy Resource

 

 

 

Cognitively impaired patients are described as those whose skills and abilities they had before their accident or medical problem are now either absent or have some defect that compromises their ability to function.   Cognitive impairments can be caused by head trauma, neurological conditions, Dementia, anoxia, encephalopathy, etc....The need for skilled intervention must make sense; support medical necessity and tie back to the goals. It is important to ask what could happen if skilled rehabilitation services were not initiated, such as safety risks and possible further decline.  Read On

Celebrate Better Hearing and

Speech Month!!

By Tamala Sammons, Therapy Resource

 

 

For over 75 years, May has been designated as Better Hearing and Speech Month -- a time to raise public awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the various forms of communication impairments to include those of hearing, speech, language, and voice. Communication impairments often affect the most vulnerable in our society -- the young, the aged, and the disabled.

 

Helen Keller once noted that of all her impairments, she was perhaps troubled most by her lack of speech and hearing.  She elaborated that while blindness separated her from things, her lack of speech and hearing separated her from people -- the human connection of communication.

 

For a fun way to share some common speech disorders - click here for a video with our favorite Looney Tunes characters!

  

For more information on Better Hearing and Speech Month:   http://www.asha.org/bhsm/ 

 

A big thanks to all of our SLPs for all they do!!  

DORs: You're Not Alone 

By Donna Black, DOR, The Courtyard Rehabilitation & Healthcare,

Victoria, TX

 

 I want to give a big shout-out to all the DORs to remind you that you are not alone out there. Every DOR in every Ensign facility shares your struggles and wants to celebrate your successes. We do our best to be strong leaders for our teams, but we also need to remember to lean on each other when times are tough.  Read On

Transition to Value-Based Service Model Continues 

 

Some of our rehabilitation therapy revenue is paid by the Medicare Part B program under a fee schedule. Congress has established annual caps that limit the amounts that can be paid (including deductible and coinsurance amounts) for rehabilitation therapy services rendered to any Medicare beneficiary under Medicare Part B.  The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) added Sec. 1833(g)(5) of the Social Security Act and directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop a process that allows exceptions for Medicare beneficiaries to therapy caps when continued therapy is deemed medically necessary.

 Annual limitations on per beneficiary incurred expenses for outpatient therapy services under Medicare Part B are commonly referred to as "therapy caps." All beneficiaries began a new cap year on January 1, 2015, since the therapy caps are determined on a calendar year basis. For physical therapy (PT) and speech-language pathology services (SLP) combined, the limit on incurred expenses is $1,940 in 2015. For occupational therapy (OT) services, the limit is $1,940 in 2015. Deductible and coinsurance amounts paid by the beneficiary for therapy services count toward the amount applied to the limit....Read On

 

For the first time ever, Willow Bend Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has won the most elite 2014 Ensign flag award! We are so honored and blessed to work here.

 

Willow Bend Nursing and Rehabilitation is a 162-bed skilled nursing facility in the heart of Mesquite, Texas. Willow Bend has been voted the best rehab in Mesquite for two years in a row. We pride ourselves on improving year after year in almost every significant measurement.

 

We have overcome many major hurdles, such as: 1) A brand-new skilled nursing facility opened up in between our number one referring hospital and us, and 2) We have taken on rising costs, such as hiring an additional case manager, increasing our MDS nurses from two to three and strengthening the number of employees involved in the admissions process. Despite these challenges, we have been able to increase our EBITDAR Margin. We have implemented many new programs this year to increase our employee and resident satisfaction, and we truly continue to grow as a staff. We are always striving to meet the needs of our community to remain the best SNF in our community..Read On.... 

 

Congratulations to All of Our Ensign Flag Winners!:

 

Willowbend

Wisteria

Park Avenue

Emblem

Lexington

Glenwood

Brookside

Arbor Glen

St. Joe's

Summerfield

North Mountain

Montecito

Hillcrest

The purpose of a modified cooking group is to facilitate participation in a meaningful occupation for individuals with disabilities.

 

Population: Individuals with cognitive or physical disabilities and diagnoses such as fractures, ORIF, TKR, THR, laminectomy, CVA, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia. A modified cooking group is more appropriate for individuals who want to return to living independently...Read;On

Promoting Culture at Willow Bend

By Anna Boone, DOR, Willow Bend Nursing & Rehabilitation,

Mesquite, TX

 

CAPLICO is our motto. In the therapy department, we promote our culture daily. I believe that educating the staff on our core values and living it daily has transformed the Willow Bend therapy department from being good to being awesome.

 

C: Customer second. It's a tough concept for many therapists to grasp due to the fact that no other company has this philosophy. Having a team that puts your needs first keeps our staff happy and focused on the great job they are doing. We demonstrate this by covering for each other in times of emergency. I personally have had family emergencies and have benefited from the employee emergency fund

 

A: Accountability. Each member of the team holds themselves accountable to exceptional standards. At Willow Bend, we use peer reviews and annual reviews

 

P: Passion for Learning. We are all striving to better ourselves through continuing education and learning about the newest and greatest technologies. In Texas, we have developed a CEU committee to help ensure we are delivering quality CEUs to our therapists. Willow Bend's therapists have completed training on all Postettes and annual orientation, and we have initiated Ensign U training.

 

L: Love One Another. This comes easy for us at Willow Bend

 

I: Intelligent Risk-Taking. It is so great to be part of a team that promotes change. Ensign as a whole, but more specifically Willow Bend, has the right type of leadership. We are always looking for ways to set us apart from everyone else. By updating programs, purchasing new equipment or signing agreements with home health companies, we are ensuring a successful bottom line.

 

C: Celebration. Willow Bend Therapy department has a lot to celebrate. As we celebrate, it promotes team spirit and strengthens our team. We have a monthly schedule of in-house and sometimes off-site events.

O: Ownership. We take pride in what we do. We promote and believe that being the best you can be is what it's all about. We strive for excellence in knowledge, treatment, documentation and accuracy with billing and documentation. Our officer program is one-of-a-kind and has been a contributing factor in the success of the Willow Bend therapy department.