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Introducing our new FlagPOST newsletter, designed for easier reading on all of your mobile devices!
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Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence
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 Our 2015 Therapy Leadership Summit focused on developing Level 5 leaders through the unexpected path of mindfulness to train emotional intelligence for more compassionate and effective leaders. We were taught tools to begin to learn to disconnect from the incredibly high-speed and complex lives that we live so that we can develop the skills to better deal with our minds, our emotions, and our relationships.
The brain science behind mindfulness and meditation is growing exponentially; universities across the country have entire research centers devoted to the practice. Our therapy national organizations have all developed coursework relative to meditation, and the tangible evidence behind the research. The research has implications not only for our own practice, but also for our patients. The growing research in healthcare includes physical benefits such as pain reduction, improved cardiovascular function, improved endocrine function, improved memory, improved neurological function, and reduced agitation with cognitively impaired patients.
Our 2015 Summit Leaders, together with a team of therapy resources, are working on training materials and ideas for mindfulness practice that you can bring to your teams. Leaders who participated in the 2015 Summit are: Angela Anderson, Anna Boone, Scott Dagenais, Asa Gardine, Josie Gorman, Brad Heal, Scott Hollander, Kameshe Jackson, Travis Jones, Gary McGiven, Lori Mitchell, Jeremy Nelson, Lito Ortiz, Tyler Petty, Bobbi Ridge, Kelly Schwarz, and Janet Weinberger.
Mindfulness practice is not mysterious or complex; it is a practical and easy way to develop a more peaceful life, and it is as easy as devoting just minutes a day to mindful training. Sit back, relax your body and your mind, and just breathe...the unexpected way to be a better leader!
by Mary Spaeder
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WHAT IS A CLINICALLY COMPLEX PATIENT?
A clinically complex patient is described as having co-morbidities of several medical conditions, often with a cardiopulmonary overlay that significantly compromises the patient's ability to function.
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2016 MSCA Process Updates and the Importance of Medicare Meetings
Ironically, the old adage that does not change in healthcare is "The only thing that is constant is change." Year two of the IRO on-sites is now over, and there is always a lot we can take away as an organization from these audits. Oftentimes, it makes us reflect upon the processes that we have in place in both operations and compliance, and how effective they are in preparing our facilities for success. With that said, there will be some tweaks in the works for the 2016 MSCA compliance auditing process to help capture where we may be vulnerable and also to mimic the process of IRO on-sites more closely.
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Sharing Special Therapy Strategies
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Pet Therapy: Something to Bark About!
Cambridge Health & Rehabilitation
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For many residents, the ability to nurture and care for another living being is what gives them a feeling of purpose. Before they were residents, they may have lived their lives caring for their children, their spouses and their communities.
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Pet Therapy at Willow Bend Nursing & Rehabilitation
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Another facility incorporating pet therapy is Willow Bend Nursing & Rehabilitation, which has similar guidelines and training requirements for its therapy dogs. At Willow Bend, pet therapy consists of supervised visitations in rooms, in hallways and in the gym.
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A Happy Ending at Lake Village Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
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Johnny Johnson, age 71, has been here at Lake Village Nursing & Rehabilitation Center for about five or six months. He is one of our star patients who has come a long way. Initially, Johnny would not participate in therapy services, until therapy was presented as an elite exercise club not offered to everyone, with a membership card that was marked off after each
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A Simple Mission at Grand Terrace Rehab
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." - Proverbs 17:22
At Grand Terrace Rehab, we believe in the power of laughter to heal, to warm hearts, to improve the quality of life for residents and staff alike. With a focus on compassion, dedication and professionalism, our goal is to improve the quality of life, independence and happiness for every resident who comes through our doors. This simple mission enables us to create a community that's become one big family. Day in and day out, we focus on making our residents' lives just a little better even as we learn from their patience and kindness. Indeed, we think a merry heart is the best medicine we could possibly have!
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Music Therapy at Golden Acres Living & Rehabilitation
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By Karen Goins ST and Sinead Thach, ST
Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders are often accompanied by a reduction in facial muscle activity. The resulting lack of facial expression makes it difficult to assess the emotional state of those afflicted with these disorders. With music therapy, however, we have found that patients have a greater ability to improve their facial movements by singing and projecting their voices with sounds. Our therapies included breathing exercises as well as vocalizing sounds and range of voice.
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As If by Magic:
The Use of Magic as a Therapeutic Intervention
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By Max Zweig, Occupational Therapist, PVPA
I have found that the use of sleight-of-hand magic as a therapeutic intervention has yielded great success and positive outcomes throughout my occupational therapy career.
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The Mobile Kitchen at Rose Villa
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Recently, Rose Villa purchased a mobile kitchen as an additional tool for our facility. Gym space in our building is so limited, we believed that this would be valuable in providing excellent care to our residents. We have been getting high-level patients, and this has great potential in helping our patients to return to the community.
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Stages of Recovery at Sloan's Lake Rehabilitation Center
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Oftentimes, patients undergo various setbacks on the road to recovery. For instance, one of our patients, a 77-year-old woman with history of post-polio syndrome, had sustained a pathologic hip fracture related to osteoarthritis in January 2014. She underwent a L THA and was sent to a rehab center. A few days later, she developed a marked...
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The Use of AlterG for a Patient Limited by Pain at Richland Hills Rehabilitation & Healthcare
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At Richland Hills, we have been pleased with the results of using the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill. We had one client who presented with a history of COPD and HTN and was greatly limited by pain. As a former athlete, he was eager to participate
in rehabilitation, but he struggled due to his....
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Solo Step Fall Protection and Balance System at Park Manor Rehabilitation Center
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By Sonya Taylor OTR/L, DOR, Crystal Eno DPT and Kelsey Kellar SPT
For those of you unfamiliar with the Solo Step, it's a device designed to prevent patients from falling while also aiding and encouraging their balance.
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Laminectomy with Post-Surgical Complications at
The Courtyard Rehab
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Therapists must remain vigilant in monitoring S/Sx and vital signs
By Justine de la Fuente MOTR/L
One of our patients, a 61-year-old African-American man, came to The Courtyard Rehab following a laminectomy. A retired cook, the patient had lived independently in the community with PRN assistance from family before surgery and admission to rehab. One week after admission, the client complained of chest pain with SOB and was sent to the hospital. A CT scan revealed multiple pulmonary embolisms in the bilateral lungs. The patient was receiving daily Heparin injections prior to hospital readmission. Our approach to treating the patient included the following:
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Combining Technology and Rehab at Palm Terrace Healthcare & Rehabilitation
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By Scott Dagenais, DOR
As therapists, we face many daily challenges, including weekly notes, recertifications, orders, schedules and so on. As we provide skilled services, we must justify services via documentation, making it essential to have the equipment necessary to do so. With technology and the correct devices, we are able to accomplish our daily tasks with reduced legwork. We no longer have to chase down a chart; we can access all of the pertinent information at our fingertips. In our industry, regulations change frequently, and with the use of technology, we are able to stay ahead of the curve and incorporate the changes to ensure
compliance.
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Quality of Life - A Dream Come True
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A Dream Come True at Lake Village Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
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Our patient Polly Bee had not walked in 20 years, but our therapy team did not let that stop them from helping Polly follow her dream of walking again.
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Post-Myocutaneous Flap Rehabilitation at Englewood Post Acute Rehab
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By Deming Haugland DPT, DOR
Managing wounds is one of the most critical components of helping patients to heal after surgery and get back to living their lives. With the Post-Myocutaneous Flap Rehabilitation Program at Englewood Post Acute Rehab, we have experienced positive outcomes with patients in need of post-surgery wound care.
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Trust Increases Quality of Life at La Villa Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
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Upon admission at La Villa Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center three years ago, one 92-year-old Spanish-speaking patient came to us with a history of dementia, heart disease and renal failure. She had undergone prior hospice care as well as multiple episodes of skilled therapy.
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Turning Problems Into Opportunities at
Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation
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Through our collaboration, we crafted a unique therapy plan
At Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation, we have seen time and again that collaboration improves patient outcomes. Take, for example, the case of Phil, a 50-year-old resident who arrived at our facility after sustaining a bilateral anterior cerebral artery infarction (ACA CVA). Phil sustained damage to both hemispheres of his frontal lobe with corpus callosum involvement.
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The Road to Success at Lake Village Nursing & Rehabilitation
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Lake Village Nursing & Rehabilitation is known for its high quality of care and success rate. Many patients continue to return to this innovative facility for all of their rehab needs. What is it about Lake Village that allows us to generate consistently high success rates as well as quantifiable profit margins?
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Restarting the Restorative Nursing Program at Wellington Rehabilitation and Healthcare
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By Stephany Kozeny M.A. CCC/SLP, Mandi Kelly LVN RAC
In our facility, we wanted to restart the Restorative Nursing Program to keep our patients at their highest practical level, to be proactive with declines and to capture appropriate resources being provided to patients. Due to high turnover on the nursing team, as well as nursing leadership, it became a challenge to keep the program alive at our facility.
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An Abilities Care Approach at Oceanview Healthcare and Rehab
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By Jennifer Yocum M.S. CCC-SLP, Sonny Gonzalez, DOR
At Oceanview Healthcare and Rehab, our mission is simple: to improve the quality of life for residents with dementia, while secondarily improving employee satisfaction. Through the development of patient-specific programs that target each resident's best ability to function, we are able to accomplish that goal.
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Fall Prevention Techniques
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Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Program at Willow Bend Nursing & Rehabilitation
Fall prevention is a primary concern at Willow Bend Nursing & Rehabilitation, and we work diligently to evaluate patients for fall risks as well as implement preventative measures. With Therapy working closely with our Activities Department, we have helped many patients to avoid falls as well as gain greater independence.
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Caring for Lives One Step at a Time at Somerset Subacute & Rehab Center
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At Somerset Subacute & Rehab Center, our goal is to keep patients involved with their care by providing various activities that encourage participation for active mobility. By providing complex medical, therapeutic and rehabilitative care for those recovering after a hospital stay or an acute setting, we provide comprehensive clinical care for individuals suffering from chronic conditions and/or those who need assistance
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Therapeutic Use of Self at Southland Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
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At Southland Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, we have found success in using a "Therapeutic Use of Self" method of treatment. Defined as "the use of oneself in such a way that one becomes an effective tool in the evaluation and intervention process" (Mosey, 1986), Therapeutic Use of Self consists of a planned interaction between a patient and another person ..:
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Fall Prevention at Timberwood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
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By Jamie Krefting, SPT, University of St Augustine
Each year, more than one-third of individuals age 65 or older take a fall - that is, an unexpected event in which the faller comes to rest on the ground, on the floor or on a lower-level surface. Some 30 percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries.
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Connecting Our Youth With Residents at Park View Post Acute Care
By Therapy Resource Gina Tucker-Roghi
I have to share about the beautiful morning I was privileged to be part of at Park View. The Abilities Care team at Park View hosted an event that was a gift to all those who participated, and even to those who observed from the sidelines. A local school has decided to partner with PVPA and will be a part of their Abilities Care team. The students will be part of the iPod music program for the residents, and I am sure the partnership will be rich and rewarding for the students and our residents. This morning was the kickoff event (despite being annual survey). The seventh grade class loaded onto their school bus and came to PVPA to perform a concert for about 25 of our residents in the park at the facility.
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Legacy-Building at Sea Cliff Health Care
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By Kristine Lewis MOT, OTR/L
Prior research has indicated that older adults treated with four weeks of reminiscence-structured activities to target specific personal memories showed fewer depressive symptoms, less hopelessness, improved life satisfaction and retrieval of more specific life events (Allen, 2009). Toward that end, we wanted to provide rehab patients and/or their caregivers with a value-added service - one that emphasizes a celebration of life and identifies the patient's volition, rituals and habits through the use of a client-centered legacy-building intervention.
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Making it Easy to Keep in Touch
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Our new scanning tools, designed by Jerry Spaeder, help to speed up the flow of candidate information into our applicant tracking system during career fairs. Therapy recruiting resource Jamie Funk has been testing the scans at our career fair events, and it has been a great success! People love the idea of just using their mobile device to enter the information we need to add them to our ATS.
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Meet Our Third-Quarter SPARC Award Winner!
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Congratulations to our third-quarter recipient of the SPARC award, Cindy Syrovatka! Cindy is an occupational therapy Student at the University of South Dakota and will graduate in December 2015. Her inspiration and drive for OT stems from the example and guidance of peers, family and educators she has experienced. Read her story and we think you will agree she is a most deserving recipient of our support.
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Finding Tools for Success at
Northeast Nursing & Rehabilitation
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A Combination of PT, OT and SLP Allowed Us to Help the Patient Meet Various Goals
By Rochelle Lefton, MA, OTR; Michelle Scribner, MSLP, Heather Cox, DPT, Susan Garcia, COTA,
Jesusa Herrera, PTA
When one 70-year-old retired man came to Northeast Nursing & Rehabilitation, he had a range of health concerns, including a recent hospitalization as a result of a colostomy secondary to colon cancer. Furthermore, this patient had an exacerbation of his COPD, along with chronic respiratory failure, diastolic CHF, aortic valve insufficiency, morbid obesity and HTN.
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Our Resources at Work: Sharing CAPLICO
Around the Nation
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Patty Fantauzzo, Therapy Leader at Julia Temple, and therapy resource Brandy Bregar presented at Colorado's OT state convention in October. This was the first opportunity for us to present at a Colorado state conference. Thanks, Patty and Brandy!
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Therapy resources Ciara Cox and Paul Medvene recruited OT candidates at the recent OTAC Conference in Sacramento, California.
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Kevin Bingham at Copper Ridge was chosen to receive the PTA of the Year award from the Utah Physical Therapy Association! Congratulations, Kevin, thanks for all you do! This award was well-deserved. .
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Asa Gardine, DOR and OT at Coral Desert Rehab in St. George, UT was the keynote speaker at the Utah Occupational Therapy Association Conference on Oct 24th. He spoke about research and networking with other therapists and disciplines throughout the country to develop evidence based interventions. He presented a case study where a patient with a rare diagnosis had a significantly different outcome because of the diligence in creating the best intervention with utilizing research and networking. He did a great job with his presentation and represented Ensign well.
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Southland Hosts So Cal Conference
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Kinesiology Taping Seminar Attendees at Southland Care Center
A Kinesiology Taping Strategies seminar was held at the Southland Care Center in Norwalk, CA, in October. Over 80 So. Cal therapists were in attendance on two scheduled weekends. . The two-day weekend course had everyone laughing and interacting in hands-on labs throughout the day. The next class will be in January 2016 on Physical Agent Modalities (PAM). For more information, contact Nelson Layos, nlayos@ensigngroup.net
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Willow Bend Hosts CCI Course
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Congratulations to our new Credentialed Clinical Instructors!
The (CCI) Credentialed Clinical Instructor Course was held at Willow Bend Nursing and Rehab in Mesquite, TX. 25 PTs, PTAs, OTs and COTA's attended the course that certifies therapists to be clinical instructors for therapy students across the US. The course was co-sponsored by the University of St. Augustine, Austin, TX campus, and was free for Ensign facility affiliated Therapists and sponsored by Ensign Services Inc.
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