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By Cara Koepsel, M.S. CCC-SLP, DOR/CTO, Golden Acres Living and Rehabilitation, Dallas, TX
Golden Acres began a partnership with this ALF at the beginning of March 2021. It all started with a cold call from the DOR to the facility, in which the administrator agreed to a Webex with her team and me. I was able to really sell the services of what my team has to offer and show why a partnership would benefit their facility.

We started day one with two screens that turned into PT/OT/ST evaluations. Pictured is my team that accompanied me on day one! We came prepared to be flexible and assess as many patients as they wanted. I sat on the couch in their dining room and communicated with my BOM to run payer sources, check for home health, find primary MD to obtain orders, etc. These items were certainly a barrier, but all things that, with patience and persistence, we were able to work through.

Since day one, we have established six to seven patients on caseload for all three disciplines, and we visit the facility with a team that is there all day to treat these patients three days a week. We are a part of their daily routine, and they absolutely love our presence there. Also pictured is our group therapy we have initiated with the patients as well, which they love! Currently, we are working on partnering with this ALF to host an event at their facility to assist them in building their census after COVID. They are pleased to be able to tell prospective families and patients that Golden Acres’ rehab team will be a part of their loved one’s stay at their facility and their potential new home.

There may be hiccups and barriers as you start these partnerships, but once you get in the door and show these facilities what your team is capable of, I guarantee you they will want to partner with you for life! Keep pushing that flywheel even when it seems tough, because an ALF partnership is so worth it.

By Paul Emerson L. Baloy OTD, OTR/L, DOR, The Hills Post Acute, Santa Ana, CA
Angie Reyes, RN and DON at The Hills Post-Acute recently shared this with our team: “A lot of hospitals are reaching out and asking for us to help the community. This is a challenging decision and yet a great opportunity for us to do what we do best — for most of us, this is the epitome, this is the WHY we work in a healthcare field…we have a chance to dignify long-term healthcare in the eyes of the world. But this time, we are equipped with more knowledge and experience on how to deal with this COVID situation. Rest assured that I will be in this together with you all, and we will do our best to ensure that our residents, families, and staff are safe.”

Angelica “Angie” Reyes has responsibly responded to needs of our community. With the increasing occupancy of positive COVID-19 infection in our acute hospitals, The Hills Post Acute management team has collaborated with our local department of public health officials to open up a Heroes’ Zone to alleviate our hospital partners and provide continued comprehensive care to those affected by the pandemic. Angie partnered with Maria Navarro, community liaison, and closely coordinated with the following individuals to ensure that all the critical components are in place to provide optimal care delivery to the vulnerable members of our community:

● Arlene Mendoza, LVN, Infection Perfectionist Nurse
● Ana Huante, LVN, Director of Staff Development
● Noemi Tinajero, RN, MDS coordinator
● Maria Pulido, AIT
● Willmer Fernandez, Central Supply Director
● Martha Torres Magallon, Director of Activities
● Eunice Rosado, Medical Records Director
● Robyn Caleb, LVN, Director of Case Management
● Amado Miguel, Maintenance Director
● Kritsana Liamkrajang, Business Office Manager
● Chris Smit, Social Services Director
● Issela Gonzalez, Human Resource Manager
● Edgardo Lopez, Dietary Supervisor
● Jose Fajardo, Admissions Coordinator
● Darren Bake, NHA, Facility Administrator

“When what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at and what drives your economic engine come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you’ve had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.” Jim Collins, Good to Great

By Lisa Brook, DOR, St. Joseph Villa, Salt Lake City, Utah
Lisa Brook, DOR at St. Joseph Villa, recently shared their new therapist/new employee training and mentorship process. As COVID continues to de-escalate, their team is beginning to focus again on leadership development and believe this process starts from the very beginning of employment at St. Joe’s. They are attempting to be more intentional about onboarding and training of new therapists as their skilled census grows and they are expanding their outpatient programing as well as their LTC programing. The therapy team at St. Joe’s is being more intentional about the hiring process with improved communication with Jamie Funk, involvement of key staff in the interview process and then setting more specific plans for the onboarding and training process. In order to grow leaders we must start with growing good therapists, mindful of their treatment approaches, seeking to make the most of their time. Lisa walked us through their onboarding process:

Day 1: NetHealth email sent to the staff early in the a.m. of the first day of a new therapist’s arrival that introduces him/her so that everyone knows the person by name. On this day, the new therapist is assigned to a therapist of the same discipline just to observe. This is planned ahead of time so the therapists are aware they will have someone shadowing them that day. We encourage the new therapist to take notes as we go through the login process for NetHealth, PCC, tour the building, meet members of the leadership team, observe the pace of things, etc. The first day is usually only a half day.

Day 2-3: Again, these are usually not full days. The new employee treats two or three patients on our skilled rehab unit. Their schedule is loaded with patients who will cooperate and give them a “win” for the day. The goal is to feel comfortable with the patients and just be a therapist! At the end of those treatments, they will spend time verbally reviewing the treatment, patient response to treatment, and potential documentation with the same therapist they shadowed with on Day 1. They do their billing, write their TENs, and then the therapist reviews and they discuss necessary corrections.

Day 4 and on: As the new therapists get more comfortable, more patients are added to their caseload. They treat patients on our skilled rehab unit and start to initiate point of service documentation. Time is scheduled with their “mentoring” therapist to answer questions and review documentation and goals. This process has been helpful for new employees, and they look forward to it as it gives them an opportunity to get all their questions answered in a more in-depth manner.

Next Steps: Next steps are really driven by the new team member. We initiate writing progress notes during week 2 for a new graduate and then add other necessary documentation as they begin to have success. As the DOR, Lisa said she checks in with them each day, but this process allows the experienced staff to take ownership of our training/onboarding process, and it seems to be working! Lisa said that even if they hired an experienced therapist rather than a new grad, there is still a lot of mentoring that we need to provide. They consider the confidence level of the therapist and tweak the process as needed. As they add more patients to their caseload, we have ongoing conversations.

Variables to Consider: New grads often require more mentoring. However, experienced therapists, part-time/PRN staff should always be provided an opportunity to receive mentorship as needed. Consideration must also be given to the confidence level of the individual. It often takes as much “coaching” for a seasoned therapist to get acclimated to treatment approaches, writing appropriate goals and skilled TENS because there are some differences in documentation in each subset of our programming (skilled rehab, skilled maintenance, outpatient, sub-acute respiratory, LTC).

Lisa said we need to allow our therapists time to grow. If we are going to create leaders, we need to be intentional about onboarding and training. We want them to be confident in their skills and critical thinking and be leaders among their peers in the building. Jamie added that Lisa has done an amazing job! St. Joseph Villa has a reputation in the community of empowering their therapists in establishing plan of care and treatment approaches to fit the needs of the community. She has heard from candidates that they know how great it is to work at St. Joseph’s, and all of the tools Lisa shared with us are having an enormous impact in growing therapists to be outstanding clinicians, leaders in St. Joe’s and then leaders beyond St. Joe’s.

By Dominic DeLaquil, PT, CEEAA, Therapy Resource, ID/NV
Steve is a LTC resident at McCall Rehab being treated by Speech Therapy for cognitive/communication deficits. He has a history of alcohol abuse and dementia. With winter in the mountains and COVID restrictions, his behaviors had become a real problem. He was initially refusing to get OOB and staying in a dark room, but as the weather began to turn to spring, he began excessive wandering, wanting to get out of the facility. He was agitated and confused and began urinating in sinks and trash cans.

Using the ACA approach, SLP Cassie Johnson took him outside and listened. He was remarking on all of the things around that building that might need repair or upkeep after the long winter. She asked him what he would do, and one thing led to another, and she got some sandpaper and he started working on refinishing a wooden patio table at the facility. Another resident became interested, and they worked on the table together. They have since formed a friendship and seek each other out. All of Steve’s behaviors have ceased and he is more motivated to improve his abilities and hopes to discharge to an ALF. As an additional benefit, other residents became interested and the furniture sanding became a group activity!

In addition, his SLUMS score in February, when he was depressed and his confusion was worse, was a 13/30. Tested recently, after finding some purpose and satisfaction, his cognition actually shows improvement and he scored a 22/30!

Danielle Kistler, OTR/L, is a new CLT at Holladay Healthcare. We are so excited to have a CLT at our facility, and we are already seeing some great successes with her interventions. We have an LTC resident that had LE skin tears that developed into stasis ulcers. The nurses were providing wound care for about six months with the patient being on and off antibiotics due to infections, with the ulcers being unable to heal.

At the same time Danielle became certified in lymphedema management, the patient was referred to a wound clinic for further wound treatment. With Danielle being able to provide appropriate compression wraps at the same time the patient was attending the wound clinic, his stasis ulcers are now healed. The nurse manager received multiple calls from the wound clinic on how well his legs were being wrapped and how impressed they were with the healing of his wounds. This patient also has aphasia and has difficulty communicating with his caregivers. We have seen a change in this patient, with signs of reduced pain, increased participation in ADLs, decreased outbursts, and improved quality of life.

Submitted by Jeremy McCorristin, DOR, Holladay Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT