Natalie Blasczienski Award Winner

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Congratulations, Dawn Thompson, DOR, Victoria Post Acute Care — Winner of the Natalie Blasczienski Award
Submitted by Jon Anderson, Therapy Resource, Keystone

During our Annual Therapy Leadership meeting, I had the honor and privilege to announce this year’s Natalie Blasczienski Award winner. This award, established in 2019, in essence, emulates the spirit and incredible human being of Natalie Blasczienski. Natalie was a PT and DOR at Legend Euless, Texas (now known as Westpark). She was often described as a superhero for her patients, a mentor/coach for her therapy/IDT team, and a proud momma of two young boys. Natalie’s spirit and enthusiasm was palpable, and she enriched the lives of countless seniors, through her selfless dedication to helping others.

In the summer of 2019, Natalie was diagnosed with breast cancer (she was in her early 30s). During her chemo intervention, she persevered and continued to work full time, never skipping a beat, and later that year she went into intermission. We were so excited, for we thought she had beat it, but unfortunately she had a rare reaction to the chemo treatment that resulted in severe cardiac damage, and we forever lost her physical presence in March 2019. However, her spirit is still very much alive, as Natalie made so many of us feel like family. Many of us will never forget how powerful of a presence she was; she never knew a stranger. With this award, we honor Natalie and the award winner who is nominated by their therapy team.

Through a survey nomination process, therapy teams across our affiliates shared so many countless stories about how their therapy leader was deserving. It was an incredible response, and the committee had a very difficult time determining who the winner would be. Those who nominated Dawn gave the following answers to our questions.

How has your therapy leader displayed unconditional love to your team, facility, and residents?
This therapy leader often leads with “I love you all” or “I’m so proud of our team!” One staff member describes her favorite: “You have a crazy day of documentation — I’m picking you up a coffee, what kind?” Isn’t that cool? Additionally, the team notices that this therapy leader is often the last department head to leave the building and is frequently caught volunteering after hours to do games and activities for the residents.

How has your therapy leader shown unwavering dedication to bettering your therapy team? Facility? And quality of life for the residents?
This therapy leader is described as the Michael Jordan of Rehab, making an immediate impact from the start. In fact, the rehab program has grown tremendously through the tireless efforts of this leader in supporting and facilitating education and training of the many new program offerings. This explosive growth has led the facility to add a second therapy gym. Furthermore, communication between therapy and nursing has been dramatically improved by the rollout of several communications so that both know the patients individualized needs. Therapy can communicate with nursing through “Emojis of Care” while nursing can fill out a “Hey Therapy” card to let therapy know if any resident has had a change in functional level, strength, balance, etc.

How has your therapy leader stepped up in the face of adversity and shown leadership in times of turmoil?
This facility was one of the first Ensign affiliates, as well as one of the first nursing homes in her region, to have a COVID-19 outbreak. Little was known about COVID at the time, and many residents/staff were sick. This therapy leader led by example, through exhibiting unconditional strength, love and courage.

Bringing the Fair to The Pines

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Submitted by Joleen Linn, Therapy Resource, Wisconsin
From August 31 to September 4, The Pines Post-Acute & Memory Care in Clintonville, Wisconsin, decided to bring the fair to our facility. During COVID-19, the residents in our building have been having a hard time not seeing family or friends, or joining the community’s fun events that have been canceled due to the pandemic. With a few good ideas and some event planning, we decided to make The Pines into a fair. Who doesn’t love games, prizes and delicious food? Each day throughout the week, we planned a special day for each and every resident and staff member to make their day a little brighter.

Bringing the fair to The Pines Post-Acute & Memory Care has given us the biggest smiles throughout the week. We are very grateful for everyone who helped us in preparing for this week. We all know this year hasn’t been easy due to COVID, but there’s always some way to make their days a little brighter.

Day 1: Polka music, sun drop slushies, cheese curds
Roger Hartwig played music outside for everyone. He sang and played polka music with his accordion. Many of the residents sang along, danced and enjoyed the classic songs. Along with the music, the management team passed out sun drop slushies, cheese curds, onion rings, French fries and pickle pucks for everyone. We really wanted everyone to feel like they were at the fair.

Day 2: Bingo, bean bag toss and mini corn dogs
Today we had games spread out all over the building for residents to participate in and win prizes. One of the games the residents really enjoyed was playing bag toss. As the residents threw the bags through the holes, they got a chance to pick any prize they wanted out of the box. It consisted of calendars, candy and sweets, coloring books, stuffed animals and much more!

Day 3: Petting zoo with horses, dogs and goats
Day three was one of the most exciting days for our staff and our residents. We had horses, goats and a few dogs for everyone to see and pet. First came the horses: Prima the brown horse and Mister the white one. Then we had Luna the rodeo dog and the goats!

Day 4: Cream puffs and indoor games
Homemade cream puffs by The Pines activities director Kim! She made over 60 homemade cream puffs for all the residents and the staff. We had many games, including tip the pyramid, bag toss, plinko and pick a duck!

Day 5: Water Balloons, burger cookout and ice cream bars
Our last day, we had a cookout outside, including burgers and ice cream bars for all the staff and residents for lunch. We also had water balloons for a little bit of fun!

Therapist Profile: Joe Pergamo, PT/DOR, Puyallup, WA

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Submitted by Jamie Funk, Therapy Recruiting Resource
Meet Joe Pergamo (pictured top left), the Director of Rehabilitation at Rainier Rehabilitation in Puyallup, Washington. Joe joined our organization in March 2019 and has become a huge part of the Pennant Washington team, not only as a stand out leader in his own facility, but also as someone who pitches in for any of our Washington facilities if they need help. He has even driven five hours (one way) to Walla Walla on a repeat basis when they were short a physical therapist.

“Joe is a remarkable leader! He has been instrumental in increasing the awareness amongst the staff at Rainier’s rehab team of the benefits of providing therapy services to residents to maintain their optimal function,” says Brett Watson, the ED at Rainier Rehabilitation. “He has demonstrated through his leadership how to improve the quality of life of our residents through consistent rehab interventions and skills. Joe is patient, kind and long suffering. He is not only supportive of his therapy team, but he gets in and supports nursing, activities, and business office staff with their needs. He does this while maintaining a strong productivity percentage.”

“Joe leads with humor, kindness, and the altruistic belief that therapy changes lives for the better. He is humble and leads by example with true ownership of his program,” says Mira Waszak, the Therapy Resource for Washington.

Joe was inspired to become a therapist because he wanted to work in health care and enjoyed working out and fitness. Initially, he obtained his PTA degree but went back to school to earn his Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy. He heard about a DOR opening at Rainier from a former supervisor who put him in contact with Mira to learn more. “I had spoken to Mira several times, and she was very helpful and encouraged me to become a rehab director. She provided excellent mentoring to ease me into the role. I met Brett and Stacy (the ED and DNS at Rainier) along with several RCMs, and I believed it was an excellent opportunity for me to be a director. I was impressed with Brett and Stacy’s approach and style and the way they cared for long-term care residents,” Joe remembers.

Joe’s favorite Ensign core value is Ownership. “I believe when employees take pride and responsibility in and for their work, it elevates everyone’s quality of care. Pride and ownership are contagious. When you are around other people who have ownership, it makes the ‘work’ more rewarding. You don’t want to let yourself, your co-workers or residents down. I feel that there are many owners at Rainier in the therapy department and throughout the facility and we all feed off of that positive energy.”

This affinity for ownership is not going unnoticed by the facility administrator. “Joe is faced with multiple challenges in caring for residents that have many needs. Joe is providing care to residents who need airway support — patients who need a level of care that is unique and challenging. He has not been afraid to get in and learn how to provide services to these individuals that have benefited these folks in many ways,” says Brett Watson.

Joe loves his facility and team because the entire facility is very devoted and dedicated to their residents. They practice holistic and selfless interaction with their patients. Joe is a strong believer in co-treatments and collaborative care and he works hard to be mindful of recommendations from all disciplines. “I always try to be open to opportunities to provide therapy services to improve residents’ quality of life,” Joe says. ”I believe all residents are therapy candidates and we just have to be open to all opportunities.”

When not working, Joe is spending time with his wife, son and three dogs. He is in the midst of a home and yard renovation and also makes time to exercise. He loves living in Washington, which he feels is the perfect mix of metropolitan life and breathtaking nature, home-town charm and cultural diversity. For any of you science fiction buffs out there, Joe’s favorite movie is the “Back to the Future” series.

“I call Joe my diamond in the rough,” says Mira. “He is very introverted but he doesn’t let that impact his effectiveness as a leader. I have had the privilege to treat patients with him side by side, so I have first- hand experience of his clinical excellence! On top of everything else that has been thrown at our leaders this crazy year, Joe has gone through some serious personal challenges but continues to show up 150% every day – #belikejoe!”

The feeling is mutual. “Mira is an excellent mentor and resource,” Joe says. “She provides motivation and encouragement every time we interact. Although I have only known her for just over a year, it seems like we have been friends for many years. Mira provides hard truth, sound advice, humor and truly listens to my concerns.”

Bringing Compassion to the Team

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April Trammell from Beacon Harbor in Rockwall, Texas, recently joined our Compassionate Hearts Team. She shared some ways she is bringing compassion to her team:

A personal goal of mine is to be more present for my team. This means both physically present and to develop a greater awareness of my team’s individual strengths and needs. I decided to give them all a survey with questions that captured our CAPLICO values
1. Provide an example of a teammate’s compassion
2. Provide an example of a teammate’s accountability
3. Provide an example of a teammate’s effective treatment technique/out of the box thinking
4. Is there a topic/area of interest for your personal goals?
5. Provide a characteristic/trait you value in a teammate, in a leader, in yourself
6. What are your professional goals/leadership interests?

The responses from my team were overwhelming! I am reviewing one question’s responses per week in our team meeting so that each staff can see/hear the great things they have to say about each other/see in each other. Here are the examples of Compassion shared by my team:

  • Kristen and Tibitha checking in on me while I was out for surgery. They have been extremely understanding. Receiving a very nice bag of thoughtful health products from April when returning from surgery.
  • Reggie’s ability to make the residents feel more at home /at ease.
  • Blair always goes above and beyond to make sure her patients are well taken care of and that they have everything that they need.
    Blair brought in a warm outerwear garment for a resident to wear who is cold all the time.
  • OT taking time to have a video call for patients with family members
  • Esther always has nice things to say about a patient or co-worker no matter how challenging that person’s attitude is. Even when everybody gave up on Resident SH, Esther was still attentive to her needs.
  • Being kind to patients even when they are difficult and stubborn
  • Jessica! She is always willing to help in any situation. She is very passionate about each and every patient and is willing to learn.
    Reggie is always checking on each patient and making sure they always have what they need.
  • Rhonda- always eager to help.
  • One of our therapists going above and beyond their responsibility by providing shoes to a patient to help them ambulate.
    Neeraj going the extra mile and caring about patient’s pressure sores and mental health.
  • Reggie and Neeraj going above and beyond to help our patients.
  • Kristen Erickson was very compassionate on the COVID unit. She ran around each day going out of her way to get the patients clean and anything they needed.
  • All of the current team members are compassionate and have demonstrated it during COVID times.

Needless to say, COVID was our Moment of Distinction with so many Silver linings that came out of it. We are a stronger team because of it. This survey has been a moment of distinction for me personally and professionally. This has been a great team-building activity—some squeals of delight when names were heard, giggles, heads nodding in confirmation. Hearts are filled here!

Evacuating from the Fires in Northern CA

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Patients lined up to get in the transportation vehicle

By JB Chua, DOR, Summerfield Healthcare, Santa Rosa, CA
October 9, 2017, and September 28, 2020 two dates that are significant to Summerfield Healthcare Center. These are the days that we, the Summerfield family, had to evacuate our patients out of our facility and send them temporarily to another place that is not their home. Their limited choices were either in a relative’s home, another skilled nursing facility and worst, evacuation centers. These were definitely one of the most stressful events that Summerfield had experienced. Staff worried about their homes, patients worried about their safety and patients’ families worried about their loved ones. The sky seemed to empathize with the situation with its gloomy hue and the air felt like a snake coiling around your body making it so hard to breath and the smoky air threatens to cut off your oxygen. Definitely not something anyone wants to experience during their lifetime.

Paramedics in action

As we received the orders to evacuate, text messages and phone calls started to flood my phone. Messages that even I, who holds my team to a very high standard, was surprised to receive… “I’m on my way and Schuyler (my OT’s boyfriend) also wants to know if he can help.”… “Michael (my PT’s fiancée) and I will be there in a little bit.” and many more similar messages, there were some of my staff who were evacuated, on vacation and have younger children who came in to help. Literally, all hands on deck. As the evacuation progressed, each and every patient was assisted in getting dressed and back up on their wheelchairs, we served them breakfast and helped some residents eat, some helped them back to their room to use the bathroom, the therapy room was converted into a calming room where we played soothing music on our phones (power was down so we were not able to use our therapy music player) and some staff were trying to re-assure our residents that everything is going to be fine, even though there were some doubts if it really was going to be. When the transport arrived, we started to roll our patients out towards a safer place. Even with worried hearts and uncertainty, the staff continued to re-assure our patients, waved them good bye and told them that they were going to see them again when everything was all over.

October 19, 2017 and October 4, 2020 two more dates that will be remembered as well, not because of any tragic event, but because of what these dates unconsciously signify to each and every individual at Summerfield Healthcare Center. It signified opportunity, growth and most importantly hope. Opportunity for each one of us to hit the reset button and start anew. The building was deep cleaned by the staff members, from therapists, nursing, administration, you name it, and you got it. Each and every single one looked for opportunity rather than focusing on the misfortunes and tragic events. Growth was experienced from overcoming challenges such as having to go to another facility to help out with our residents, finding new ways so that we can still provide for our residents and staff even when our resources were not as readily available during normal times and finding a new homes for those who had lost theirs. Lastly, hope; hope that everything we had gone through this year was fully addressed so that we will be better prepared both physically and mentally should these type of events happen again.

As I write this article, there are multiple times that I have had to hold back my tears, not because of sadness but because of how I was humbled with what I had seen and lived through. It reminded me of a saying about how a person’s character will really show up during tough times. On behalf of the therapy team I observed my therapists showing great devotion to our patients and to our facility. They were there from evacuation, helping other facilities, cleaning up the facility and welcoming our patients back. During these difficult times I was mostly impressed with the support they gave each other. I have read a lot of success and inspiring stories that gave me chills as I read them. Having to experience one, is quite overwhelming and humbling. Every now and then, even before this experience, I would send a message to my therapists that I am proud to be a part of our team. As I sent another message to them, after we received the announcement that we can get our patients back in our facility, those same words felt insufficient to really express how I felt. I know deep in my heart, that if the same thing happens in the future, Summerfield Healthcare Center will rise to the occasion once again, because that’s who we are.

Defining Moments in Times of Evacuation

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By Milena Milenkovic, OT/DOR, Park View Post Acute, Santa Rosa, CA
I was at home, in my pajamas, when I got the text message from our DON on Sunday 9/27 at 11pm, “We need all hands on deck to prepare packets for the potential evacuation.” I slowly jumped out of my bed and headed straight for the espresso machine while my partner read Twitter and Nixel alerts aloud regarding the location of the fires, direction of the winds, and latest evacuations orders.

When I arrived to Park View around 12:30am, the power was off, the building was running on a generator, several members of our leadership team were already busily doing various prep work while the rest of the building was quiet, patients and residents sleeping, nurses and CNAs attending to their tasks. While making copies of patient’s charts in our long-term section, I heard various residents snore, some waking up from sleep, asking for help, and hearing CNAs quickly attending to the resident, comforting them from a bad dream, helping them fall back asleep.

Soon enough, it was nearly 4am and I found myself taking a quick nap in the middle of the therapy gym, listening to the NOC shift sounds of med carts, occasional call lights, and staff’s footsteps. I anxiously napped, waiting for 5am so that I can send a text to my therapists. I worried about what to say to them, worried about those that had to evacuate, worried that many may not show up, that this is just too much, and that we may not have enough support in the morning if we had to evacuate. As 7am rolled-around, the shift-change happened, all my therapists showed up (some much earlier than usual), more staff rolled-in, and our building came to life. As our sister facility, Summerfield, started evacuating, it was our turn to continue “cold-calling” all SNFs within the Bay Area to ask them to accept our patients in the case of evacuation. Ash was falling from the sky as we secured beds for all of our patients. We were ready.

By 2:30pm on Monday 9/28 (32+ hours of being awake), after a near fall from exhaustion and pizza for breakfast, I knew it was time to go home and sleep. The sight of so many alert, awake, kind, calm, and composed Park View staff showing up in the morning brought the comfort, sense of security, and sense of overwhelming connection that we would OK, no matter what. Everyone became a leader by supporting one another, one hour at a time.

During these times, it has been so difficult for many of us who are unable to see our families and close friends. Some of our families and friends live in places that we cannot travel to, some are part of the vulnerable population, and some are no longer with us on this Earth. While napping in the middle of the gym, listening for evacuation alerts, hearing the flow of the NOC shift, I felt a sense of gratitude and acceptance that this, Park View and its staff and what we do as a team, is my family and this is where I am meant to be. That moment of exhaustion combined with team unity, trust in others, and the sight of our staff leading with patience and love is what I always look back on when I need a reason to continue fighting through the challenges that continue coming our way. Together, one day at time.

 

Fire Evacuation on 9/28/20

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Submitted by Shoba Neupane-Gautam, DOR, Valley of the Moon, Sonoma, CA
It was Sept. 28, 2020. I was excited to attend my very first annual Therapy Leadership Virtual meeting. As I was working from my home office that morning, I heard from our therapy resource and DOR team that the Santa Rosa area had a bad fire and residents were being evacuated from our sister facility, Summerfield.

I called Summerfield DOR, JB Chua, to offer some help. I realized JB was remaining calm but was disappointed that with the evacuation he may not be able to attend our annual meeting that day. As soon as I heard many residents were being transferred from the Summerfield facility to Broadway Villa Post-Acute, JB and I coordinated with Ensign IT to grant me Summerfield Optima and PCC access.

JB helped evacuate his facility and still arrived at my place around 1:30 pm to attend our virtual meeting together. We both were able to attend the meeting peacefully. As soon as the meeting was over, we coordinated with the nursing/ admission team to identify the residents who were being transferred to Broadway Villa Post-Acute. Then I reached out to my team and requested that they visit those residents, provide them comfort and reassure their safety. After we identified 18 residents who were transferring from Summerfield (SF) to Broadway Villa (BW), we reviewed each and every resident’s needs and coordinated staffing between our two facilities.

Both SF and BW rehab staff were highly cooperative, cohesive and willing to assist residents. As a result, all 18 residents were able to receive skilled rehab services in a timely manner.

Thanks to both home teams’ cooperation, this situation was managed calmly. I was still able to attend all three days of the therapy virtual meeting. I am beyond thankful to my team at Broadway Villa, our therapy resource Jennifer Raymond, the Summerfield Rehab Team and JB’s leadership.

 

Reuniting Families and Friends

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By Joyce Koyama, OTR/L, The Orchard Post Acute Care, Whittier, CA

On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency, citing an outbreak of COVID-19. On that same day, CMS strictly restricted in-person visitation to only compassionate care situations in skilled nursing homes in order to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 to our most vulnerable population: the elderly with pre-existing medical conditions.

Like many seniors, our residents at The Orchard thrive on the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones. They look forward to having lunch with their spouse, to catching up with friends, to seeing their grandchildren grow. For many months, they were deprived of these meaningful visitations, or at least reduced to visits virtually or done outside their window. While many families tried to make the most of the situation by attempting to talk through glass, decorating their windows with signs and balloons, or even bringing singers to sing for their loved ones to bring cheer, it just was not the same.

As we gained a better understanding of COVID-19 and infection numbers locally were declining, our facility came up with a plan to build a visitation area as a way to help reunite our residents with their families and friends. Plexiglass was added to three sides of our existing gazebo against a side entrance. Just weeks later, the Activities Department was able to bring residents out into the sanitized area at a designated time where family and friends would await them on the other side of the glass.

At last, a clear view of each other from head to toe. Sounds of cheer, laughter and tears of joy can be heard and seen from the visitor area. Hands held up to glass, face-to-face conversations, and a heart-warming feeling with a hello and good-bye. Our resident Sandie described seeing her family for her birthday as “uplifting,” as she has felt lonely after not being able to see them for months. Resident Rosita said she felt happy seeing how tall her granddaughter had grown. It was unanimous that our residents felt overwhelmingly happy and loved after seeing their family and friends again.

While there is nothing that can really replace the warmth and value of a real hug or a held hand, for now, this is a wonderful and sweet way to reunite our residents with their loved ones. For families on the other side of the visitation area, they feel relief to see their loved ones doing well. And for our residents, they are given hope and joy — a goal we have accomplished here at The Orchard Post-Acute Care.