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Submitted by Sarah Scott MS, CCC-SLP, Pointe Meadows Health and Rehabilitation, Lehi, UT
Micki Allred is a new addition to the ranks of Ensign Affiliate SLPs! She was a graduate student clinician at Pointe Meadows Health and Rehabilitation with a considerable aptitude for AAC and working with dementia patients. She accepted a position with Pointe Meadows and Provo Rehab and quickly became full time at Provo. Within her first month of full-time employment, Micki has been changing lives.

Pointe Meadows has a long-term resident, Jim, who has dementia and a history of CVA. Additionally, he has late-life loss of vision and became totally blind four years ago. Jim is a complex and dynamic personality with a lifetime of experiences. He raised five children as a single dad, ran his own business, played professionally as a jazz musician (drummer), and earned a black belt in martial arts.

Jim lived at an assisted living facility and declined in functional ability prior to admission to Pointe Meadows. At the time of admission, the patient spent the majority of his time in bed, resisted wheelchair and other activities, and stated, “I have no purpose.” He had a significantly reduced tolerance of ambient noise with hearing loss and demonstrated agitation in complex environments like the dining room.

Enter Micki. Micki earned a master’s degree in music prior to earning her master’s in communication disorders. She discovered through interview and personal history questions that JMicki’s husband, John (who is also a musician), and Jim have common connections. John’s friend Lars, who is a well-known bass player, played in a band with Jim in the 1960s. Micki went to work to create a meaningful group experience for Jim and many other residents and patients on speech therapy. John and Lars performed jazz music, demonstrating concepts Micki taught, including music dynamics (pianissimo, mezzo-forte, fortissimo), improvisation, melody, etc.

Notably, 30 residents and patients attended the group with rapt attention. Several “wanderers” engaged in the lesson/performance without loss of attention. The SLP team and graduate students circulated to facilitate participation and accuracy. Jim sat front and center for the 50-minute-long group, stayed to visit with other residents for an hour, and then ate lunch in the dining room. After lunch, he had plenty of energy and willingness to participate in OT.

Thank you, Micki, for bringing Jim and the Pointe Meadows crew “All That Jazz.”

By Scott Hollander, Therapy Recruiting Resource
The therapy recruiting resource team wants to express how much we appreciate each of you who contributed and participated in therapy recruiting in 2022. This past year, we had the privilege of getting back in-person with students and veteran therapists in career fair and convention settings and professional healthcare networking mixers. Leaders being present at these events has been the best part of this return to in-person events. Many of you have had a career fair suitcase mailed to you and have been the sole representative in these efforts. Thank you!

Significant impact was made at ASHA and AOTA. At ASHA, we had three of our SLP master clinicians present, and it was great to see the therapy recruiting resources step back and watch Sarah Scott, Melissa Alexander, and Hannah Allen take the spotlight and share who we are as an organization and the impact that we are having on long-term care and post-acute rehab in the eyes of the world. At AOTA, it was great to have so many of our OTs and COTAs come to our booth and share with others how special it is to be a part of our organization. Stephanie Cole, Patty Fantauzzo, Joe Pergamo, Mira Waszak, TJ Petty, Sarah Boone, Martin Monarrez, Denny Davis, Jenny Farley and Lito Ortiz’s team have all helped with guest lectures at universities across the country. We have held healthcare professional networking events in Rhode Island, New York, Tennessee, Texas (Stephanie Winkler is the highlight of all of these in Texas), California, Washington, Utah, Arizona, and Nebraska and appreciate everyone who has contributed to these events.

We are privileged to work with so many great leaders and with such a unique and strong organization. We love and appreciate every one of you. We wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

By Mark Walker, PT, CEEE/DOR, Orem Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing, Orem, UT
Each week, our residents are asked if they want to participate in a home exercise program prescribed by the Therapy department. These are in-room exercises with handouts provided by one of our physical, occupational, or speech therapists. If a resident chooses to participate in the program, they are given a punch card that helps them and us track if they completed their daily exercises. When the full punch card is completed, it is then entered into a bimonthly drawing for one of our prizes (massage pillow, water bottle, cup holder, coloring pencils, coloring book, Orem Rehab swag, etc.)

Each raffle drawing is done in the gym every other week, and we are seeing the buzz getting around. Last week, we had 17 participants from our residents here at Orem. This isn’t a program run by the therapist, so there is no impact on productivity or efficiency. Our therapy aides run this, and it gives them a program to take ownership over. We are seeing some huge success as residents look forward to their daily workouts. The staff is helping the residents complete their workouts and are letting us know when they have done so. Each resident who enters a completed punch card into the raffle is given either a chip, a Gatorade, or a treat, so everyone is a winner bimonthly. The cost is minimal, and we are even starting to see staff/families donate prizes for the raffle. It’s a fun way to get our residents engaged in exercise and improve their quality of life.

Kelly Janak, PT Student, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
Graduation Date: August 2023

Read her winning Essay below:

Although health is typically viewed in a more physical sense, I have come to recognize and appreciate the more cognitive-emotional aspects as well. Many times, patients who have suffered an injury or are coping with life-changing diagnoses might experience a loss of control. One of the things that drew me to physical therapy is that it is a profession with the goal of empowering patients. Unlike other professions that beg patient cooperation while treatments are passively applied to the patient during the healing process, physical therapy teaches patients to heal themselves through a more active role. However, I have learned that without patient investment, physical therapy treatment is not as effective. Time engaged in therapy during the treatment session alone is not enough to provide a substantial impact. The patient must spend time training outside of the treatment sessions, otherwise the positive effect of physical therapy may grow stagnant. Without patient buy in and commitment, even the most ideal treatment plans will lack effectiveness. The patient must be motivated to take an active role in their health and to continue to train outside of appointments. Truly a large part of therapy involves establishing a therapeutic alliance with the patient and inspiring their engagement in the healing process. Although it’s undeniable that my education and training have expanded my knowledge and understanding of how to identify and treat patients with different diagnoses, it has also expanded my ability to motivate my patients, my understanding of how to relate to my patients, and willingness to seek the most effective treatments for each individual.

As I have learned more about the multitude of benefits that physical therapy can provide, I have gained a variety of reasons to support engagement in physical therapy. If a patient can understand the vast benefits of physical therapy, such as the improvements in health, functionality, longevity, and emotional well-being that exercise can provide, then they are much more likely to not only be driven to be engaged and compliant in their therapy experience, but also enjoy it and continue to exercise after discharge from physical therapy. It is also important to keep therapy exercises salient to the patient. Not everyone enjoys doing squats, bicep curls and abdominal crunches. For individuals who don’t enjoy these exercises, exercise can seem tedious and unappealing. But using creativity to create “non-conventional” exercises that appeals more to the patient’s personal interests can be more exciting. If the patient is doing treatment that directly relates to their hobbies, interests, and personal goals, they are much more likely to enjoy their experiences in physical therapy, which will make them more likely to do the work involved in order to accomplish the goals of their physical therapy program. For example, if the patient really enjoys gardening, they can be prescribed exercises pertaining to gardening so that the patient can be engaged in exercises that are meaningful to them and directly observe the correlation of their dedication to their treatments and their increased ability to engage in their activities that are important to them at a higher capability. I hope to provide a positive benefit to my patients in the form of helping them to see that their hard work can pay off in ways that are meaningful to their individual lives so that they can view exercise as something that is empowering rather than menial. I hope to not only improve their therapy experience but drive them to continue to lead a healthy lifestyle even after discharge as they strive for continued improvement in functional ability through motivation derived from things they love to do.

Patients will not be motivated by health care professionals that they do not trust. As part of the nature of the career, physical therapists spend much more time with patients than their counterparts from other health professions. This provides a substantial opportunity to either build a great therapeutic alliance, or tear it down. In pursuit of the first, I have learned that often the best way to establish patient trust is through understanding and openness. According to evidence, patients trust healthcare providers who they believe truly have the patient’s best interests at heart. However, in the hustle and bustle and time restraints of daily work life as a physical therapist, it can sometimes be difficult to take the time to establish an actual relationship with patients. In a career that specializes in people, it can become an unfortunate consequence to lose recognition of the sense of humanity that patients possess. But I think that if I continue to value each individual and recognize their inherent worth, I can maintain a recognition of the dignity that each human being possesses without losing sight of that in burnout. I will strive to always show compassion and patience and respect to each of my patients. Beyond that, I hope to continue to try to understand my patients on a deep level by trying to make a meaningful connection and by listening. My work with diverse populations has further affirmed the fact that every individual is unique and I can only know and understand each person and their needs by actively learning to understand them. I will also strive to maintain a personal sense of openness, honesty, and humility to further foster a healthy relationship. I hope that establishing authentic relationships with my patients will not only help them become more engaged in physical therapy and make the experience more enjoyable for them, but also encourage them to make more meaningful relationships with other individuals.

Lastly, and more obviously, it is important to seek out applicable current evidence-based practice and be in constant pursuit of personal growth within my role. Even with the best intentions, if I am not effective at my job, I will not be a very good physical therapist. Also, being an adept physical therapist can help with encourage patient investment in physical therapy. Patients will have a greater acceptance of physical therapy if they can witness the benefits that are provided from the treatments firsthand. Seeing as physical therapy is a relatively new profession which is constantly evolving, it is imperative to keep up with evidence-based practice by researching new treatment strategies that will be effective to implement in my patient population every day and to encourage co-workers to do the same. In order to best serve my patients, I recognize that it is my duty to be well-informed on effective treatment strategies that will benefit my patients and adjust my practices to develop alongside current research in order to ascertain that my treatments are effective for my patients. Along with this, I aspire to always be improving my clinical skills and knowledge. I will pursue increased proficiency in the realm of physical therapy so that I can develop into a professional who can provide the greatest benefit to my patients. I understand that they are trusting me to guide them towards better health and capability and I want to honor that by continuously improving my ability to deliver great service to my patients. I hope to become shrewder in identifying potential diagnoses and practices that might not be healthy for my patients and become more proficient on educating them on methods to improve their health. I hope to be successful in empowering them to lead a healthier life, even after they have finished with physical therapy so that they can be more free from the constraints and complications of poor health. By improving my knowledge and skills, I hope to effectively help them not only to return to their baseline health, but inspire them to continue to rise to a higher state of health so that they can enjoy their lives to a higher degree.
Through my devotion to patient motivation, relationship, and evidence-based practice and personal development, I hope to spark my patients to be empowered to take control of their own health, rather than maintain a passive role. I wish for them to be driven to lead a more healthy and full life in whatever capacity is available to them, so that they can enjoy the benefits in functionality, energy, emotion, and well-being. I hope to encourage them to see healthy living and improved function not as an unattainable goal or as undesirable work, but as a natural and enjoyable part of their everyday life.