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By Felipe Bakr, Senior Transactional Legal Resource, Ensign Services, Midvale, UT
Yesterday, I had an experience that changed the way I look at our facilities and my role as one of its Service Center employees. My wife’s friend invited her to an activity at a nursing home; she accepted and asked if her husband and kids could also go. After her friend said my wife’s family was welcome, she promptly accepted and said we were all attending the activity. Days after, my wife told me where we would be going the following Monday. And guess what? It was at Provo Rehabilitation & Nursing. Before becoming a Service Center employee, I have been at that facility twice to help with church services. But at this time, I had a completely different experience. After a message, prayers, and songs, they allowed me to introduce myself – but no one, except my wife, knew about my job, and I didn’t disclose it.

Then, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the residents – and at that very moment, everything changed. I learned their names, stories, struggles, experiences living in the facility, and valuable life lessons.

Let me share one of them: Steven. He’s originally from Olympia, WA. He has six children and twenty-three grandchildren all over the country. He is a mechatronics engineer and loves research. He has been living in the facility since the autumn of 2019 due to Parkinson’s disease. Because of his health issues, he even lost his voice entirely one year and a half ago – living at the facility already – but after a procedure where they put some cartilage on his vocal cords, he can talk again. He also did three other procedures to improve and adjust his voice. He also said how much speech, physical, and occupational therapy and his life at the facility have been helping him to improve his voice and health. He cried happily and thanked God and the facility’s employees for his life improvement – he called it several times a “miracle.” Then, I disclosed I was a legal resource with Ensign Services, and he grabbed my hand, crying, and thanked me for doing my job.

All I do with contracts and licensing got a new sense to me. It’s about people. I was grateful for his life, and my heart was full of gratitude for being part of the work that we do – in other words, the “miracle.” As he said, I thank each of you for doing your job and building together the “miracle” in the life of many people around the country. In fact, we are “through moments of truth, [dignifying] post-acute care in the eyes of the world.”

By Danielle Banman, Emerald Therapy Resource – Kansas
Dick Hosty is a 62 year-old resident at The Healthcare Resort of Leawood. Dick is very involved in the community and is passionate about advocating for people with disabilities. He has made several YouTube videos documenting reviews of accessible wheelchair trails. Dick has cerebral palsy with dysarthria and knows the daily challenges dysarthria presents for him and others. Dick worked with his SLP, Madi Hinmon, to prepare a presentation he used during two monthly inservices at Leawood to train all staff on working with people with dysarthria. He has a great sense of humor and shared a funny story about his response to being made fun of for his speech when ordering a pizza by phone. Every attendee laughed throughout the presentation and learned how to better communicate with Dick and other people with communication challenges. As a special treat, my teenage son Jacob who also has cerebral palsy, attended one of the trainings. Jacob loved the presentation and admired Dick’s resilience and passion for advocacy.

We are so grateful for the leadership of our DOR, Camrin Nettey, for growing clinical therapy leaders. We are beyond proud and grateful for Madi for facilitating treatment to improve Dick’s communication skills and supporting Dick through this journey of advocating for himself and others. Dick shared, “I am not just doing this for me, it is not the Dick Hosty show. I am doing it for others who have communication needs.” These are the moments that dignify long-term in the eyes of the world and pave the way for future generations of healthcare professionals to support people with disabilities. Thank you to the incredible team at The Healthcare Resort of Leawood!

By Shelby Donahoo, Bandera Therapy Resource – Tucson, AZ
This story comes from Villa Maria Health and Recovery in Tucson, AZ. This acquisition July 2022 is a SNF AND a Substance Abuse 30-60-90 day inpatient facility, the first of its kind for Ensign Affiliates. Pictured is James Fleming, current full-time driver for Villa Maria Health and Recovery.

James started as a patient in the Inpatient Recovery Program, spending over 90 days focusing on maintaining sobriety. During his time there James demonstrated the desire to grow as a person, attending daily groups and 1:1 counseling.

James also attended Villa Maria’s Community Reintegration Programs. He participated in resume classes (taught by Therapy Leader Jesus Salazar) and mock interviews with IDT to prepare him for his time outside the sobriety program. He took feedback well and adjusted with each interview.

While still inpatient, James interviewed and got the position as Therapy Volunteer where he had the opportunity to assist the rehab department and be exposed to how PT/OT/SLP help patients in a SNF setting. James assisted with SMIPS (Substance Misuse Inpatient Program) groups, led by OT for patients with history of substance abuse on the Skilled Nursing side. James became a mentor to those patients on the skilled side struggling with addiction, encouraging them to attend the same groups he would attend on campus. James was very passionate about his growth and that of others.

Once discharged from the recovery program, James applied and interviewed for the fulltime driver position and is now part of the Villa Maria team and Tucson community.

Villa Maria is expanding the Inpatient Substance Abuse program from 30 to 60 beds through renovating property on campus. It will be amazing to see the impact they have on the Tucson community as they grow.

By Sarah Scott, DOR, Draper Rehabilitation & Care, Draper, Utah
Draper Rehab is a place where the patients are supported to the best of their ability to participate in activities which are meaningful and important to them. This is not always easy and as a team the IDT works together to identify if a way exists to safely support each patient’s choices and rights.

This was evident today on a beautiful late Spring Day. Paula has been attending church services held at Draper Rehab each Sunday. The congregation which meets here is an extension of a larger congregation in the community. Church members coordinate with our Recreational Therapy department to hold scripture classes during the week where members from the community come and teach weekly lessons. This allows our residents to participate in activities consistent with those from earlier periods of their lives.

Paula attended religion classes and church services and determined that she wanted to be baptized. “I went to church with my friends as a young woman and loved it. I always wanted to be baptized but didn’t get around to it.” To be baptized into the church Paula chose, she needed to be “baptized by emersion” meaning she needed to be fully submerged in water for the baptism. Despite the inherent challenges with this, Paula was determined and asked several staff members to help her.

One of Paula’s supporters is Corina, a PTA in therapy. Corina grew up an orphan in Romania. She attributes this fact to her passionate support of freedoms, religious and otherwise, of all. The church contacted the owner of a home located 2 houses down from Draper Rehab, and the homeowner agreed to the use of his pool for the baptism. On her own time, Corina scouted the location, prepared Paula, and trained those who would support Paula during her baptism. Corina came in on Saturday, donating her time, to facilitate the event. Draper’s DOR Sarah was MOD that day, and accompanied three of Paula’s friends, fellow residents, to attend the baptism to ensure safe navigation of the route. Paula’s friend and fellow resident said, “We would not have missed this for the world!”

Afterwards, Paula wore a new denim dress, purchased by Corina for her friend Paula, to a pizza party coordinated by Recreational Therapy Manager Whitney. Paula beamed as the group enjoyed pizza, chatted about the day’s events, and shared pictures of the baptism with those friends unable to attend. It was a celebration.

The route included two doorways, four gates, 200 yards of uneven sidewalk, and 100 feet of grass. It was a memorable adventure that was accomplished with safety due to community and facility collaboration.

By Dawn Boisvert, DOR, Millennium Post Acute Rehab, West Columbia, SC
In today’s ever-changing health care system, the skilled nursing industry tends to be getting more acute residents with each passing year. This has allowed us, at Millennium Post-Acute Rehab in West Columbia, SC, to step up the bar and the expectations of skilled nursing. We are the only ventilator facility in South Carolina, with an average of 30 vent patients and 22 trach patients. We have a very robust team of nurses, CNAs, respiratory therapists, PT/PTAs, OT/COTAs, and SLPs. With all the staff that assist with our airway patients, there is one department that seems to be standing in the spotlight. This department forges new heights daily with our most acute patients. They are advocates, supporters, listening ears, a shoulder to cry on, and the provider of ice chips, honey buns, pudding, and “real regular” water. They are most definitely one of OUR Millennium superstars. I would love to introduce to you, our two full time SLPs: Melissa Alexander and Juliann Nay.

This is what some of their patients said about them:

• “Melissa was the first person to ever listen to me.”
• “Melissa takes care of me no matter what I need.”
• If something is going on with me, Melissa will check on me several times throughout the day.
• “I love Juliann’s friendliness and attitude. She’s just awesome. She even let me have her Christmas sweater.”
• “Juliann is so sweet with a little mischief.”

These ladies give 110% to their patients everyday they walk through the doors at Millennium. Their main focus each day is work side by side with RT to build up the residents’ respiratory muscle strength to allow for vent weaning, capping, speaking valves, pharyngeal strengthening to allow for FEEs and diet upgrades, oral care, memory strategies, medication management, safety awareness, and SO MUCH MORE.

Millennium is truly blessed to have these two dedicated SLPs that deeply care about the well being and quality of life for each resident that they evaluate and treat. You can always find these two purchasing their residents’ favorite snacks, meals, and goodies once they pass their swallow study. Here’s a few extra things that they do to enhance the resident’s quality of life: they help nursing/PT/OT get residents out of bed for meals/activities, they bring their residents clothing, they drop what they are doing at any moment to help a resident or another staff member in need. There are no boundaries with this dynamic duo. They even have the nickname of “sliding board queens” by OT staff.

We are so thankful that Melissa and Juliann are a part of the Millennium family!!! Please help us celebrate all they do to make each residents Millennium experience better!!!

Submitted by Carly Peevers, M.S, CCC-SLP: Therapy Recruiter for Summit; ID, NV, UT
Since COVID-19, therapy and the recruiting world have shifted significantly. With staffing shortages, uncertainty, and so many new challenges, recruiters have had to step up their game. From January 2020 through December 2022, it was reported that our Therapy Recruiters hired about 2,582 new therapists nationwide, which equates to about 73 new therapists a month. Although these have been trying times, these numbers are phenomenal. Potential candidates love to hear from actual treating therapists, so many markets have started to use our very own therapists as therapy recruiters. Brilliant, right? Who better to represent the CAPLICO experience than our very own therapists who have lived, breathed, and loved our unique culture?

Our Therapy Recruiter Resources are elevating the recruiting field by increasing school/student and facility relationships, attending career fairs, attending therapy conferences, holding mixers, and increasing their social media presence. Their innovative ideas and styles are reaching therapists around the country and the world and helping increase our presence to help LEAD a therapy movement.

Listed below are the Therapy Recruiter Resources Ensign-affiliated facilities. Please reach out to them with any recruiting or marketing needs:
● Andy Cisneros PTA, CTO: Keystone Texas East and Keystone Enspire
● Angie Taylor COTA: Midwest: Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin
● Ashley Keenan, M.S, CCC-SLP: Keystone Texas West and North
● Carly Peevers, M.S, CCC-SLP: Summit; Idaho, Nevada, Utah
● Jay Jupillo COTA/L: Keystone North East Texas
● Lyda Latagliata, MOT, OTR/L: Bandera: Arizona, Pennant: Washington, Monument: South Carolina
● Paul Medvene: Flagstone: California
● Scott Hollander PT, DPT CEEAA, CTO: Theratroopers