Submitted by Tamala Sammons, M.A., CCC-SLP, Therapy Resource
Whitney is passionate, dedicated, hard-working and an integral part of the team at Rosewood. She contributes to the success of Rosewood in a number of ways. She works closely and cooperatively with Nursing, MDS and the BOM to be on top of PDPM. In fact, she was very involved in trainings in 2019 in preparation for PDPM and has been integral in the PDPM process at Rosewood from the onset.
She has built a cohesive, creative and vibrant rehab team that serves the residents at Rosewood. Rosewood has traditionally had more of a skilled focus, but under Whitney’s leadership, they have balanced that out with a dramatic increase in their long-term care therapy over the past year. This was a definite goal for Whitney, and she provided education to her team and kept working with them to turn the flywheel of more LTC programming. The Rosewood Rehab team now routinely has a per non-skilled day part B revenue in excess of $30, demonstrating their creative and passionate ability to provide therapy services to their LTC family.
Whitney has identified other potential leaders within her rehab team and has enrolled them in the DORITO program to make sure that Rosewood has good bench strength in rehab leadership as well as providing the opportunity for personal growth for those therapists interested in potential leadership roles.
Whitney has also been an important and influential cluster partner. She is the rehab cluster leader for her cluster and has been very active in this role. She is very supportive of one of the more inexperienced rehab leaders in her cluster, making a pointed effort to identify leadership and personal development qualities for that person as well as all of the DORs in her group. She deliberately guides her cluster partners (and herself) to continually develop personally and professionally.
Whitney lives CAPLICO and makes sure to support everyone in her building. She cares deeply about people, both staff and residents. She does a great job with the rehab staff of balancing the values of Customer Second and Love One Another with Accountability and Ownership. She always does her best to work with and help her therapists improve, but on those rare occasions where someone is not willing or capable of growing, improving and being a good fit, she has the discipline to compassionately part ways with that therapist.
Whitney is a tremendous asset to Rosewood, the Lady Luck cluster and to the Idaho-Nevada market. We are lucky and proud to have her, and she has most definitely earned the honor of being named Chief Therapy Officer.