Val Montoya is a PTA at Southland Care Center in Norwalk, Ca, with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology, and a dream to teach and train mobility and wellness in the elderly population. When Southland’s CEO, Jim Morrison, met with a nearby Assisted Living Facility to see how we could be a part of health and wellness in their facility, it was a perfect way for Val to pursue her dreams while educating and helping within the Norwalk community.
Val teaches an exercise class at Vintage Cerritos every Wednesday morning; the class changes monthly based on the needs and desires of the residents. Her first class started with a handful of curious folks, and within weeks they were up to over 30 residents and needed to expand the class to the library. Fall prevention and safety is a big part of her class, and the residents have given feedback that they feel more confident and stronger since taking Val’s class and implementing safety techniques back in their apartments.
This partnership is a wonderful example of how being best FOR the community can help our staff members grow while developing partnerships with those in the continuum of care for our elderly.
If ALF employees are potential Medicare / Medicaid patient referral sources, then it is not appropriate to provide a class at no cost to the ALF as that would potentially violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Best practice is to charge the ALF a fair market fee for the classes in order to protect yourself and the ALF. Remember, Anti-Kickback violations implicate both the giver and receiver of a kickback.