Submitted by Shelby Donahoo, Therapy Resource, Bandera-Tucson
Meet Annie Combs, TPM, and Jesus Salazar, assistant TPM at La Canada Care Center. Annie and Jesus were hired into their respective roles at the same time in November 2021. Wanting to strengthen La Canada leadership for the facility and for Rehab, ED Mike Bostwick made the decision to bring on both of them to support each other as first-time department managers.
They were a team from day one: no ego, just respect for each other, sharing new ideas for the department and responsibilities. While Annie had completed the DORiTO program, Jesus had not, and he started in February 2022. Annie made sure Jesus was applying and doing the DORiTO lessons in real-time at the facility as they occurred. Jesus said this made a world of difference in his learning experience.
The facility was having some issues with Nursing and Rehab communication, impacting group and LTC treatment sessions. Missed visits, low group, productivity, and tension affecting morale were issues. Brainstorming with Annie for his Capstone project, Jesus created a structure for scheduling and communicating individual and group sessions. He involved Nursing in patient goals and group participation. From February to May, productivity, group and concurrent, and most importantly GG outcomes improved tremendously.
Recently, Annie and Jesus took it upon themselves to go out to their Alma Mater, Pima Community College, and market for every single building in Tucson, not just their own. And they had a blast doing it! While learning herself, Annie supported her partner in his success, thereby multiplying leadership growth. By being a humble leader, she showed what true leadership qualities look like.
