Presenting the First CMO Award for Endura

MP News

By Maryanne Bowles, Endura Therapy Resource, Colorado
Back in January 2021, I presented on the resource call about thinking outside of the box on what therapy could do to help Clinical and opportunities we could take. I presented on an MDS coordinator position being held by a therapist. The position works closely with the nursing team and completed MDS are reviewed and signed by a nurse. In this situation our therapist MDS coordinator has her work signed off by her MDS coordinator Apollonia Williams, RN, MDS Coordinator

This week, we presented Carolyn Pluta, OTR/L, CMC, MDS coordinator at South Valley Post-Acute, with the first CMO award for Endura. As the MDS Resource Appy Williams, RN wrote: “Carolyn, thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. You’ve helped pave the way in MDS for Endura, and we are so grateful for all you have done.”

Carolyn began her career as an OT at Julia Temple Specialized Care in 2015 as a staff OT and clinical lead. Carolyn wanted to grow as a leader in therapy. Carolyn then became the DOR at Arvada Care Center in 2017 through 2021 and was a therapy Summit attendee in 2019. Carolyn wanted to grow within the company she loved and with the population she adored, so she expressed interest in the MDS coordinator position with her supervisors and colleagues. “People can’t support you or let you know of opportunities if they don’t know what you are striving for,” she notes. She applied at our Acquisition building South Valley Post Acute and grew to become the first cluster lead MDS coordinator and a mentor for new MDS coordinators. She truly has helped to hold the facility accountable to reach its goals each quarter. We are proud of Carolyn and where she has gone with her desire to achieve this honor in her role. Congratulations — what a great success!

My CAPLICO Journey

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By Jasmine M Bala, OTR/L, DOR, Mystic Park Nursing & Rehabilitation, San Antonio, TX
Customer second! That was the reason I joined the movement. My grandmother instilled this principle in me early in life — that you can’t give what you don’t have. So, you need to love yourself first before you can love other people.

It was February 2019 when I joined the Sonterra Family; Lindsay Fry hired me. I loved my peers and I loved the freedom to be the therapist I wanted to be. However, I think I was too comfortable for a while. Lindsay keeps pushing me to start leading. I remembered telling her I’m allergic to stress … “I can never be a DOR,” I thought.

Then DORiTO came in early 2022. Being a DORiTO opened my eyes. My trip to the Service Center made me see the heart of servant leadership up close and personal. I grasped CAPLICO. I saw the great example of people breathing and living CAPLICO in every way. I saw how ownership works and how beautiful love one another is, and I went home with one goal: to Live CAPLICO.

Great things don’t come easy; it takes time and resilience. Mystic Park was my answered prayer. On October 1, 2022, I transitioned to my new home, Mystic Park. CAPLICO was alive and strong! I was in awe of how everyone worked together and supported each other. People from the Service Center, resources from everywhere, and the cluster family came over to help out. DORs from other facilities came and were treating, evaluating patients, and helping out. When the state came for a full book on our second week, I was never shaken. The support was overwhelming. CAPLICO was there on day one. Lindsay, my constant guide and friend, stood with me and is still standing.

The goal was to build a strong team (we only had two therapists when we started: one COTA and one SLP). We sought to bring in the right people and lay the foundation: CAPLICO. During our first month, we were able to build such a beautiful team. The residents were ecstatic, families were overjoyed, and staff was amazed at how we were able to turn the building around. We saw success story after story after story! Family, staff, and residents continued stopping by to give appreciation for what Rehab was doing. And to top it off, in our first month, we hit our target! Having an ED who has your back is everything! Osiris is awesome! Attached are pictures of our first team building/celebration for a job well-done!

Now I can say I love being a DOR, and I can’t wait to start training, supporting my staff, and growing with them as they find their inner geniuses. After all, we are in the business of building leaders. To Dignify Long Term Care in the Eyes of the World is my WHY. CAPLICO is my HOW.

Now Hiring OT and PT in Northern California

Building Therapy Leaders Jobs

All Aboard Full-time Occupational and Registered Physical Therapists!

Free cruise for 2 to majestic Alaska or tropical Baja Mexico. Check out these therapy team opportunities at Broadway Villa and Valley of the Moon. Apply today!

Physical Therapist Broadway Villa
Occupational Therapist Broadway Villa

Occupational Therapist Valley of the Moon
Physical Therapist Valley of the Moon

For more information, contact Paul Medvene.

949-230-8384
PMedvene@ensignservices.net

Join the Mesa Springs Therapy Team and Take a Cruise!

Building Therapy Leaders Jobs

Now Hiring All Disciplines!

We are offering a cruise for 2 on your 1-year anniversary that includes some spending cash and paid time off during the trip! Check out these therapy team opportunities at Mesa Springs Healthcare Center and apply today!

Physical Therapist
Occupational Therapist
Speech Therapist

Join our Purple Cow Movement at Channel Islands Post Acute Care!

Building Therapy Leaders Jobs

THERAPY CAREERS THAT STAND OUT FROM THE ORDINARY!

Our organization in Santa Barbara, CA, is committed to dignifying long term care in the eyes of the world through innovative therapy programs and local leadership. Ask us how our cutting-edge in-house therapy team is meeting this challenge and shifting the healthcare paradigm!

Channel Islands Post Acute Care offers:

  • a stable in-house therapy team
  • a variety of clinical settings including long term care, short term rehab, and outpatient
  • world-class clinical and operations support from our service center professionals
  • opportunity to practice to the top of your license in learning, creating and implementing programs for your patients
  • facility level decision making and local leadership

View PT/PTA and OT/OTA opportunities at Channel Islands Post Acute Care.

Questions? Contact Paul Medvene at 949-230-8384.

LTC Programming at Kirkwood Manor

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By Heidi Gulley, PTA/DOR, Kirkwood Manor, New Braunfels, TX
At Kirkwood Manor, we have diverse and robust LTC programming. We believe in individualizing treatment to fit patient-specific needs to improve quality of life. We also tap into the many talents and tools that come with a large rehab staff. We focus on LTC programming to improve the quality of life of our LTC residents, and during our rehab meetings, we discuss new ideas and areas that therapists are passionate about and ways to implement those ideas.

One of our programs is a lymphedema program that is headed up by one of our PTs, Francisco Yap. He has had great success in this area and has greatly improved the quality of life of our residents who benefit from this program. (photo)

Another LTC program that we are also having great success in is revamping our Abilities Care program, updating and ensuring all residents in the facility have an updated life storyboard. This helps greatly with our dementia patients and patients who are more behaviorally challenging. It allows us to reach the patients who never get out of bed and build rapport with them, and then we all celebrate our success stories when we make breakthroughs.

It is a really cool thing to know that we get to be a huge part of this — that the resident who yells and never gets out of bed is now going to activities and having meaningful interactions with others, and that the resident who was unable to use their arms or legs effectively due to edema is now able to function more effectively.

Workout to Win

MP Celebrate

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.

Programs and Group Growth at our New Texas Acquisition

Building Therapy Leaders Share

By Celeste Harvey COTA/L, Director of Rehab, Lakeside Nursing & Rehabilitation, San Antonio, TX

Lakeside’s first group experience since the recent acquisition was truly an amazing experience, not only for the staff but most importantly on how the residents interacted with one another. Initially, we as a team were not sure what the outcome would be for our residents. We learned very quickly about the energy and excitement a group can create, and the ability to engage our residents was nothing shy of amazing! We had residents who had not been able to sit up in a wheelchair actually move to the beat of the music. One particular resident was beating the drum as tears ran down his eyes. When we asked why he was crying, he stated, “Happy.” We are able to show our residents that there is a “fun” functional way to do their rehab. I feel confident that I speak for everyone when I say that we as a whole are so happy for the change that has been brought to us by this contagious CAPLICO culture, not only for us as employees but most important, for our dear residents — making them feel that we have their best interests at heart.

Making Someone’s Day

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By Lindsay Fry, PT, DPT, CKTP, Cert. DN, CTO, Therapy Resource, Keystone – Missions Market, TX

I sat as the DOR at Mystic Park (a new acquisition) for October. Day one I tried to do an evaluation for a resident, Arturo. I introduced myself and said I was a PT, and was going to evaluate him for services. Arturo immediately responded, “I want to dance – play Madonna…Material Girl.” I was just thinking, oh my goodness, I hope this man doesn’t fall. He proceeded to bust a move in the middle of the hallway, singing along to every word. And no…he didn’t fall!

From that day on, Arturo would ask me for a song every time I saw him and, of course, I obliged. Once November came along, I was no longer at the building every day. Arturo would ask Jasmine, the DOR, every day when I was coming back or where I was. He would ask multiple times throughout the day. I decided I would get Arturo a small present since he was so fond of me and keeps asking for me.

Today I went to Mystic Park and gave Arturo this Bluetooth microphone. He immediately asked for Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. The microphone was already hooked up to my phone, so I put it on. He sang and danced throughout the building, showing everyone his new microphone. (Check out the video here). He hasn’t put it down all day. Every time he saw me in the hallway he had a huge smile on his face and gave me a BIG hug and thanked me over and over again. I think he’s going to want to sleep with his microphone LOL!

I can’t believe how much joy this gift brought him. Remember, it’s the little things that matter the most to our residents, and we can make a huge impact on their lives. This is my why.