I remember first meeting Jim Stark in the small, rehabilitation office tucked away in the basement of Allegan General Hospital. Jim was passionately instructing a patient on body mechanics and my thought was “Wow, this man is a teacher!” Jim has been passionately learning, teaching and treating patients for the past 26 years. His focus…
Throughout my career as a physical therapist, I am often impressed by the versatility of Speech Language Pathologists (SLP). Many have 2-3 jobs in various settings. For example, an SLP often combines part time work in outpatient, home health and a skilled nursing setting, juggling the schedule to complete everything and managing to stay current…
On a rainy cold day in November, Jason Boddu greeted me with a warm smile. Jason, a soft-spoken man, owns Health Source Rehabilitation in Portland, Michigan. His reserved demeanor hides his passion for manual physical therapy. Jason started his physical therapy journey in the same clinic that he now owns. After graduating from college and…
Driving to Firehouse Fitness in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, I wondered to myself, whythe name Firehouse? As I walked in, the 14-foot tin ceilings, exposed brick, and old woodwork immediately provided my answer – the building was an actual old firehouse. Firehouse Fitness is the home of New Seasons Physical Therapy andWellness. Emily Wilson, DPT and…
OASIS Documentation in Home Health Physical Therapy Assessments For every rehabilitation setting, documentation can be a source of frustration. Recently, I experienced growing pains while learning the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) tool for home care. I thought it would be helpful to share what I learned, in order to ease some of your…
Home Health presents many variables and challenges that don’t exist in other rehabilitation settings. For example, in outpatient, the initial evaluation is scheduled for you. You make your own schedule in Home Health. Here is a list of tips and suggestions I find extremely helpful when I do Home Health evaluations. Scheduling Call in the…
Chronic diseases – such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, and arthritis – are the leading causes of disability and death throughout the United States. The state of New York alone cites more than 40% of adults suffer from a chronic disease, and chronic diseases are responsible for 23% of all hospitalizations in that state….
Healthcare is filled with pressure of providing high productivity and compassionate care at the same time; it’s easy to become jaded and callous. Compassion and Productivity are not mutually exclusive, but it is a hard balance. As the years pass and stress takes its toll, I have seen nurses and therapists become hardened. Their once…
Wondering what it’s like to work as a Rehabilitation Manager? Here are a few Surprises, Challenges and Skill Set Recommendations. You can also listen to the “From OT to Rehab Manager” podcast with Michelle here! In a rehabilitation setting, leading clinicians are often targeted for management roles. Many skilled and effective clinicians see this…
We compiled a list of some ideas that helped us decrease the feeling of being burned out. Here are tried and true ideas you can use at work and outside of work to help with job burnout. Things to do at work: When late patients slow you down. Know the clinic’s expectations for late patients…