roots & branches - encore...

Volume 2014 Issue 01 February 2014

This week in Washington, DC a Senate hearing was held to examine the economic impact of Alzheimer’s in America and what can be done about it. Our own clinical specialist Renee Kinder, MS. CCC-SLP was in attendance to glean and report back all of the useful information that was discussed. Renee is a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) and is one of the key members of the Evergreen Rehab clinical team. Renee’s clinical expertise with regards to speech therapy, rehabilitation and geriatric patients is sure to give her unique insight into the value of the information being discussed at today’s Senate hearing. We look forward to hearing her findings. To watch a video stream of the Senate hearing (“The rising

Roots & Branches

An Evergreen Rehabilitation Publication

In This Issue...

• Mrs. Kinder Goes to Washington!

• Employee Spotlight Kristin Wyatt, OT Page 2

• Northpoint Medical in the Newspaper Page 3

• New Hires Page 3

• Evergreen Welcomes New Clinical Specialist Page 3

• The Show Must Go On Page 4

• Family News Page 5

• Anniversaries Page 6

• Find Us on Facebook Page 6

• Evergreen Apparel Page 6

• Employee Discounts Page 6

Mrs. Kinder Goes to Washington!

cost of Alzheimer’s in America”), click on the following link: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=ac30b75a-65a5-4958-8260-e64f070beaf7

Renee with U.S. Representative Andy BarrRenee on the floor of the Senate

Roots & Branches February 2014

Since I was a young girl I have participated in outreach and charitable afterschool pro-grams. It was because of my propensity to care for other people and curious inclination towards the sciences that I pursued a degree in the medical field. I began my college ca-reer at the University of Kentucky with a Pre-Physical Therapy major. As I finished my undergraduate requirements I started working towards completing my volunteer hours for PT school. I became involved in the rehab world the summer after my second year at UK. After volunteering at several different therapy settings around Lexington I started to realize that I had a growing interest in the occupational therapy side of rehabilitation. Once my summer of volunteering was complete, I made the decision to switch fields to Occupational Therapy. Many school loans and long nights of studying later, I graduated with a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Eastern Kentucky University.

At first I had reservations about finding a job after college, mainly because I was unsure about choosing a setting to start my career. While browsing my University’s email inbox I received information about Evergreen Rehabilitation. I had never considered Long term Care or the geriatric population as a setting to start my career, but something told me to give it a chance. Looking back after over four years as a therapist I refer to my Evergreen coworkers as fam-ily. Since the start of my career I have had the opportunity to work for other companies as PRN staff and I have also experienced travel therapy in Texas and Oregon. The Northpoint Healthcare Lexington Kentucky staff is a close knit group. We collaborate daily on patient care and work as a cohesive structure to guide and develop treatment plans on an individual

Employee Spotlight: Kristin Wyatt, OT

basis for patients. The therapists here are some of the most well rounded and functional based therapists and they pride themselves on having a deep passion and respect for their patients. Working in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) is one of the most rewarding jobs I have had the pleasure to experience. Being able to play a caring and supportive role in someone’s life while they are experiencing such changing and sometimes stressful events is extremely rewarding.

Many residents come to the facility after acute injury but others come because of progressive illnesses. One very common diagnosis seen in this type of setting is Parkinson’s disease. This is a degenerative disease of the nervous system. Many common characteristics seen in patients involve changes and impairments of body movements. As a therapist who has worked in this setting for several years I have gotten to know many people with Parkinson’s disease. One such patient is a resident of the facility. She is someone that has always enjoyed looking after her appearance and socializing with friends. Since her move to this facility she can often be found playing bingo or attending most any of the activities planned throughout the day.

I first saw this patient due to her tremor during meals which caused her to need increased assistance with self-feeding tasks. After getting to know the patient I found out that she was severely embarrassed about causing a mess during meal time and she was considering not going to the dining room because of her decline. The patient and I focused our treatment on fine motor tasks, strengthening, and meal time modifications including a scoop dish and weighted utensils. During treatment we also incorporated her love for playing cards and craft activities to increase fine motor coordination and hand strength. By focusing our treatments on functional tasks that were important and relative to the resident we were able to see an increase in her participation during meal time. Most importantly the patient was able to continue to socialize in the dining room during meals with increased confidence and increased independence. Working with patients with Parkinson’s disease showed me how environmental modifi-cations and ADL adaptations can help people to regain indepen-dence with activities of daily living. It is important to remember to assess and modify treatment approaches based on individual patient needs and concerns. When working with patients who have a progressive disease it is important to continually reassess patient’s ADL participation over time in order to continually meet their needs and maximize their independence.

Over the last few years I have learned so much from working with the geriatric population. Working in skilled nursing has helped me grow as a therapist and also as a person. Most of all I have realized the importance and powerful effect the loss of indepen-dence can have on a person mentally and physically. As therapists we must remember how important regaining independence can be on enhancing a patient’s quality of life. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, “It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.”


The crew at Northpoint Medical is hitting it out of the park!

Welcome to the Evergreen Family A warm welcome to our newest employees!

(NOVEMBER) Bela Amin, Robert Awrey, Courtney Bannes, Donald Caldwell, Forward Chombo, Alex Chorba, Janet Dugger, Fernanda Fartek, Jacynth Gray, Andrea Gomez, Tim Harris, Patricia Harvison, Rhonda Johnson, Jennifer Kaczmarek, Jason King, Arthur Kirby, Christine Kiser, Sara Little, Marie Luthi, Marco Magno, Staci Nienke, Jennifer Parker, Dennis Pomeroy, Tiara Randall, Mark Roseberry, Dawn Sageman, Brandon Sanchez, Rhonda Smith, Mary Stewart, Brandon Stone, Tamela Stout, Andrew Swinney, Christie Vanlandingham, Keith Weigold, and Belinda Williams. (DECEMBER) Gary Abel, Monica Adams, Peter Aryee, Cindy Barbiero, Frank Bell, Samantha Chorba, Theresa Corcoran, Brecca Crawford, Cynthia Davis, Edwin De, James Dice, Samantha English, Rachel Fox, Katherine Glenn, Lianet Guerra, Brenda Holmes, Tara Horner-VanVoorhis, Stephanie Hurd, Yolanda Jefferson, George Jerman, Abraham Joachin, Nakita Knowles, Quinndolyn McInnis, Alyssa McKinney, Anna Norfleet, Barbara Olejnik, Natalya Onoshko, Jennifer Pastore, Parthiv Pathak, David Prince, Leah Rio, Lori Robbins, Monica Sarno, Phillip Senchem, Manpreet Sheabat, Kayla Slusar, April Steele, Brooke Thomason, Melinda Walker, Alison Walker, and Pamela Wilmott. (JANUARY) Pete Adelstein, Lindsi Anderson, Jo Ann, Yvonne Baiz, Karen Betancourt, Ryan Branim, Kayla Brasher, Ravi Buddharaju, Richard Cartwright, Sophia Chandy, Amanda Coleman, Laura Dawson, Stephen Dendy, Wesley DeShields, Eric Dybala, Christopher Dye, Tina Guddat, Meredith Hall, Teresa Harrington, Jenny Hasson, Eugene Hiers, Barrington Hinds, Sheira Howell, Andrea Jarrett, Jason Johnson, Jessica Jolly, Chelsea Jones, Francine Margolin, Kelechi Ogbonnaya, Andrew Rawlsky, Naekia Rowley, Charlotte Schultz, Alexis Smearcheck, Dana Smith, Charles Steve, Lauren Sweitzer, Gerald Tate, Katherine Tillman, Eljy Torrecampo, Kathleen Waters, Mark Williams, and Jennifer Yessin.

To the rehab team at Northpoint Medical: KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

“

“We would like to extend a very warm welcome to the newest member of our Clinical Services team - Juanita Gleason, PT! In her new role as a Clinical Specialist/Reviewer, Juanita will assist the Evergreen Rehab Clinical Services team in reviewing documentation and communicating results to the therapists. She will also be aiding in the development of clinical education and programs.

Juanita joined Evergreen Rehabilitation in 2005 as a Rehab Director. She is a Physical Therapist who graduated from Thomas Jefferson University in 1990, and she has worked in a variety of settings including acute rehabilitation, outpa-tient, and long term care, which is where her primary focus lies. Ms. Gleason was also a Clinical Program Trainer for Accelerated Care Plus which emphasized use of Physical Agent Modalities as part of the long term care therapy tool box. She currently resides in Lexington, KY. Juanita loves to travel, and also enjoys hiking, biking, snorkeling, down-hill skiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and playing wallyball (aka. rebound volleyball).

Evergreen Welcomes New Clinical Specialist - Juanita Gleason, PT


The Show Must Go On

by Danielle Bell, M.A. CCC-SLP As a fairly new rehab director, I had to quickly embrace the fact that some things are out of my control, and flexibility in this job is a valuable tool to have. I was able to implement both of these lessons during the recent ice storms in Georgia, dubbed the “Snowpocalypse”. (It’s okay to laugh at us - clearly, southerners do not know how to handle any type of precipitation during the winter months. We are working on it.) On Tuesday morning, as the therapy staff, nursing staff, and other department heads began to call out due to the weather conditions and icy roads (understandably so), I made the decision that I would be staying in the facility as long as I needed to in order to help care for the patients at Tower Road. I didn’t make this decision for recognition or to get a pat on the back - I just know from past experience (i.e., hurricane evacuations/lockdowns while working in Florida) how important it is for a facility to have as many people offering a helping hand as possible. These patients deserve to receive excellent care on a consistent basis, regardless of Mother Nature’s temper tantrums or whatever unexpected event may occur in a facility. So for me, it was the right thing to do - I felt like it was my responsibility as a therapist, as a manager, and as a team player to sacrifice a little time, energy, and sleep for the patients’ overall well being.

After I finished treating those on the speech therapy caseload for each day, I needed to find distractions. It was easy to let anxiety sneak up on me - worrying about the weather forecast, wondering how many inches of ice was accumulating on the roads and on my car, anxiously awaiting the next power outage, obsessing about the warm Florida weather I was missing out on, learning new words from my patients like “chionophobia” (although I haven’t been given a formal diagnosis... yet), et cetera. Clearly, it was imperative to keep myself busy during the duration of this storm - even if some of the tasks didn’t quite fit my job description. I was able to lend a helping hand by passing out trays during mealtimes, feeding a patient or two, refilling patients’ water cups in their rooms, restocking supplies, and assisting the activities department by leading games for the patients, giving manicures, and playing songs on the piano (although I was a little rusty and had to apologize repeatedly throughout my “performance”). When I wasn’t opening up milk cartons or painting fingernails, I utilized my culinary skills to help feed the hungry nurses and CNAs who were working multiple shifts in a row (I make a mean PB & J). I also tried my best to stay positive for those around me - I am a “glass half full” kind of gal and hoped some of my optimism would rub off on the others when the hours seemed to move at a glacial speed. The encouraging phone calls/texts I received from Michael Beard (my Regional Manager), Michael Houlihan, and Dana Kessler from Willowood kept my spirits up as well!

I am proud of the support our staff offered each other and the care that we provided our patients during those few days. Yes, we were all exhausted and drained by the end of the week - but we didn’t get into healthcare because it is an easy job. We are in this industry to care for others that are unable to care for themselves. We chose this line of work because we want to make a difference in people’s lives. It is fulfilling and rewarding, though we know it requires sacrifice at times. And even after the chaos of this past week, I still consider myself lucky to be a part of this amazing profession and to be given the opportunity to care for these patients on a daily basis. Because after all is said and done, it’s worth it.


Evergreen Family News

Lydia McCoy, rehab tech at Aurora, welcomed her newborn baby boy on January 28th, 2014. Zayden Mitchell McCoy was born 7 lbs, 14 oz, and 21 in. long (pictured right).

Tyrice Cartwright, OT at Spring Gate Rehab, her husband Richard Lee Cartwright, II and their daughter Trinity (2 years old) are happy to announce the birth of a bouncing baby boy on December 23rd, 2013. Richard Lee Cartwright, III was born 13 lbs, 13 oz, and 23 in. long (pictured left).

Jordan Northington, PTA at Aurora, got engaged on December 21st, 2013 to her fiance Jacob Tilley (pictured right).

Brittany Madonna, COTA at Rest Haven, and her husband Christopher Madonna just welcomed their new baby girl, Emma Kate Madonna into the world on January 27th, 2014. Emma was born 7 lbs, 10 oz, and 20 in.

Leah Malone, OT at Rest Haven married Jarred Hawks on February 14th, 2014 on what was sure to be a very joyous Valentines Day.

Lana Hudson (formerly Lana Quade), program manager at Strawberry Lane, wed her fiance Chad Hudson on February 8th, 2013 (pictured left).

Congratulations all!


Employee Anniversaries

Happy Anniversary to the following employees who have been a part of the Evergreen Team for a year or longer.

Thanks for your dedication and service!Celebrating 5 years or longer: (DECEMBER) Jill Holshouser and Annette Sullivan - 5 years. Renee Kinder and Denis Marois - 6 years. John “Randy” Magin - 7 years. Dara Brown - 8 years. (JANUARY) Shannon Grundy, Amanda Halcomb, Damon Kozicki, Liza Lui, Justin Pryor, Heidi Raddatz - 5 years. Janice Gross and Charles Osborne - 6 years. Elisabeth Davis, Eve Harrigan, and Sheila Renee Waddell - 7 years. Mary Pitts - 9 years. (FEBRUARY) Katie Ballard and Heidi Schneider-Stinson - 5 years. Julie Thompson - 7 years. Roxanne Dye and Leslie Shipley - 9 years. Jon Honkanen - 12 years.

Celebrating 4 years: (DECEMBER) Marna Bauer, Brooke Carter, Virgina Conkin, Alexandra McCullough, Consuela Metcalf, Christen Page, Emily Rickard, and Jeff Wayne. (JANUARY) Peter Gicheru, Gisela Gutierrez, Jeff Hill, Natalie Lee, Laura Padgett, and Lisa Walker. (FEBRUARY) Erin Adams, Beth Fedor, and Slawomir Rog.

Celebrating 3 years: (DECEMBER) Janna Haddad and Marcie Trent. (JANUARY) Adelaide Berko, Mary Cruse, Li Qing Huang, Tracey Jones, Scott Leberg, Terri Patterson, Barbara Shumate, Teresa Shum-Leung, Laurie Wheeler, and Naomi Yee. (FEBRUARY) Christy Cottrell, Jennifer Henley, Neha Jani , Sidhartha Sorker, Jenny Strange, JiSu Sung, and Adel Timm.

Celebrating 2 years: (DECEMBER) Jammy Chyu, Casey Parrish, David Ramsdale, Kimberly Rewolinski, Jenny Strange, Melissa Thompson, Janna Tolle, and Jessica Van Winkle.(JANUARY) Cynthia Charles, Vernessa Crivens, Halyna Dashkevych, Patricia Fortes, Amy Marks, Charles McKissick, Michael McRae, Lisa Pressley, Caitlin Quinn, Angela Reynolds, Traci Tomlin, and Zoltan Varga. (FEBRUARY) Marlon Birrey, Melody Buck, Lori Demijan, Karen Flanigan, Diane Gahan, Fred Hughes, Crystal Kahikina, Jennifer Korando, Lauren Lasoff, Chia-Ming Lei, Breanna Luecking, Christine Lyons, Mary McWhirter, Jacquelyn Russell, Shelly Sledge, Terri Sprehe, Alysia Stoffel, and Sreeja Syam.

Celebrating 1 year: (DECEMBER) Kelli Allen, Luvella Hall, Jeff Herndon, Stephanie Jacobs, Candace King, Katelyn Lewis, Stanley Mairungi, Geraldine Martin, Suzane Monet-Wooten, Joel Mostad, Amber Nalley, Cari Readle, Brenda Steele, Celeste Stratemeyer, Karen Turner, Paul Wachege, Clinton Wilson, and Eldon Witthuhn. (JANUARY) Cornelia Albritton, Marcia Allen, Yveline Altidor, Jay Ancer, Athlene Anderson, Julianne Anzures, Tricia Asson, Sharon Beall, Phania Belizaire Jerome, Maria Bretas, Robin Budine, Leila Ceder, Cheryl Cinnante, James Clark, Callie Cohen, Stephanie Collier-Dacres, Dyan Colligan, Raul Colomer, Cherriee Cornett, Beverly Crandall, Antonio Cruz, Chandly Damas, Manisha Damle, Volkert de Weijer, Barbara Defrain, Susan Delaney, Silvia Delgado, Corene Ferguson, Ligia Fernandes, Latanya Fisher, Michelle Garvey, Vanessa Gaspar, Betty Gensman, Geraldy Girault, Britteny Godar, Denise Goldstein, Kenneth Gottlieb, Richard Gottlieb, Thaydene Green, Beatriz Gruman, Norma Guerrero, Mary Ann Hampton, Dawn Haynes, Katherine Heagerty, Nancy Hecker, Allison Heiman, Joshua Heiman, Thao Hoang, Ann Hoomany, Shakeisha Horne, Paulette Hughey, Beatriz Irigoyen, Nancy Jean, Johny Jean-Louis, Lisa Jones, Mary Jones, Michael Jordan, Eric Kalina, Rebecca Kassapian, Mitchell Kutun, Tammy Lagan, Jessica Levasseur, Connie Lewis, Jennifer Line, Kristina Lutin, Aryan Mafie, Daniela Malsbury, Paula Maness, Teresa Markowitz, Miguel Mazzei, Timothy McCarthy, Jennifer McCue, Jermaine McEwan, Marie McGowan, Marlene McLemore, Gavin Metcalf, Dwight Miller, Grace Montague, Edline Morin, Elaine Muraskin, Suveshen Naidoo, Lori Noel, Mical Orrell, Jennifer Pastore, Michele Patterson, Lisbet Perez, Jacqueline Peters, Krista Pettinato, Roselin Pfeifer, Ira Porter, Keith Reeber, Julian Richards, Stacy Richards-Campbell, Robert Rider, Jason Robbins, Brigitte Rolsma, Nidia Sargent, Marie Saturne, Tammi Schellin, Robert Schmidt, Robin Schwartz, Marysa Smith, Donna Soltau-Chambers, Jennifer Stacey, Christine Stair, Terry Teresita Stern, Anca Studley, Jennifer Torres, Andrew Towbin, Eliza Urena, Tatiana Vale, Susan Van Volkenburg, Molly Vaughn, Carol Warner, and Darling Zamy. (FEBRUARY) Stephanie Aleandri, Christine Deluca, Suzanne Enochs, Heather Fannin, Vicki Frye, Carol Hobson, Todd Hoffman, Kevin Johnson, Tamara Jones, Catherine McNeill, Catherine Monk, Teresa Robertson, Matthew Robinson, and Kasey Shaw.

Want more Evergreen Rehab news? Check out Evergreen Rehab’s Facebook page and like us for more information on what’s going on with our company. Stay on top of internal developments and the rehab industry by joining us on Facebook and becoming a fan! www.facebook.com/Evergreen.Rehab

Evergreen Apparel - Available Online Evergreen Rehabilitation apparel is now available at our online store! If you’re looking for additional wardrobe options at work, we are now collabo-

rating with EmbroidMe to provide you with Evergreen Rehabilitation branded attire. All you have to do is place your order through the online store and we’ll deduct the amount of your purchase from your paycheck (the following pay period). It’s that easy!

Visit our online store today at: http://evergreenrehab.promoshop.com

Evergreen employees that have AT&T Mobile service can now take advantage of a group discount benefit! All you need to do is bring in proof of employment to a local AT&T retail location along with the discount code # 2690473 to receive an 8% discount on your phone bill. If you have any questions please call AT&T Customer Care at (866) 662-4548. Another benefit that our employees can tap into is from Enterprise Rental Car. Evergreen Rehabilitation has a cor-porate account with Enterprise. When renting from them all you need to do is present them with the Evergreen Corporate Account # 58B3653.

Evergreen Employee Discounts!

roots & branches - encore...

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