1. Rising to the challenge is the first step for any endeavor, and this is no exception.
“We as therapists and in general, healthcare workers, are very good at dealing with change and challenge,” says Kristy Wikum, president and CEO of Centrex Rehab. “We must adapt more quickly to truthfully, in this case, save lives.”
The pandemic has forced healthcare workers behind and on the front lines to reach deep down and find a level of courage many didn’t know they had.
When a top manager for Vertis Therapy visited a facility early in the pandemic, she encountered a group of therapists who were hesitant to work with infected residents.
“She had to sit them down and say, ‘This is us running into a burning building right now. This is our 9/11,’” recalls Paul Riccio, the company’s vice president of finance and development. “She went on to tell them if they couldn’t rise to the challenge, they were in the wrong industry.”
Hilary Forman PT, RAC-CT, chief clinical strategies officer for HealthPRO Heritage, said the changing regulations “required us to make very quick decisions and communicate clear, concise guidance for our clients and therapists.”
“This was especially true during the early part of the pandemic. Today, we continue to invest in infection prevention measures so that we can continue to provide rehab services safely for the residents who need and rely on our care,” Forman adds.
Recognizing “the tremendous pressure on skilled communities,” Forman says HealthPro Heritage therapists altered their work schedules and loads to help reduce the burden for their nurse counterparts. They received training in wound care and incorporating functional treatments, such as dressing, dining and preparing residents for bed.
2. The best way to deal with limitations and narrow windows is to efficiently maximize therapy time and effort.
To get around some of the challenges of staff onboarding and supervising new therapists, iN2L used video calls and provided email accounts to therapists, generally a rare practice in the industry.
“Having access to a simple video chat is key for proper collaboration, sharing ideas and coping mentally through the daily struggles of a job as a therapist,” says Therapy Success Manager Kristin Hoffman.
The company also used video calling to host discipline-specific therapist treatment groups and in other cases, opportunities to discuss goals, discharge planning, activities of daily living and dietary changes with family members.
“One-on-one telehealth therapy visits — and even virtual group therapy — can be effective in supporting patients’ physical and psychosocial needs,” adds Forman. “Moreover, therapists even use technology to create functional treatment sessions. For example, our occupational therapists worked with patients on how to use technology to schedule medical appointments, order groceries, arrange for medication delivery and communicate with loved ones.”
3. COVID has shown everyone the importance of improvising, adapting and modifying routines.
“Therapists are change warriors,” says Forman. “They are trained to be solutions-focused, so they are able to pivot and adapt as new situations arise. If we can bolster social interaction, enhance engagement and enjoy therapy sessions, why not consider hosting classes and providing treatment sessions in hallways and outside doorways?”
Therapists who focus on function can create entire treatment sessions around everyday tasks and items found in the patients’ rooms or nearby areas, says Karen Welsh, senior director of clinical outcomes for Functional Pathways.
“Think outside the gym!” she emphasizes. “It’s not about the fancy weights and equipment, especially knowing the patients won’t have access to those items once they return home. It’s just as easy to set up an obstacle course in a patient’s room to work on balance, gait and sequencing as it is in the gym, and is most likely a closer simulation of their home environment.”
4. COVID has taught those managing workforces about the need to treat staff as carefully and mindfully as they do their patients.
“At the core of our profession, we’re taught to look at the whole person, even with the physical therapist who says, ‘I’m just the muscles and bones person,’ or the occupational and speech therapist who says, ‘I just deal with the cognitive stuff,’” says Riccio.
“As a country, how we look at frontline, first-responding providers has forever changed post-COVID,” he adds. “Because if that hero culture goes away or, even worse, if we just keep printing the sign out front but we don’t invest in mental health counseling and improving healthcare benefits inside, then we’re going to be in a bad way down the road. It’s important we never stop looking at them as heroes long after the pandemic has passed.”
COVID also has driven home the power of human connection, and it must be constantly nurtured in staff and those in their care. “Most residents would rather share a donut in a two-star double room than sit alone for months on end in a five-star suite,” Riccio adds.
From the October 2021 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
