Excellence in Action: Going the Extra Mile to Maintain Functional Gains.

In Chanute, Kansas, our team is “ALL IN” for out-of-the-box solutions that improve function and meet the needs of our patients.  A long-term care resident at our facility has been receiving skilled maintenance therapy for PT and OT. Following a Right Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) and a right hip fracture in 2018, she developed Left-sided Hemiparesis and Hemiplegia. The resident qualified for Skilled Maintenance therapy and needed constant modification and therapy related to tonal changes due to the CVA.  These tonal changes caused a variety of issues with positioning, self-feeding, personal hygiene, dressing, and mobility. 

As time passed, even with skilled maintenance, the patient progressively declined.  She began to require maximum assistance and was non-ambulatory.  Her self-feeding abilities declined, and the resident’s family begun discussing transitioning her to Hospice services

After contracting COVID-19 in February 2021, the patient qualified to receive skilled therapy services with our innovative therapists:  Brian, PT, Sarah, PTA, Sara, OT, and Kimberly, OTA.   The therapists began implementing skilled therapy interventions focusing on regressive support activities.  Functional transfer training and self-feeding activities were implemented as well as extensive trunk and lower-extremity (LE) stretching activities to reduce positional and postural strain issues.  Additionally, our Therapy Team began discussing the possibility of the patient receiving Botox injections, which would help address the patient’s tonal changes.

Through a combination of skilled therapy and Botox injections, this resident was able to resume self-feeding tasks without the use of special utensils and can now pull herself up to the parallel bars with Contact Guard Assistance (CGA).  Additionally, her spouse has noticed global improvements in her functional abilities.

Our therapists strive to maintain their functional gains through innovative Skilled Maintenance programs.  What a great example of going the extra mile to provide the TMC Experience and to make a positive difference in the lives of those we serve!