Rehab

Employee Wellness, Rehab

Employee Gym Orientation

All Welia Health employees have free 24/7 access to the employee gym onsite! Staff need to complete a 15 minute orientation with someone from our Rehab Team and then they’re good to go! Call x3356 to schedule your orientation.

Work in Hinckley or Pine City? Ask a Rehab employee to give you an orientation in the rehab gym. It’s available for employee use during the hours of 5-7am and 5:30-7pm.

Find some information about heart health and exercise in this intranet post.

Rehab

Congratulations to Grace Akkerman on her retirement!

Grace has been with the rehabilitation family for 30 years. Grace started at Kanabec Hospital in 1990 when there were three staff members in the PT department, Rita Richardson, Jean Mork and herself.   She played a vital role in the growth of that one room department to the large multi-therapist department of today.

We recognize her dedication as a team player throughout the years, as she continued to advance her skills and knowledge in order to provide the best patient care possible and adapt to the ever- evolving rigor of the therapy profession.

Grace’s accomplishments over the years include becoming certified in the LSVT BIG program for Parkinson’s and a Certified Wound Care Associate.

We thank Grace for her commitment to exceptional patient care over the years.  Her positive impact on patients and co-workers alike will always be remembered and appreciated. 

Grace’s last day is Monday, October 12th.  There will not be a formal party, but feel free to drop Grace a card or word of congratulations.

~your rehabilitation family

Rehab

Occupational Therapy Month

April is Occupational Therapy Month!

Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants are part of a vitally important profession that helps people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. Their holistic and customized approach to evaluations, interventions, and outcomes help a child with disabilities participate in school and in social situations, assist a person recovering from injuries to regain skills, aid an older adult to stay as independent as possible, and offer the specialized support and services, including Hand Therapy, to people of all ages and in all circumstances that only occupational therapy can provide.

For more information: Occupational Therapy, Hand Therapy

Thank you to our Welia Health Occupational Therapy department staff!

Heather Alexander

Sarah Carpenter

Teresa Clark

Sarah Farber

Missy Hermanson

Katlyn Lombard

Aileen Roberts

Rehab

Rehabilitation All-Staff Meeting

Today from 10:30-12:00 the rehabilitation department will be closed for an all-staff meeting. All orders entered will automatically appear in our Workqueue and we we will call those patients this afternoon.

Thank you for you patience during this time so we can gather as a group to continue to learn how we can provide the best patient care.

Rehab

New Service for Patients with PAD!

 

We are pleased to offer a new service for patients with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)! 

Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) for Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a Medicare approved program that operates similar to cardiac rehab.  Once an order is entered, the Rehabilitation Support Staff will electronically receive it and will contact the patient to set up the initial appointment.

Please see the details below and call x3356 with any questions.

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Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

Order #: [209287]

-Indications:

  • Diagnosis of PAD, ankle brachial index (ABI) < .90, and/or claudication during ambulation.

-SET PAD Program Overview:

  • Frequency: 3 sessions per week.
  • Length of Therapy: 12 weeks (up to 36 total sessions).
  • Duration: Each session will last at least 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes.
  • Exercise Modality: Treadmill and non-treadmill walking. If a patient is unable to complete this exercise, or if the duration is too short where benefits are deemed unlikely to occur, recumbent steppers and bike ergometers will be utilized.
  • Intensity: Exercise intensity will be gauged by the rate of perceived exertion based on claudication. Scale is ranked from 1-10. Patients will exercise up to an intensity of 7-9 rating of perceived exertion (RPE), rest until RPE is down to a 3 or lower, and repeat as tolerated up to 30-60 minutes.
  • EKG Monitored: Patients will not be monitored during exercise sessions.
  • Measurements: ABI will be taken both before and after exercise.
  • Assessments: Functional capacity and quality of life will be measured with the 6 minute walk test, PROMIS questionnaire, walking impairment questionnaire, and the PADQOL.

-Learning Objectives:

  • Risk factors and symptoms associated with PAD and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
  • Benefits of exercising with PAD.
  • Exercise intensity and progression.
  • How to exercise while PAD symptoms are present and when to stop exercising or rest.
  • How to exercise by themselves.

-Goals and Outcomes:

  • Target Goal: Able to walk pain-free 30-60 minutes a day, excluding rest breaks,           5-7 days per week.

 

  • Improve the patient’s ability to walk, in terms of both distance and speed.
  • Improve the patient’s quality of life.
  • Prevent the progression to critical leg ischemia and limb amputation.
  • Decrease the patient’s risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
  • Decrease the patient’s risk of non-fatal MI or stroke.
  • Decrease the patient’s risk of fatal MI or stroke.
  • Decrease the time to onset of claudication.

More information can be found HERE.

Marketing, Rehab

FirstLight’s Jenny Niedzielski Receives Certification in Chronic Wound Care

Jenny Niedzielski, PTA, CLT-LANA, (and now) CWCA has recently been certified in Wound Care Management to help grow and improve Wound Services offered through Rehabilitation Services in our Mora and Pine City locations.

Board certification in wound management is achieved through a rigorous process created by the American Board of Wound Management (ABWM). Those professionals who obtain certification are designated as a Certified Wound Care Associate (CWCA). A CWCA is a key member of the wound management team and works to reduce the costs associated with and improve the treatment of chronic wounds.

Established in 1995, ABWM has been dedicated to the multidisciplinary team approach in promoting the prevention, care and treatment of acute and chronic wounds. Their primary function as an organization is to monitor a national certification process, recognize ability and competency, promote and educate, and increase standards of health and wound management.

Jenny started practicing physical therapy in 2001. With Jenny’s background and experience in Lymphedema treatment, which is often correlated with wound care, along with her other professional experience (pool therapy and orthopedics), she is an asset to have within FirstLight’s Rehabilitation Services department.

Jenny is joined by a team made of up of other physical therapists and physical therapy assistants who all have a wide experience in the care management of wounds. The team includes Erica Hinks, PT, MA; Grace Akkerman, PTA, CWCA, LSVT, who is ABWM certified; and Julie O’Connor, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, CWS, who is also ABWM certified.

Congratulations Jenny!

Rehab

Rehabilitation All-Staff Meeting

Today from 10:30-12:00 the rehabilitation department will be closed for an all-staff meeting.  All orders entered will automatically appear in our Workqueue and we we will call those patients this afternoon.

 

Thank you for you patience during this time so we can gather as a group to continue to learn how we can provide the best patient care.

Marketing, Rehab

Julie O’Connor Receives Certification in Chronic Wound Care

Julie O’Connor, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, (and now) CWS has recently been certified in Wound Care Management to help grow and improve Wound Services offered through Rehabilitation Services in our Mora and Pine City locations.

Board certification in wound management is achieved through a rigorous process created by the American Board of Wound Management (ABWM). Those professionals who obtain certification are designated as a Certified Wound Specialist (CWS). A CWS is a key member of the wound management team and works to reduce the costs associated with and improve the treatment of chronic wounds.

Established in 1995, ABWM has been dedicated to the multidisciplinary team approach in promoting the prevention, care and treatment of acute and chronic wounds. Their primary function as an organization is to monitor a national certification process, recognize ability and competency, promote and educate, and increase standards of health and wound management.

Julie started practicing physical therapy in 2004 and in 2006, Julie received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the College of St. Catherine.  With Julie’s background and experience in Lymphedema treatment, which is often correlated with wound care, along with her other professional experience (pool therapy, women’s health and orthopedics), she is an asset to have within FirstLight’s Rehabilitation Services department.

Julie is joined by a team made of up of other physical therapists and physical therapy assistants who all have a wide experience in the care management of wounds. The team includes Jean Mork, PT, LSVT; Erica Hinks, PT, MA; Jenny Niedzielski, PTA, CLT-LANA; and Grace Akkerman, PTA, CWCA, LSVT, who is also certified through the ABWM.

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