What is Sensory Processing? The ability to interpret the world around us through the use of the 7 Senses: 1. Sight 2. Sound 3. Taste 4. Touch 5. Smell 6. Proprioception (where is my body in relation to other people/objects?) 7. Vestibular Input (where is my head in relation to my center of gravity? These... Continue Reading →

Personally, when my routine has a good flow and rhythm and consistency, my days tend to go much better and my mind feels a lot less cluttered. The same is true for many of our residents. Most of them long for routine as much as we do. Often, skilled nursing facilities naturally have a flow... Continue Reading →

We all know that when you work in healthcare you face billing, productivity standards, and insurance regulations. After all, the healthcare profession is a business as well as a service. But the service we provide is to real, human people. People with families, feelings, frustrations, and fears.  I'll admit, when I first started working as... Continue Reading →

Seating and positioning is crucial when attempting to maximize functional performance. When posture is poor, functional performance will be poor. We need appropriate posture for successful toileting, safe self-feeding, independence with wheelchair mobility, and general active participation in the environment. Since many tasks among our long-term residents are performed from a seated position, we often... Continue Reading →

Patients who have been hospitalized for COPD exacerbation or pneumonia are great candidates for the SNF. They usually present with muscle weakness and pulmonary weakness, and have a high chance of returning home within a few weeks. When a patient is on condensed O2, there are a handful of components we need to keep in... Continue Reading →

When you have dementia, just about everything seems novel and new. A typical day is filled with new faces, new routines, new environments, and new expectations. So how do we as the OT help these patients adjust to a new routine, environment, and community? The answer: repetition. Studies have shown that new learning can occur... Continue Reading →

Mechanical lifts are a major part of safe care within the SNF. In our facility we use two mechanical lifts in particular; the stand-lift and the Hoyer. Both are used to safely assist with functional transfers across varying surfaces. If a patient requires at least max assist of 2 for a sit>stand transfer, it is... Continue Reading →

1. Typical Weight-Training Routine: Pop some weights on those ankles and get those legs moving! Make sure you're working on all muscle groups by moving each joint in all planes. Check out my Stories on Instagram for a quick video tutorial. 2. Practice Functional Transfers: Set up some chairs around the room and move from... Continue Reading →

I work in a relatively small building, which means our gym is relatively small. I'm definitely not complaining, but sometimes it can be challenging to simulate daily occupations when we have limited space. So we've learned to become resourceful when it comes to more complex IADL tasks. Recently, we had some overhead cabinets and kitchen-level... Continue Reading →