Advantage Therapy Star!
The Star for January 2024 is Nancy Sell! Nancy has been a resident of Arbutus Park since 2015, and she moved into Personal Care in March of 2023. Since her arrival, there have been many ups and downs from various ailments that warranted the need for both Physical and Occupational Therapy services. Throughout the last several months, we have had the pleasure to work with Nancy multiple times to improve functional mobility and maintain an independent lifestyle.
Nancy has participated in a variety of different strengthening, balance, safety-oriented sessions to help with activities and quality of life. Nancy was always able to rebound and make vast improvements immediately after starting therapy services.
Nancy was chosen for this month’s star because of her willingness to participate and witty attitude towards any hardship. Nancy always has a smile and positive approach to any exercise or activity performed in therapy sessions without ever declining or making an excuse. Willing to try difficult tasks to prove she can complete whatever is asked always led Nancy to successfully make improvements on a consistent basis. Congratulations Nancy on all of your accomplishments!
The Arbutus Park “Star” for November 2023 is Deb Bonski!
If you have not yet met her, you are missing out. Deb is outgoing and fun-loving with a sense of humor and kind heart that is unmatched. She is extremely motivated and determined. It is with that determination and hard work that she has succeeded with her therapy. She recently had some declines due to a medical condition and has worked hard in her therapy sessions to improve and get back to her normal level.
Deb was a candidate for the maintenance therapy that we offer that will help prevent her from having declines, continuing to work on her strengthening and standing using our OmniCycle and standing frame. Some days we listen to music as we work or Deb will sing, one of her talents and a passion of hers, as she was a choir director and music teacher for many years.
Here at APRC, you become family and we are lucky to have Deb be a part of it. Deb shared, “Therapy encourages me to do my best in strengthening for my whole body and good socialization while doing it,” as she let out a laugh and continued, “They make me feel like family. And I love how all the therapists work together to help me do my best.”
Introducing Arbutus Star of the Month for May 2023, Florence Davis!
Florence became a part of our Arbutus family when she and her loved ones decided she needed more assistance with her daily care. She is a strong-willed and very independent lady who has worked hard during therapy sessions and shows motivation and a continued determination to remain as independent as possible. She has improved her balance, endurance, and ambulation since admission, requiring less assistance from her caregivers.
She is very proud of her children and grandchildren, keeping up to date with all they are involved in, helping to keep her motivated to remain strong.
“Dee Dee,” as she prefers, is becoming acquainted with her new environment at Arbutus and becoming involved with activities of her choice. Congratulations on a job well done, and welcome to Arbutus Park Retirement Community. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your care!
Rosella has been chosen as the Star of the Month for April 2023. She came to Arbutus Park at the end of February, after a short hospitalization due to swelling in her legs and more difficulty with walking.
In these last few weeks, she has worked hard during her therapy sessions and showed her determination and motivation. She says, “Not bad for someone who is 89!” In therapy, we made modifications to her bathroom and worked on strengthening, walking, and self-care tasks, and she has demonstrated significant improvement.
Rosella was ready to go home, but made the decision to remain here at Arbutus Park for long-term care. She says, “If you need help, come here. They listen, really listen. They made me feel comfortable with choosing to stay here instead of going back to my house. I feel safer here.”
If you had the pleasure to meet her, you would quickly discover that ‘Nana’, as she is called by her family, absolutely loves the color purple and her room is filled with color. She also has great love for her family and grandkids, but was sure to say, “Of course, God is always first, but after that is my family, grandkids, and great grandkids.”
Rosella, we welcome you to our family and congratulate you on being this month’s star!
The Arbutus Park Star for January 2023 is Virginia Jakubac!
Virginia came to Arbutus Park after suffering a fall at home in her apartment. After being in the hospital for a short period of time, Virginia came to us to work with Physical and Occupational Therapies to improve her functional mobility, safety, and overall quality of life.
Virginia was highly motivated to participate in therapy services and showed excitement with each session, making progress very quickly. Within the first week at Arbutus, Virginia made exceptional progress with functional activity tolerance and safety. Often during therapy services she would ask questions about what exercises or other things she could perform on her own to help progress. Virginia said that she was very active throughout her life and grew up on a farm, being no stranger to hard work.
Virginia was picked for this month’s Arbutus star because of her overall attitude with therapy and how quickly she was able to improve. Virginia continues to want to make progress with each therapy session, even after specific goals were met and has a strong desire to be able to perform all tasks without assistance to facilitate full independence.
Arbutus Park Retirement Community Star for September 2022, Christina Milavec.
Christina, a long-term resident here since July 2020, has been involved in therapy services throughout her time here. Most recently, Christina has been participating in Occupational Therapy to work on the overall maintenance of her upper extremity range of motion and strength ability. She has been working very hard at continuing to complete standing and balance activities to continue to perform her functional mobility.
Christina had a slight decline a few weeks ago, which warranted this most recent Occupational Therapy episode. She did not quit though; Christina is always willing to exercise and utilize any equipment provided to maximize her level of independence. When entering Christina’s room to begin a therapy session, her therapists are always greeted with a big smile. She also has quite a sense of humor, which can play a big part in recovery. Upon discharge from therapy, she continues to work daily with restorative nursing on maintaining her ability to walk up and down the hallways using her walker with minimal assistance. Congratulations, Christina, on a job well done!
The Arbutus Park “Star” for August 2022 is Mary Utzman!
Mary arrived at Arbutus following an emergent episode, resulting in a fractured sternum. Initially, she was having difficulty moving and getting out of bed and performing her activities of daily living, but with much perseverance and a positive attitude, she quickly began to improve her mobility and self-care levels. Mary continues to express positive thoughts about her stay at Arbutus Park, commenting on how thankful she is for her caregivers, her comfort with her level of care, and how much they have helped her to work towards her goals.
Mary has demonstrated marked improvements with her care, requiring decreased assistance to accomplish tasks. She looks forward to being able to walk better and with less assistance each day. Her uplifting spirit has helped her begin to achieve her goals in her therapy sessions.
Mary was chosen as Star of the Month because of her hard work and determination. Congratulations, Mary, on a job well done. Keep up the good work! As in the words of Mary, “Life is what you make it! Make it count!”
The Arbutus Park Therapy “Star” for March 2022 is Florence!
Florence became a Manor resident in January 2017 following an extensive decline in her health and an extended stay at a local rehabilitation center. She had to relearn the simplest of tasks that we all take for granted, in which she ended up working hard to regain her abilities. She is now able to complete self-care tasks and walk with assistance using a wheeled walker. Her mission was accomplished.
Then in 2022, she again was impacted with a viral set back, which caused her to become deconditioned again. After some extensive thinking, Florence agreed to be re-evaluated by therapy to regain her strength and ability to walk her previous distance in the second-floor hallway. Florence was seen by therapy services three times a week, and also followed by restorative care. Her strength has resumed and her ambulation distance has also resumed.
As you walk past her room at the right moment, you will see her doing her exercises of upper body strengthening with an overhead pulley and ankle weights to sustain her strength and ROM. Great job Flo!