Recently, Raegan Aylor-Biggs, our Clinical Manager from GlenWood Park Retirement Village in Princeton, WV, was speaking at a Lunch and Learn designed to help the facility obtain new residents. Attending the presentation were people from the community, GWP staff and current residents of GlenWood Park. After Raegan was finished speaking about the benefits of therapy a women stood up who is a current resident of GlenWood and said the following:
“Three and a half years ago I came to GlenWood after a winter very similar to this one. I had fallen eight times, the last fall I wound up on my back and could not get up. I lived alone in a house with stairs and four floors! I have severe scoliosis and managed to scoot and crawl to a low chair and was able to pull myself up. My decision to come to GlenWood followed. I thought by this time (3 1/2 years later) I would not be able to walk. I am still walking with my roller walker and I am not in a wheelchair yet. Physical therapy taught me exercises before I get out of bed in the morning. We have exercises three times a week with a group and I walk 15 minutes, three times after every meal. I rest a lot!!”
What an incredible testament to the therapy staff at GlenWood Park. They impacted this woman, unknowingly, enough to have her stand up in a setting the did not require her to, and tell her story. A story that she was proud of and wanted to share with others in hopes that they would come to this facility to live and take advantage of everything that GlenWood Park has to offer. Congratulations to everyone involved!
In GlenwWood Park Retirement Village’s Assisted Living Facility, interested residents participate in therapy for a short, two week intervention to establish a baseline for providing training and educations regarding a Functional maintenance Exercise Program. These exercises include head to toe stretches, resistance training for the arms and legs, aerobic activity, and standing exercises to improve balance. Physical and Occupational therapists initially teach these residents the exercise routines, determine their tolerance to resistance and activities, and assess their ability to safely complete the balance exercises. Once the Functional Maintenance Exercise Program has been established based on each resident’s individual needs, he/she is discharged from therapy services, as the Program is run by the facility staff, three(3) days per week. This program has become so popular in assisted living that the activities department now has two sessions on each of those days!
Facility staff and therapy staff as well have noticed improvements in overall activity tolerance, maintenance with activities of daily living and decreased falls in the assisted living population. We believe these are all in part related to the Functional Maintenance Exercise Program.
