Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Home Health Physical Therapists Using Yoga as a part of their Treatment Interventions

Home Health Physical Therapists
Using Yoga as a part of their Treatment Interventions

They say 'Forewarned is Forearmed', but who knew the concept would one day be successfully applied to medical aspects of illness and medication. Although we all know that the diseases that are diagnosed at an early stage have better chances of being cured, but the new discoveries put light to therapies that can stop pain before it gets out of hand. 

Why Home Health Care?

With an increased trend in the Home based health care program people tend to avoid the huge hospitals and the formalities that come with it. Among the famous practices that are now replacing frequent visits to the hospital include chiropractic, acupuncture, respiratory treatments and general pain relief. The side effects caused by the allopathic treatments and the vast amount of expenses that the hospitals charge for common pains and strains are the main reason for the popularity of Home Health Care. 

The Importance of Yoga

There have always been a gym period at school and doctors are forever in the favor of exercise, but the concept of Yoga has never been given the importance it actually deserved. Research has it that Yoga can help treat the chronic aches and the nervous misalignment that even the Physical therapies cannot cure. It's for this reason perhaps that the Physical therapists in Los Angeles have officially included Yoga in the list of their treatment practices. Here is how you can take maximum benefit of Yoga exercises.

The Safe Procedure

To take the most of something, the first step is to understand the concept.  Many people who have been attending Yoga classes for more than a decade might complain of the uselessness of the effort, while others have convinced themselves of the healthiness of exercising whether or not it makes a physical difference to them. The first step for individuals is to realize that Yoga is not merely an exercise, but a treatment that can relax their muscles, improve their blood flow and treat their posture problems.

Like medicine, the different ailments require different antidotes, and it is crucial that the patient realizes where and how they are suffering. One you have determined where the problem lies, visit renown Home Health Care Agencies so that you can rely on them. The next step is to inquire the agency of their credentials and proceed to discussing your physical infirmity with them at length. You may not realize how important this procedure is, for Yoga if used without official advice may lead to the physical condition getting even worse.

Benefits of Yoga in Home Health Care

Whether you are past the retirement age or still young and fit, exercise classes would help retain your healthy attire for a longer period of time and lower the chances of swollen bones and rigid muscles. Here are a few other reasons why Yoga is essential for your health.

Yoga can help prevent and lower:
  • ·        Sugar level.
  • ·        High blood pressure.
  • ·        The breaking of your cartilages.
  • ·        Pain in the joints and spinal cord.

Yoga can improve:
  • ·        Your structural balance.
  • ·        The flexibility of your body.
  • ·        Your metabolism.

Yoga can maintain:
  • ·       Your nervous system alignment.
  • ·        Better posture.
  • ·        Increased breathing system.



Saturday, February 6, 2016

4 Things You Need to Know about Fall Prevention

Falling can be dangerous for any individual, but it is especially dangerous for seniors and the elderly. As we age, our bones become less and less dense, making them more fragile and susceptible to breaking, even with just a simple slip or tumble that would have left us just with bruises when we were younger. Preventing falls should be the primary concern of any senior or any person who is a caregiver to an elderly person. Here are four things you need to know about fall prevention:

1.      You can ask your doctor about the best way to prevent falls. Not only will your doctor know which of your medications could potentially make you more likely to fall (many medications have dizziness as a side effect), he will also know about your fall history and if you have any conditions (like a heart condition) that might make you more likely to fall.

2.      You need to wear better shoes. Not all shoes are created equally. There is a reason that you often see seniors wearing the same types of shoes—shoes with thick, heavily-treaded soles and plenty of cushioning. These shoes make it much less likely that you will slip on a slick floor or lose your footing on a step, which significantly lowers your chance of falling and breaking something; an injury that is much more serious at fifty, sixty, seventy, and beyond than it is at ten or twenty.

3.      Staying active is actually one of the best ways to prevent a fall or to keep a fall from being severe. It might sound like the safest way to prevent a fall is to sit in your home and avoid going outdoors or walking around. The opposite is actually true. If you stay physically active, not only will you preventing the natural loss of bone density, you will also be improving your coordination and flexibility, which means fewer falls and a much lower chance that the fall will be serious.

4.      You need to make your home fall-proof. This doesn’t mean that you have to move into a padded room, it just means that you should be mindful about hazards in your own home, like cords, rugs, loose floorboards, and boxes. You will be far less likely to fall if there are fewer things in your home to trip over.

We at the Center4PT Services, Inc. can arrange for a Home Safety Assessment, a session to discuss specific Fall Prevention/Recovery Strategies, and or the proper use of adaptive equipment such as walkers and canes in an effort to prevent falls and other injuries in the home.  Call us to schedule a home visit.


 






Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Edema and Home Health

Edema and Home Health
By Ralph Santos, Center4PT Services, Inc.
January 2016

In the home health setting we often encounter cases of edema which typically occur in the bilateral lower extremities.  This edema can often deter the patient’s ability to perform their activities of daily living (ADLs), can cause a decreased active range of motion (AROM), can contribute to pain or discomfort, can negatively affect our clients emotional well being, can disrupt our clients circadian rhythms, can induce harmful stress levels and so much more.  As home health therapists we need to understand what are the causes of the edema, how to properly assess and document the edema and how to properly treat the edema.

Causes of edema.  Edema or swelling is the accumulation of fluids in the tissues which can be attributed to either a systemic cause.  The organs that generally contribute to the systemic related edema are the liver, the heart and the kidneys which can be related to excessive sodium levels.  Another cause of edema related to the liver and the kidneys can be a decrease in albumin levels. 

Pitting Edema versus Non Pitting Edema.  Edema is often measured by two subjective tests:  (1) how deep is the space on the limb after you release pressure with a finger and (2) how long will it take for the limb to return to its resting state.  Pitting edema can be seen by applying pressure with ones fingers to the affected limb or in many of my patient’s case, by removing their shoe or socks and looking for what appears to be a tourniquet or indentation caused by the shoe or sock.  In non pitting edema, the skin does not indent and one of the major causes for non pitting edema can be the diagnosis of lymphedema which affects the lymph system.  My own experience is that with lymphedema the cause is related to breast cancer with a subsequent mastectomy, lymph node surgery, radiation therapy and or an increased stress level.  Other reasons for non-pitting edema may be a low thyroid level or a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Here is a scale that I found in the 2015 Corridor Group Therapy Quickflips:

Edema Score
Scale
Depth of Pitting
Response time to Refill
Trace
1+
Slight
Rapid
Mild
2+
0.6 cm (0-1/4 in)
10-15 Seconds
Moderate
3+
0.6 – 1.3 cm (1/4 in – ½ in)
1-2 Minutes
Severe
4+
1.3 – 2.5 cm (1/2 in – 1 in)
2-5 Minutes

I can honestly say that assessing edema can be quite subjective but this scale and others like the:

1.  O’Sullivan, S.B. and Schmitz T.J. (Eds.). (2007). Physical rehabilitation: assessment and treatment (5th ed.). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company. p.659

2.  Hogan, M (2007) Medical-Surgical Nursing (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City: Prentice Hall

3.  Brunner L. (1982).The Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. (3rd ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia. p.36


are other options, with the bottom line being that we as home health therapists need to be consistent when documenting edema.

How to treat edema?  The conservative edema reduction strategies can include: 

(1) Teach and encourage active range of motion exercises (AROM) to help with circulation and assist the heart in pumping excess fluid.

(2)  Elevating the affected limb above the level of the heart.  I usually tell my patients to elevate their limb(s) when going to sleep since we spend half of our lives in bed.  I also tell my patients to avoid dependent positions during the day using chairs with arm rests, splints and other external devices for positioning.

(3)  A very superficial massage where you elevate the limb above the heart and massage the fluids back towards the heart may be helpful.  When I was going to school, this was often referred to as a retrograde massage and when I got my certification in lymphedema, I learned that the lymph system is very superficial and a light massage is often very effective.

(4)  Compression via TED Hoses or other garments.  These garments provide a certain amount of MM Hg (millimeter of mercury) and are often prescribed by a physician.  The only problem with these garments is the actual donning/doffing process but otherwise it will help with preventing fluid from collecting in the tissue.

(5) Skin Hydration.  I always tell my patient’s to keep their skin clean and well moisturized.  I usually recommend an aloe vera based lotion during the summer months and a butter based lotion during the winter months.  I myself stay away from thick oil based lotions such as A&D, unless there is a certain medical reason to use said lotions.

(6) Salt.  Reducing the amount of foods that contain sodium is essential.  A television dinner, a microwavable noodle soup, and other foods that our patients consume due to ease of preparation contain a ton of sodium and this will only contribute to their edema battles. 

Finally, the physicians will often look at other treatments such as using diuretics which have their own pros and cons.  My thought is that we as home health therapists need to be cognizant of the causes of edema, how to properly assess/document edema, and how to teach our patients to incorporate conservative edema reduction strategies. 

Sources:
1.  Therapy Quikflips, The Corridor Guide for Home Health Therapists. 2015.
2.  http://www.mayoclinic.org/
3.  http://www.medicinenet.com/
4.  http://geriatrictoolkit.missouri.edu/cv/pitting_edema.htm





As a clinician and active owner of the Center4PT Services, Inc., I believe that client care is the utmost priority with our company being on the leading edge with its customer care!  We are home health staffing agency that partners up with skilled home health agencies and hospice agencies in the Los Angeles County to provide skilled Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Social Work Services for homebound clients.  Our mission is to be the leading provider of in-the-home Therapy Services in the Greater Los Angeles area by providing Timely, Quality, Efficient, & Competent Therapy Services to all of the Clients that we Serve!

Our focus is on the rehabilitation of our clients and ensuring that our clients get better and progress towards independence!  We know that through hard work and through perseverance our clients get better, stronger faster!  We also realize that in today's medical model we have to do more with less with often medical insurers authorizing less visits and demanding more functional results.  We have made many adaptations to include using on line resources for our clients and making those vital phone calls to ensure that our clients indeed are making gains with our staff.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for our staff to be competent and compassionate towards each other and towards our clients.  If you are looking for a solid home health company with lots of experience and lots of support, then the Center4PT Services, Inc. is your new home!

(626) 683-9959 Office                                                               Email:  Ralph@Center4PT.com

(626) 683-9969 Fax                                                                   Website:  www.Center4PT.com

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Does Home Health Care have a future?

DOES HOME HEALTH CARE HAVE A FUTURE?
by Ralph Santos, CEO, MBA, OTR/L




They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
                                                                                                                                      Maya Angelou

Does home health care delivery either in the form of a traditional home care agency or a hospice agency have a future?  According to Kimberly Leonard in an article in U.S. News and World Report entitled, Is Home Health a Solution to Rising Health Costs?, the answer is a resounding yes! 

As a skilled home health care provider for the past twenty years, I have seen the tides ebb and flow in various directions with reimbursement being the common denominator when discussing the changes in home health care.  The fact has always been obvious:  Patients want to be home to begin their recovery from an illness, an injury, a surgery or any other life changing event.  In this time frame, timing, comfort and their [the patient's] overall quality of life are essential to the rehabilitation process.  How many times have I heard patients tell me that they love being home with their family, eating their home cooked foods, spending time with their pets, their familiar surroundings.  Now, before people start critiquing this blog, please understand that there are certain conditions that do warrant the patient to be placed in an acute care facility or a sub-acute care facility or in an extended care facility such as a convalescent home.  I do not want to in anyway infer that we should take our ill patients and put them all in their homes.  My point is that if the patient is stable and able to be in his/her own home with the proper family/caregiver support systems in place and the proper means to address shelter, safety, comfort, healthy meals, and a solid medical support system such as a home health agency that we should allow them [our patients] to that quality of life that is attained by being in their homes. 

Next, in the article written by Kimberly Leonard, it states many interesting facts, of which two are staggering:  (1) "since 2011 a wave of 77 million baby boomers only started to become eligible for Medicare" and (2) "the population of people 80 and over nearly triples between 2010 and 2050."  What do these number mean to us in the home health care industry?  The answer is simple.   We have an insurmountable task ahead of us in trying to keep up a high quality of care in alignment with a huge demand curve along with a huge decrease in reimbursement. 

In my case, I can attest that with the reimbursement levels coming down and the cost of living rising, my experience tells me that many healthcare providers may think twice about entering the home health care setting.  Variables such as the cost of:  rent, fuel, food, water (especially in California) commingled with our basic yearly rate of inflation and we have health care professionals scrambling to see where they will make enough money to pay for their basic staples. 

In my opinion, we are heading into a tsunami of patients needing home health care services with our current health care infrastructure in a position of uncertainty and instability.  Our uncertainty stems from our lack of understanding that patients want to be in their homes (when applicable) and that the cost of home health when compared to an acute hospital stay or when compared to a skilled nursing facility stay are notably different.  According to the article written by Kimberly Leonard, "a person who undergoes surgery and is transitioned to home care for a month can expect a bill for about $1,200 - as opposed to a $12,000 bill for a skilled nursing facility." 

In closing, we as healthcare providers need to be vigilant, patient centered, and consistent advocates on behalf of our patients and their families.  We need to educate our patients when it would be beneficial to them being placed in a facility for medical care versus when going home and receiving home health would be warranted.  We need to understand that the home environment is the most conducive to a psychosocial well being and a greater quality of life!
Will there be a future for home health care?  I believe a better phrase will be to ask:  What will be the future of our growing older adult homebound population without home health care?


Ralph Santos, CEO, MBA, OTR/L,is the owner of the Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc. located at 1650 E. Walnut Street, #B, Pasadena, CA 91106. Their office number is: (626) 683-9959. The Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc., specializes in the training and guidance of PT, OT, ST and MSWs in the home health care setting. The company’s website is: www.Center4PT.com. The Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc., also provides home health agencies and hospices with in-office training, lectures to senior centers, training to caregivers, and is able to help clients with choosing a home health care or hospice agency.  Email:  Ralph@Center4PT.com

Sunday, May 17, 2015

What Defines a GOOD Home Health Therapist?

What Defines a GOOD Home Health Therapist?
by Ralph Santos, CEO, MBA, OTR/L
Owner: Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc.
PT
 As an occupational therapist with more than 20 years of home health experience, I can say that it’s also helpful to ask this article title’s contrasting question: “What makes up a not-so-good home health therapist?” Looking at the answers to these questions through the home health lens is important for all therapists and all therapy-related settings. Please note that throughout this article, the term therapy will pertain to physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and social workers in the home-heath setting; the term client will pertain to those who receive care.
The biggest obstacle to understanding good or not-so-good therapy resides in a few variables, starting with the clinician. Does the clinician possess solid clinical reasoning skills necessary for understanding what to do with each client?
I once had a client who had a cerebral vascular accident (CVA or stroke) that left her non-dominant left side with residual weakness. She complained that her middle finger on her right hand had pain and weakness. She had gone to see a hand therapist who gave her some thera-putty and a set of hand exercises. This was fine, but during my evaluation, I asked her about her meaningful ADLs (activities of daily living), and she immediately exclaimed how much she loved to sew. That’s when it all became apparent that sewing in conjunction with her recent stroke revealed that she did not know how to use compensatory techniques, joint protection principles, muscle energy techniques, gentle stretching, avoiding sensitive tissue irritation, or how to  recognize and avoid symptoms of overuse in general.  This underscores how basic clinical reasoning is crucial to making a meaningful change on our clients’ lives!
Another obstacle to understanding good or not-so-good therapy involves the resources that determine whether or not the clinician will be able to perceive the set of contributing factors that contribute to the client’s ability or inability to perform tasks (such as walking and swallowing food, beverages and medicine—and all other such ADLs). In addition to effective clinical reasoning, the greatest resource worth prioritizing and attaining would be what I call the therapist’s tool bag.Senior Punching
If I were to use the analogy of a contractor, I would state that therapists often get to work with a client who has recently sustained a loss of some sort, whether it is a loss in their ability to walk or a loss in their ability to make a meal for themselves or for their loved ones. We are given the opportunity and the privilege to make some changes in our client’s lives that will help restore some purposeful meaning! Our tool bags are all unique and differ based on who we are, what experiences we have had, what interests us in the therapy world, what mentors have been in our therapy lives, and how much we enjoy what we do as therapists. For example, let’s take a therapist who has worked in the pediatric field for 10 years and has made a consistent effort to attend at least one continuing education seminar on topics related to pediatrics annually. This therapist also attends his/her association’s (both state and national) annual meetings consistently and she has made a solid network of pediatric health care professionals. This therapist would have a tool bag that would be significant to her being able to use her acquired “tricks” and solid empirically-based CLINICAL SKILLS that will get her client to perform at a higher level. Now compare this pediatric therapist with a new therapy graduate with little to no experience besides a college education and clinical rotations. The obvious difference is based on experience and levels of involvement in the respective fields.
I once had a therapist who called me and asked me for ideas on what to do; this therapist understood her limitations and was open to accepting help. The not-so-good thing was that her tool bag was not sufficiently outfitted for that particular client. If this therapist had not sought help, what outcome would have occurred? There are some therapists who run out of ideas and claim that a client has plateaued, wrongly indicating that the client is at the best he or she will ever be physically, mentally and emotionally. This label triggers a negative domino effect. First of all, the therapist leaves the client high, dry and alone with no therapy interventions. Second of all, the client believes that this is the very best that they are ever going to be. Please do not get me wrong—I know that there are illnesses and traumas for which we know certain return of movement or function will be minimal, but for the vast majority, it is not fair to take away their hope of becoming stronger. I learned the hard way that no matter how well-equipped our tool bag is, a patient with no hope will equate to a client for whom we often cannot make a difference. It is a tough pill to swallow when the client believes he or she will not get any better and that they are destined to have a life without meaning, without any goals, and without any hope. Perhaps most tragically, the label of plateau will tell our “friendly” insurance carriers to deny further therapy services in the foreseen future.
Whether or not we are conscious of it, we as therapists carry a well-respected professional opinion. In fact, we fight all of the time to make sure that the health care community understands that we have value and that our findings are anchored on research findings. As we fight for this respect from our colleagues, we should understand that when we label our clients as having plateaued, we are labeling them as no longer being capable of getting better. Using this label is a force of bad habit and/or sheer ignorance. In fact, when I first started my first company, Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc., we spent years with a check-off box on our discharge summary that stated, “The patient has plateaued,” and I came to realize that we were doing a disservice to our clients. Well, hindsight is 20-20!
Seniors with Thumbs Up
Another point that I have come to understand is what I call the therapeutic use of the self. What does this mean? Some people are inherently good people persons while other struggle their whole lives trying to interact with other people—especially with strangers. As a therapist, it is understood that we will interact with clients, their loved ones and the health care team that accompanies every client. The therapeutic use of self would encompass those therapists’ attributes that makes their very presence a healing experience.
Interestingly, the client will often be the judge of whether or not he or she feels that you will make them better. The energy that you give off, the level of confidence that you exude, the compassion that you demonstrate (or the lack thereof) will be transmitted at the initial client-therapist visit. In many cases, the moment that you call your client over the phone, they will begin their evaluation process. This therapeutic use of self is defined over the initial encounter and during every interactionthat occurs until you discharge that client. A client will know immediately the amount of time, effort and care you as a therapist are willing to invest into them.
Often you will hear stories where clients no longer want any more therapy visits, or where we as therapists label certain clients as “difficult,” “non-compliant” or with some other negative label. The problem does not stop at the fact that we have not developed a therapeutic use of self or that the client has been labeled erroneously by us. The real problem is that the client now believes that all therapists are incompetent, uncaring or just plainly do not care. Such negative cycles unfortunately can begin with us and end with a discontented client. To add insult to injury, this cycle usually will escalate. The client has his or her own social circle and this now becomes a contagion that spreads faster than any virus. And these clients’ friends all have their own social circles and their own health care team. As you can deduce, the vicious circle from one discontented client can become a nightmare. This will impact the therapist in many not-so-good ways, including a tarnished reputation, the negativity of the entire therapy community instigated by defined social circles, the lack of trust by payer sources, the potential exclusion in health care reform and so on. When we care, our clients know it, and when they know it, they will not only get better but it will help to bring to light the efficacy of all of us as therapists!
Pic 2Remember that we are one part of a larger group of health care professionals and paraprofessionals that provide a service or a product to our clients. It is important for therapists to understand that our roles are defined by our Scope of Practice and that this dictates what we legally can and cannot do. As a therapist, knowing what and where to refer our clients is essential. Oftentimes, a therapist may or may not see those red flags that come out in a normal therapy visit, which should raise your eyebrows and should elicit some therapeutic action. I like to use a sports analogy when referring to these red flags. If you think of almost any team sport, especially one that involves a ball, a strategy and a goal, you can imagine that our role on the health care team is essentially the same. Let me elaborate. When we see our clients, we listen to them, we evaluate them, we read their past medical history and we look at their current medications and so forth. We eventually create a plan of care that includes what we are going to do with the problems that have been identified and what the future for these clients might be; then steps are made to achieving therapeutic goals. That is the game plan!
The plan of care is our game plan in health care. I imagine the ball itself to be what actions are necessary in the competent care of our clients. For example, let’s say that your client is complaining of frequent falling episodes and you render a set of visual perceptual evaluations and a series of deficits are discovered that can or should be addressed by either one or more health care professionals. You might recommend an optometrist to assess the client’s vision and you may recommend a neurologist to address suspected neurological involvement, and you may recommend an occupational therapist for visual perception retraining and perhaps consult their primary care physician to talk about a specific medication that could be affecting the client’s vision; perhaps a social worker will need to be contacted to address the lack of a consistent caregiver, etc. My point is simple: take that ball and pass it to the relevant professionals, and please do not forget to document in your notes that the referral was made and to state the clinical reasoning for such a referral.
Once these therapeutic actions have taken place, we have moved from clinical reasoning to having a therapy tool bag. We also practiced the therapeutic use of self and broadened of our understanding of our role on the health care team. Can this list get any longer? I would like to list just one more concept before closing which I feel is just as important as the concepts above. This is a vital point that is often overlooked.
Consistency and accountability involves staying true to who you are and also building a trusting relationship. As health care providers, we do not have the luxury of turning off our consistency and accountability when it comes to client care. When we are not consistent, our clients know it and they can build up resentment to our lack thereof. In my opinion, being consistent means keeping true to who you are and also building a trusting relationship. One of my many mantras in life, especially in my business life, is trust. Our company, the Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc., provides physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and social work services to home health agencies and to hospice agencies in the greater Los Angeles County. I vividly recall an agency texting me to let me know how much they love working with us! Now, this was an anomaly; most often an agency will call or text me to complain about a therapist for one or more of the reasons mentioned in this article. I took the opportunity to text back to the agency and I wrote: “Thank you for having the trust in us to take care of your clients.” I acknowledged that even though our patients are and should be the primary focus on our care, our referring agencies are also clients. Clients are our patients, our referral sources, our home health agencies, our hospice agencies, our patient’s family members, our patient’s doctor(s), the entire health care team on the case, and the insurance company, and I am sure that there are others that I have not mentioned. The bottom line is that with consistency comes accountability, and therapists need to know that we are held to certain standards. If you tell a patient that you are going to order them a walker, or simply that you are going to call them on Friday to see how they are doing, it is vital that you do in fact make this call or action happen. Nothing is more disconcerting to a client than a flaky clinician. It is a big responsibility and therapists need to understand that we must prove to ourselves, to our accrediting bodies, and to our universities that we have the competency, the knowledge and the desire to help others via our respective therapy services. Once you have your license, once you put on that white lab coat with a badge labeling you as a health care professional, you are now part of this incredible living and breathing environment called health care! Realize that the dynamics of health care often go way out of the arena of health and frequently touch on topics such as reimbursement, lobbying, human resource concerns and even issues created in Washington by legislators, and in our case, Sacramento legislators.
Finally, let me state that my list of what makes for a GOOD therapist versus a not-so-good therapist is not all inclusive. I am certain that other variables that will arise, but at least this will set the foundation to make you a GREAT clinician. The concepts listed above do not work in isolation! Our clinical reasoning skills, our clinical skills (the tool bag), our therapeutic use of self, our understanding of the clinical team, and our consistency and accountability are variables that work together to determine whether we become GOOD therapists or the not-so-good therapists. I hope that we all strive to use this information to become those GOOD or GREAT therapists that our clients recognize and love!
10849792_299684190231459_6543441536898190274_nRalph Santos, CEO, MBA, OTR/L,is the owner of the Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc. located at 1650 E. Walnut Street, #B, Pasadena, CA 91106. Their office number is: (626) 683-9959. The Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc., specializes in the training and guidance of PT, OT, ST and MSWs in the home health care setting. The company’s website is: www.Center4PT.com. The Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc., also provides home health agencies and hospices with in-office training, lectures to senior centers, training to caregivers, and is able to help clients with choosing a home health care or hospice agency.

What is the Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc.

 What is the Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc.
The Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc. opened its entryways in 2002, making us one of the pioneers in the home well-being treatment industry. We are a professional organization that gives talented treatment and gifted social work administrations to principally homebound customers in the Los Angeles County territory. Our main goal has dependably been to give a brilliant level of administration to our customers, their relatives, and to our contracted orgs. We have seen the progressions in the human services commercial center and we realize that we should always re-develop ourselves to address the issues of those we give our clients. It is with this experience and our steady adaptability that we have attained the capacity to support our organization’s development.
We are the main staffing organization in the Los Angeles County that provides Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Medical Social Workers to all our contracted home health and hospice orgs. What makes us extraordinary in our industry is our steady and reliable adherence to the training of our staff individuals. After procuring our expert staff individuals, we give a careful introduction to the guidelines of home wellbeing, how Title 22 influences our consideration administration, how the Conditions of Participation influence how we connect with general society, how HIPAA directs privacy, how there is a cooperation of the office arrangements and methodology with the certifying bodies’ CMS adherence. We do not take it softly that our staff individuals not comprehend both the managerial and their particular clinical skills. Training and tutoring is the thing that makes us diverse to our competitors.
Services
Center for Physical Therapy Services, Inc’s. various expert staff incorporates Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists and Social Workers. Our central goal is to have our staff invest additional time with the majority of our customers and besides to hear you out and your needs. Our services include:
  • Non-intrusive treatment Evaluations and Treatments
  • Work related Therapy Evaluations and Treatments
  • Language training Evaluations and Treatments
  • Social Work Evaluations and Treatments
As a feature of our administration, the majority of our contracted organizations will likewise have the significant serenity of having admittance to their medicinal records through an on-line entryway that is a piece of our Therapy Boss electronic human services record (EHR).
Moreover, as a component of talented administrations/mediations our staff has the capacity to give the accompanying:
  • Home Safety Evaluations, e.g. Establishment of Grab Bars, Use of Shower Hoses, Use of a Shower Chair versus a Shower Bench
  • Appraisals for the fitting medicinal gear required, e.g. Front Wheeled Walker versus a Four Wheeled Walker
  • Family as well as Client Caregiver Education/Training, e.g. Exchange Training, Range of Motion Training, Positioning Training
  • Securing and Upgrading Home Exercise Programs particular to each customer’s needs’
  • Facilitating Community Resources, e.g. Starting In Home Supportive Services, ACCESS Transportation
  • Directing administrations to help our customers adapt to various psycho-social issues, e.g. Sadness, Anxiety, Bereavement
  • Group Education working with Senior Centers, Adult Day Health Centers, Test Topics Covered: Fall Safety/Prevention Strategies, Home Safety Recommendations, Diabetic Care, and Caregiver Strategies to encourage Self-Care.
  • Electric Wheel Chair Evaluations to help substantiate to the payer source the reason(s) the customer would profit from DME.
Contact us with any questions or concerns:  (626) 683-9959 Office/Fax or Email:  Ralph@Center4PT.com