Tag Archives: Functional Skills

Spectrum 1 News Ohio

NEWS: RESTORE-Skills featured on Spectrum 1 News Ohio

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Below is an excerpt from the story from Spectrum 1 News Ohio:

CLEVELAND — Elizabeth Sims and her caregiver admit that since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, things haven’t been the same at The Heights Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Broadview Heights. Pandemic restrictions have cut out communal dining, team exercise and group therapy at facility.

“Before, we used to be able to be down in the therapy gym. So, it would be fun because they're all around people; you could play games and now, you're really stuck in the rooms with the patients,” Sims says.

Things have taken a turn for the better at the facility. Residents started connecting virtually through RESTORE-Skills, a computer based motivational therapy platform with a multiplayer function that now allows patients the ability to play skill-building games with one another.

“At least they can interact and you're using technology and they can still get involved and do some kind of fun…and it helps her cognitive skills.”  Tina Wilson’s caregiver says.

Check out the full interview with our CEO, Eran Arden, and the team from The Heights HERE!

We RESTORE-Skills TOGETHER

Q&A: RESTORE-Together

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Question: 

Tell me more about RESTORE-Together and it’s benefits? What is the difference between a live game and a private game?

Answer:

We are very excited to be able to introduce RESTORE-Together, which for the first time allows patients/players to play interactively with their loved ones, other patients/residents in their center, and/or with other players across the country - all from the safety of their rooms or in a socially distanced setting. Our primary motivation was to advocate for older adults, vulnerable to the risks of social isolation, by providing access to a virtual community of skill-builders.

Benefits:

  • Helps mitigate the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial risks of isolation by connecting patients/residents with others they know and love
  • Fosters a sense of community to have patients, therapists, and care partners interacting in a similar skill-building fashion with their peers nationwide
  • Increases fun, engagement, and motivation to accelerate outcomes and provide a better patient experience

Live games:

  • The ability to join a desired game with others is always open and does not require a code
  • A player joins, enters a player name/identifier, indicates readiness, and waits a short time (often less than 1 minute) to see other players that join the competition
  • Players will always know the score in head-to-head games or where they rank in tournament-style games

Private games: 

  • Allow a user to send a code to designated participants who can join the action by visiting the website restoreskills.com/together, entering the code, and following the instructions
  • Adds motivation for the player as he/she will be interacting with family members, friends, or peers that they have expressed an interest in joining a fun and competitive RESTORE skill-building session
  • If an audio exchange is desired during the session, we recommend having a phone or video conference call
    • Note - we are working on a simple, emoji-based way to communicate within the game play if audio is not available or desired
    • Note - some video conferencing apps will need to have the camera turned off so that RESTORE has primary access to the camera
  • Players will always know the score in head-to-head games or where they rank in tournament-style games

Instructions for a player joining upon receiving a private game invite:

  • Open Google Chrome and go to: restoreskills.com/together
  • Secure the four (4) character code from the invitee and enter it in the text box
  • Click “Join” to enter the private game
  • If prompted, select “allow” to enable camera access
  • Have a red, green, or blue rounded object available for play (i.e., ball, apple, container lid, cup, etc.)
  • When prompted, use your mouse to select the color of your rounded object 
  • To calibrate, bring your controller to the center of the square, making sure the camera can clearly see the color of the object

 

  • Enter your name or identifier in the text box and click ‘save’

 

  • Click the ‘Ready’ button. When all players are ready, the game will start after a 20 second countdown 

When players (patients) are having fun and engaged they focus less on targeted skills and more on the game. Fostering a sense of community by connecting with others will help mitigate the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial risks of isolation.

GAMES FOR SKILL BUILDING

New Multiplayer Activity: Plinko Party

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If you love to play our hit game “Jackpot” then get ready for our new game “Plinko Party”!  Players can experience the FUN of virtually dropping their tokens into a Plinko board either individually in a therapy session, remotely with their loved ones & peers, or even participate in live, nationwide gaming tournaments -- all from the safety of their rooms!

games for skill building

Plinko Party 

Players can experience the excitement of the classic game show favorite, with RESTORE’s interactive Plinko board! To play, use the controller to guide the on-screen hand to the falling tokens. Hold the hand over a token to select it and pick it up. Move the hand with a token to the top of the Plinko board. Choose a slot and hold your position to release the token. Watch it drop down the board until it reaches one of the point totals! Bonus tokens give players the opportunity to multiply their score, but watch out, the board is dynamic, so the scores will shuffle as they play!

games for therapy

Clinical Benefits of Plinko Party

  • Physical benefits: Upper extremity coordination and functional reach, activity tolerance, and balance for sitting or standing.
  • Cognitive benefits: Sustained attention, goal-directed, concentration, decision making, scanning
  • Social benefits: Mitigate social isolation by competing with others (i.e. family members, friends, other patients or residents)

Be sure to login to check out “Plinko Party” for yourself. Better yet, set up a multiplayer game for your residents to connect with their loved ones today! Don’t have access and want to learn more? Give us a call (234) 303-0723 or send us an email info@restoreskills.com to schedule your live demo.

abc7 San Francisco

NEWS: RESTORE-Skills featured on ABC7 San Francisco

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Below is an excerpt from the story from ABC7 News San Francisco:

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Health is an important aspect of Building a Better Bay Area.

As patients at care facilities are dealing with prolonged social isolation with visits from families curtailed or not allowed, caregivers are turning to multi-player skill games to improve patient outcomes.

Bingo has always been a popular way to engage patients in care facilities to use their minds, hands, and arms. COVID-19 has not only stopped that, but also visits from loved ones.
"If we don't have friends and peers to work with, then you know, then we, unfortunately, don't have the motivation to practice and to live longer," said Eran Arden, CEO at Restore Skills. RESTORE-Skills is a cloud-based platform with a library of 50 games that occupational therapists can use for rehabilitation and skills development.
51-year-old Mike Willham has multiple sclerosis. Moving a ball in his hand to play a slot machine game is more than just having fun at winning jackpots. "It allows me to move my left arm from side to side and up and down. And it has built up strength in the left arm," said Willham as he made those moves. An up and down motion with the ball caused the arm on the slot machine to activate."
It's helping with cognition, it helps with fine motor, gross motor coordination, strengthening," said Carrie Blum, an occupational therapy assistant at The Heights Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center. "It's been helping with their endurance and activity tolerance."

Check out the full interview with our CEO, Eran Arden, and the team from The Heights HERE!

WBOC Good Day Delmarva

NEWS: RESTORE-Skills featured on WBOC’s Good Day Delmarva

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Below is an excerpt from the story from Good Day Delmarva: 

For today's Wellness Wednesday, Sydney speaks with Joe Asseline with the Westgate Hills Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center to learn about the steps they're taking to provide contact-less care during the ongoing pandemic. 

Today with the help of Westgate Hills Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Baltimore, Maryland we discover ways in which they're reaching goals with a contactless approach.

Joe: I've been working at Westgate Hills Rehab for the past year and a half. My goal is to help patient's restore their function & independence through actiticties of daily living and self-care tasks. 

Sydney: How are have you noticing that certain facilities or even yours are turning to technology to help folks get the therapy and attention that they need? 

Joe: In my sesssion, I find it's very important to use video chat...we've also been able to use this really cool RESTORE virtual reality game system. RESTORE is a syetm that we are able to bring therapeutic activties and excercises into the rooms of patients. Not only that, there's a new feature that they've just rolled out that we're able to video chat in with the families so they can add words of encouragement. It's really cool! I find that they're always asking to use it because they think the games are really fun, 

Check it out the full interview with Joe Asselin, OTR/L HERE!

senoirs in long term care connecting with families

NEWS: RESTORE-Skills CEO on ABC’s Local 24 News

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RESTORE-Skills CEO interviewed on Memphis' Local 24 News (ABC)

Below is an excerpt from the story on tech in skilled nursing: 

There is a new way some Tennesseans are connecting to loved ones in facilities. Virtually.  It's called Restore-Skills.com. It's a computer-based occupational and physical therapy gaming program. All someone in a long term care facility needs is a laptop to use it. Restore has been on the market since 2019, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, its creators expanded its capabilities to allow family members to virtually join in.   

"We wanted to create fun and meaningful activities, so we added the ability to connect the family member to the game while doing the activity," said Eran Arden, Restore-Skills CEO.

Arden says there is a list of games a therapist can pick from, depending on what skills the patients needs to work on. During the sessions, family members can get looped in.

"Once they join they would see the patient live and the game running," said Arden. "They can see the loved ones moving their shifting balance left and right while skiing the slopes."

Arden says family members can cheer the person in the nursing home, and there are even games that can be played together.

Check it out in full HERE!

nursing home visitation

NEWS: RESTORE featured in WTBU Radio story

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RESTORE-Skills featured in a WTBU Radio (Boston) story titled, “Mass. Longterm Care Facilities Welcome Socially Distant Visitors"

Below is an excerpt from the story on visitation: 

Amanda Telesca is the Director of Rehab at the North End Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, which has 100 beds and about 150 staff members.  Telesca estimated that the average age of the residents is between 75 and 85 years old.

In April, her facility started receiving new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about limiting gatherings and visits. With the new changes, though, came tradeoffs for seniors.

The North End facility started using the RESTORE Skills therapy program, an online, web-cam based program that has a teleconferencing feature so family members can join the virtual therapy sessions.  Physical therapy exercises are incorporated into games, which RESTORE skills developers say keep residents engaged in the session.

The facility’s goal is to prepare residents to return home and Telesca said that using a technological therapy tool has benefits beyond the physical therapy aspect.

“It is a lot of fun and it’s a good tool to use, as far as coordination goes and technology-wise, training people to use their laptops and preparing for home that way,” Telesca said.

 

Check it out in full HERE!

technology in the pandemic

NEWS: RESTORE-Skills CEO interviewed by CNN

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RESTORE-Skills featured in a CNN article titled, “These seniors are turning to cutting edge technology to stay connected during the pandemic”

Below is an excerpt from the article: 

A unique feature of the program is built-in video calling so families can see their loved ones playing games. Landsman [a resident of The Jewish Home, Freehold, NJ] said he recently played the slot machine game while using the video calling feature to connect with family.

"I just saw my sister on there," Landsman said "She's home with the kids. She cheered me on."

Landsman's sister, Linda Landsman, said that she enjoys watching him play and that it helps her stay connected with her brother, especially during the pandemic.

"He was winning the slot machines, and I was cheering him on that he won," Landsman said. "I thought it was great exercise on top of everything."

Eran Arden, CEO of Restore Skills, said that by the end of July, the company will be launching the ability for families to play along. He also said the video calling feature was new as of May in response to the pandemic.

"When we realized that's a need that we have to answer, we switched our development plan ... and just focused on adding the video conference ability to the platform," Arden said. "We understand how important it is and how patients and their loved ones need to have the ability to see each other."

The article looks at the emergence of technology in nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities during the pandemic. Noting that the use of technology can help keep older Americans connected and thriving.

Check out the full story HERE!

COVID-19 News

NEWS: RESTORE-Skills on ABC News’ WCPO-9

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RESTORE-Skills featured on ABC News' Cincinnati affiliate in a segment titled, “Concerns Over Nursing Home Visits.”

The segment notes, “Villa Georgetown in Brown County has been getting a little creative. Residents have been using a virtual therapy program called RESTORE to stay active and healthy.”

We were honored to be mentioned on Sunday evening's broadcast as a fun and creative solution to help nursing homes combat the risks of social isolation during COVID-19. 

"Keeping our families connected with their loved ones here has been vital in not only keeping their psychosocial well-being as up as we can, but I think in many degrees keeping them alive," said Daniel Wylie, Executive Director & CEO of Villa Georgetown.

The segment discussed nursing homes struggling to balance fighting loneliness and COVID-19 concerns. In the piece, RESTORE Skills is mentioned as being used at the Crown Healthcare Group facility in Georgetown, Ohio.

Check out the full story HERE!

Improving therapy outcomes especially during COVID-19

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I want to share with you positive news. On the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19 and under more public scrutiny than ever, I’m seeing nursing home professionals creatively provide therapy and engagement to patients. Patients are reaching therapy goals even in this new season of social distancing and closed therapy gyms.

How?

Our clients are using gaming software in skilled nursing facilities so that all they need is a laptop to get patients engaged in therapy. They’re reaching higher for a slot machine level or standing up and moving side to side by playing games like Jackpot and Skiing.

  • Patients are so busy playing, they forget they’re in therapy
  • Patients are connecting with loved ones back at home, who join the therapy session right there on the app
  • Facility team members on all levels are stepping in to support therapy goals

Imagine Zoom with a Wii. That’s how I’m seeing seniors reach new goals in therapy and even get discharged home where they continue using the software – even during COVID-19. Especially during COVID-19.

RESTORE Skills is the only therapy software available with no device required outside of a laptop. We are the only player in the market that allows users to take a laptop in a room and reach therapy goals. At a time when nursing homes are even more severely understaffed and patients are isolated in their rooms, RESTORE skills turns every team member into a skill-building superstar – from activities directors, to CNAs and nurses. 

It is our goal to give as many seniors access to this transformative tool as possible.

Because across the country, many nursing home patients are missing this opportunity and most likely missing out on crucial therapy sessions while isolated in their rooms. We are offering our software at an unprecedented low price during COVID-19 so that we can help many skilled nursing facilities continue to provide cutting edge therapy even amidst a pandemic.

Let’s change the trajectory of the story of skilled nursing care in the news right now and fill it with stories of positive outcomes. Because anyone familiar with this industry knows the positive outcomes are typical, even if they’re not the story in the news.