Q&A: Meet RESTORE Clinical Success Director, Amanda Gambrell

Posted on June 6, 2022June 6, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

The Great Gambino has entered the building! Hey Amanda. Welcome to your RESTORE Q&A. Let's go!

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would our users come to you for something?

A: I am a Clinical Success Director. You would come to me if you needed help with user training, onboarding, forms to be signed or returned for business relationship, setting up tournaments, maintaining champions, and so much more...

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. My own injuries and therapy experience helped lead me to this career path. I am a PTA and want to be an advocate for people in as many ways as possible.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

A. My husband. He is disciplined, focused, open, and honest.

Q. What three words would your friends use to describe you?

A. Assertive, consistent, loyal.

Q: What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

A. I have 9 tattoos.

Q: What’s something you recently saw that made you smile?

A. My daughter, comforting a friend of hers. Made my heart smile.

Q: If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Pickle salsa.

Pickle Salsa?! That sounds interesting, just like you! Have a question for Amanda? Drop a comment below and we will get that question answered. Welcome to the team Amanda!

The RESTORE Platform and SLP/STs

Posted on May 23, 2022May 23, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hey RESTORE Tribe,

We are still in the midst of Better Hearing and Speech Month #BHSM, so we are putting something out there for our SLPs/STs.

FAQ: "Is the RESTORE platform geared toward SLPs/STs and what are some ways they can use it?" As a fellow SLP, I would like to shout from the rooftops, "YES it geared toward SLPs/STs!" Now for the second part of the question, let’s look at a few tips on how SLPs can integrate RESTORE.

Play and Practice: Functional skills for cognition and life skills.

Need to work on memory? Try Order Up! Or Love Connection.
Does your resident need to complete medication management to determine a safe discharge to home? Check out Pill Skil
Are you concerned with your patient’s overall safety awareness and ability to determine solutions to problems in their environment? Set them up with Safely Home.

Mouse Mode: Putting language at the forefront.

Tap into mouse mode where the resident can verbalize the response and the SLP can use the mouse to select targeted answer.
Grade the activity in Grocery Grab. SLPs can add/remove object pictures on grocery lists for word to picture matching OR picture to picture matching.
SLPs can modify game settings to increase or decrease task complexity for categorization, organization, and visual scanning.

Just Play: Setting the right goal.

Modify any game for a patient’s just right fit, SLPs can identify unique sessions for goal-setting.
Abby Williams, DOR/SLP at Arbors of Delaware, shared a creative use of our RESTORE game Jackpot, for a patient with memory impairments. The patient loves Jackpot (I mean, who doesn’t?😊) so Abby would initiate a JACKPOT game and have the patient pull the lever to see what three items appeared on the screen. Once the slot stopped spinning, the patient had to immediately recall the items and save them into working memory for the next task. This helped the resident work on delayed recall.

Our RESTORE community loves our SLPs/STs! We’re proud to connect with all of you. If you have a question leave a comment or email me julie@restoreskills.com and we will get those questions answered!

Julie

Connecting People: One Facet of an SLP/ST

Posted on May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hey RESTORE Tribe,

My name is Julie and not only am I one of the Sr. Directors of Clinical Success at RESTORE, I am also a Speech-Language Pathologist or SLP.

“I don’t need speech therapy; my speech is fine.”

How often do we, as Speech-Language Pathologists, hear this in our practice? More often than we would like to count! SLPs also go by the term Speech Therapist or ST, which can imply a person who supports a patient’s speech. So how do we help others understand everything under the SLP/ST umbrella. We talk about it.

Yes, SLPs/STs help patients improve their speech, but we also support language, swallowing disorders, cognition, augmentative and alternative communication, accent modification, aural rehab, orofacial myofunctional disorders, fluency, hearing loss, resonance and voice disorders. Whew, that’s a lot!

This year’s theme for Better Hearing and Speech Month wraps all those disorders and dysfunctions into a central theme that perfectly describes what we do: “Connecting People.” We are the discipline who helps patients relearn to communicate with loved ones, improve their swallow safety to enjoy their favorite foods. and enhance cognitive skills to remain aging in place for as long and safely as possible.

At RESTORE-Skills, we’re grateful to support SLPs in their practice to bring innovative interventions to their residents. We have games like Pill Skill and Money Mania which target community reintegration, Grocery Grab which focuses on cognitive linguistic skills and many other games for residents of varying abilities. Your RESTORE login is designed for your discipline and each game clearly lists which skills will be the focus of that game. So... let the games begin!

If you would like to learn more about the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM), and how you can support SLPs/STs, follow this link for more information https://www.asha.org/bhsm/.

Julie

Admissions and Marketing with RESTORE

Posted on April 29, 2022April 29, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

What's up RESTORE Blog Readers?

My name is Jim Marlowe and I'm one of the Clinical Success Directors at RESTORE. I can also proudly say, I'm a COTA/L.

I worked in Admissions & Marketing at two different Skilled Nursing Facilities, prior to joining the RESTORE team. The admission front is extremely competitive, because every building is looking for something to differentiate themselves. When choosing a rehab facility, two things top the list and RESTORE can help with both.

1. How strong is their therapy team?

RESTORE offers fun and competitive skill building activities therapists can adapt to every patient.
Each RESTORE game highlights which skills that game addresses.

2. What is the patient experience like?

RESTORE games feature many activities for residents to enjoy, while working on skills, which will get them back to their highest level of function.
Our Jackpot t-shirt program is a fan favorite with residents. Hit 3 Wilds in our Jackpot game and win a free t-shirt, sent directly to your facility.
Facilities love to share those smiling faces on social media. *Social media is a beautiful thing*

Answering those two questions is important, but facilities must also differentiate themselves to hospitals and physicians. RESTORE Home Player and Data Tracking can help.

Home Player and Data Tracking:

Facilities set up patients with RESTORE upon their discharge. Patients can continue playing at home, for free, up to 45 days post discharge.
Each resident's data is available to all RESTORE users in a facility and can be saved & printed.
Therapists track their patient's participation and progress. If they notice a decline in the patient's function or participation, they follow up to determine the cause.
Therapists ensure home health is alerted to any changes or possibly bring the patient back to the facility for care, without a trip to the emergency room. Cutting down on rehospitalizations? That is music to everyone's ears!

Use these admission and marketing tools to place your facility in the spotlight! Questions or ideas? Leave a comment or send me an email. Jim@restoreskills.com.

Stay tuned for our next Blog post, which focuses on RESTORE and Speech Language Pathology.

Empowering Everyday Living #HappyOTMonth

Posted on April 15, 2022April 15, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hello RESTORE Blog Readers,

It’s JaKaylah, one of the Clinical Success Directors at RESTORE, who just so happens to be a COTA!

Did you know that you are able to utilize RESTORE to reach your Life Skills goals?

All of our Life Skills games have qualities that we know, as clinicians, are important to us: safety awareness, cognitive skills, and sequencing. Under the Play & Practice section of the RESTORE platform, you are able to choose games that target specific IADL’s and are beneficial to your patients overall progress.

While playing RESTORE's Safely Home game, you are able to help both the resident and their family members recognize the safety hazards they may encounter inside or outside their home. As an OT Practitioner, one benefit of this game is, you can complete a Home Assessment which might have been challenging, in other circumstances.
Grocery Grab is played by using the grocery item list to begin your shopping experience in our market. The benefit of this game is the ability to simulate a shopping experience for your patients. They have to follow a specific list, add items to their cart, utilize money management skills by paying at the register, and even bag their groceries!
Our Pill Skill game highlights medication management. We all know this can be a benefit in itself when patients are discharged to home.

Thanks so much for learning more about "Gamifying Life Skills." If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email. Jakaylah@restoreskills.com. I love chatting with fellow practitioners!

Stay tuned! Our next Blog post will be out in 2 weeks. We will be addressing RESTORE as it relates to Admissions and Marketing.

Q&A: Meet RESTORE Director of Business Development, Mark Petty

Posted on March 24, 2022March 15, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hey Mark. We are excited to introduce the newest member of the team to our users. Let's do it!

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

A: I bring solutions to therapists and operators designed to maximize the patient experience and generate meaningful outcomes.

Q: What energizes you at work?

A. Meaningful interactions with customers, prospects and team members. I try to learn something new each day.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

A. Many have, but if I had to select one, it would be Deb Bielek from Ensign Services. Her energy and passion was infectious from the first time I met her.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. Play poker.

Q. What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

A. That I am a true introvert but often don’t come off that way!

Q: What’s something you recently saw that made you smile?

A. My kids every day - well most days….

Q: If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?

A. Investing!

Well Mark, we sure are glad RESTORE invested in you. Thanks for helping us get to know you better. Have a question for Mark? Drop us a comment and we will get you an answer.

Q&A: Meet RESTORE Clinical Success Director, JaKaylah Joyner

Posted on March 22, 2022March 15, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hello JaKaylah. We are so happy to have you on the RESTORE team. Let's introduce you to our users, so they can be happy too.

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

A: I am a Clinical Success Director at RESTORE and my priority is to collaborate with healthcare professionals to: introduce a fun, skilled platform, provide clinical suggestions and creative ideas to inspire users as they navigate RESTORE. As a treating therapist by practice I have an immense passion for patient care and providing them with not only fun but also purposeful ways to overcome barriers and foster independence in their everyday lives.

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. I am a COTA/L by practice and I wanted to use my clinical knowledge and experience to provide a platform for treating clinicians that would help foster higher skilled outcomes for their patients.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

A. My parents. They both work in the helping profession with a genuine desire to help people. We did not come from a wealthy family so they worked hard to get everything we have. They instilled in me core values when it comes to work ethic and how you should treat everyone with kindness and respect, no matter their title.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. I love watching cooking shows and trying new recipes.

Q. What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

A. My mother always told me that the ability to be educated is a privilege and for me to make sure that I take every opportunity to learn because people can take a lot from you in this world, but they can never take your knowledge.

Q: If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

A. I think my superpower would be time traveling.

Q: If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Potatoes! I love potatoes in any kind of way (fries, scalloped, baked, tater tots, chips). I love it all.

And we love you! Thanks so much for sharing with us JaKaylah. Have a question for JaKaylah? Drop a comment below and we will get your question answered.

Q&A: Meet RESTORE Director of Customer Success Operations, Sarah Asad

Posted on March 17, 2022March 15, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hey Sarah. You're the one who is helping us get organized around here and we appreciate you. Let's get this Q&A organized.

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

A. At RESTORE I’ll be helping both the Customer Success and Sales teams be more efficient in their day-to-day jobs. While CS Ops is a relatively new field, and every company is doing stuff a little differently, my focus will be to maintain ChurnZero, update HubSpot, and handle the billing & invoices of our clients.

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. I enjoy analyzing information and developing solutions for other people's problems. Originally, I wanted to be a lawyer, but after some thought I realized that developing solutions, while building relationships was the right thing for me.

Q: What energizes you at work?

A. Getting to do new things, such as creating new processes. Also, the ability for growth and collaboration with other people. I really enjoy working with people from different teams, and hearing different perspectives.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. Reading a book, going for a walk, watching documentaries, sleeping.

Q. If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Cheesy bread.

Q: What's one song/artist you are embarrassed to admit you like?

A. I love 90’s grunge music.

Q: What three words would your friends use to describe you?

A. Ambitious, Kind and Loyal.

After knowing you only a short time, the RESTORE team would agree with ambitious! Thanks for all you do Sarah. Have a question for Sarah? Drop us a comment and we will get you an answer.

Q&A: Meet RESTORE Social Media and Online Community Manager, Bonnie Tilley

Posted on March 15, 2022March 15, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hey Bonnie. Why don't we get "social" and help our users to get to know you a little better?

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

A: I am the Social Media and Online Community Manager for RESTORE. You would come to me for questions or help in our online community or if you had questions or feedback regarding any of our social media channels.

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. I love being social in real life, so it was a pretty easy transition. I enjoy getting to know people and social media is a great place to study people. Study, stalk, whatever. Plus I love humor and social media is a great place to both find and showcase humor.

Q: How do you prefer to start and end your day?

A. I prefer to start each day with a shower and I’m believing other people appreciate that about me. I love to end my day chatting with my daughter about her day.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. I love to volunteer at my church. I do everything from mentoring teens and young adults, to working on the tech team to teaching classes.

Q. If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?

A. Spanish. I am great at Spanglish, but would love to be fluent with the language.

Q: What’s one totally irrational fear you have?

A. Clowns #dontjudgeme

Q: What three words would your friends use to describe you?

A. Creative, Empathetic and Hilarious. No, really... I texted several friends and asked.

Those three words sound like the perfect fit for RESTORE's social media. Thanks for sharing with us! Have a question for Bonnie? Drop us a comment and we will get you an answer.

Q&A: Meet RESTORE Regional Director of Business Development, Johanna Salomon

Posted on March 10, 2022March 15, 2022 by Bonnie Tilley

Hey Johanna. Thanks for agreeing to this Q&A, which helps our users learn about the RESTORE team. Let's go!

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

A: I am a Director of Business Development at RESTORE. You can come to me with any questions about RESTORE, the myriad of ways a facility can benefit from its use, or if you’re interested in bringing RESTORE into your facilities.

Q: What led you to this career path?

A: I had a number of opportunities presented to me, but none that made me feel real excitement. When I looked at the RESTORE product I immediately thought of 5 things about it that were incredible and felt genuine enthusiasm for the opportunity and what I could do with it.

Q: How do you prefer to start and end your day?

A: With a lot of coffee, and a list. As soon as it’s “go-time” for my day, I open my notebook to review my notes from the day prior, then I flip to a fresh sheet of paper to start my new to-do list. I include calls & tasks, then leave my book open so I can add to it throughout the day.

Q: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

A: I am an avid gardener. When the weather is warm, there is always something blooming in my yard. I’m deep enough into it that I order special varieties of roses online because I need more variety than what the garden centers can offer.

Q: If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A: Sushi or tacos.

Q: What's one song/artist you are embarrassed to admit you like?

A: I dressed up as a Spice Girl for Halloween, so I am impossible to embarrass.

Q: What energizes you at work?

A: My heart sings when I make a sale, but my biggest motivator is positive feedback from happy clients. I pride myself on my ability to develop great relationships with my clients and get their trust and respect, so positive feedback bolsters my confidence in that.

Q: If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

A: Flight.

Speaking of that, we have to jet. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Johanna. Have a question for Johanna? Drop us a comment & we will get you an answer.

The Great Gambino has entered the building! Hey Amanda. Welcome to your RESTORE Q&A. Let's go!

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would our users come to you for something?

A: I am a Clinical Success Director. You would come to me if you needed help with user training, onboarding, forms to be signed or returned for business relationship, setting up tournaments, maintaining champions, and so much more...

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. My own injuries and therapy experience helped lead me to this career path. I am a PTA and want to be an advocate for people in as many ways as possible.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

A. My husband. He is disciplined, focused, open, and honest.

Q. What three words would your friends use to describe you?

A. Assertive, consistent, loyal.

Q: What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

A. I have 9 tattoos.

Q: What’s something you recently saw that made you smile?

A. My daughter, comforting a friend of hers. Made my heart smile.

Q: If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Pickle salsa.

Pickle Salsa?! That sounds interesting, just like you! Have a question for Amanda? Drop a comment below and we will get that question answered. Welcome to the team Amanda!

What's up RESTORE Blog Readers?

My name is Jim Marlowe and I'm one of the Clinical Success Directors at RESTORE. I can also proudly say, I'm a COTA/L.

1. How strong is their therapy team?

RESTORE offers fun and competitive skill building activities therapists can adapt to every patient.

Each RESTORE game highlights which skills that game addresses.

2. What is the patient experience like?

RESTORE games feature many activities for residents to enjoy, while working on skills, which will get them back to their highest level of function.

Our Jackpot t-shirt program is a fan favorite with residents. Hit 3 Wilds in our Jackpot game and win a free t-shirt, sent directly to your facility.

Facilities love to share those smiling faces on social media. *Social media is a beautiful thing*

Answering those two questions is important, but facilities must also differentiate themselves to hospitals and physicians. RESTORE Home Player and Data Tracking can help.

Home Player and Data Tracking:

Facilities set up patients with RESTORE upon their discharge. Patients can continue playing at home, for free, up to 45 days post discharge.

Each resident's data is available to all RESTORE users in a facility and can be saved & printed.

Therapists track their patient's participation and progress. If they notice a decline in the patient's function or participation, they follow up to determine the cause.

Therapists ensure home health is alerted to any changes or possibly bring the patient back to the facility for care, without a trip to the emergency room. Cutting down on rehospitalizations? That is music to everyone's ears!

Use these admission and marketing tools to place your facility in the spotlight! Questions or ideas? Leave a comment or send me an email. Jim@restoreskills.com.

Stay tuned for our next Blog post, which focuses on RESTORE and Speech Language Pathology.

Hello RESTORE Blog Readers,

It’s JaKaylah, one of the Clinical Success Directors at RESTORE, who just so happens to be a COTA!

Did you know that you are able to utilize RESTORE to reach your Life Skills goals?

Our Pill Skill game highlights medication management. We all know this can be a benefit in itself when patients are discharged to home.

Thanks so much for learning more about "Gamifying Life Skills." If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email. Jakaylah@restoreskills.com. I love chatting with fellow practitioners!

Stay tuned! Our next Blog post will be out in 2 weeks. We will be addressing RESTORE as it relates to Admissions and Marketing.

Hey Mark. We are excited to introduce the newest member of the team to our users. Let's do it!

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

A: I bring solutions to therapists and operators designed to maximize the patient experience and generate meaningful outcomes.

Q: What energizes you at work?

A. Meaningful interactions with customers, prospects and team members. I try to learn something new each day.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

A. Many have, but if I had to select one, it would be Deb Bielek from Ensign Services. Her energy and passion was infectious from the first time I met her.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. Play poker.

Q. What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

A. That I am a true introvert but often don’t come off that way!

Q: What’s something you recently saw that made you smile?

A. My kids every day - well most days….

Q: If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?

A. Investing!

Well Mark, we sure are glad RESTORE invested in you. Thanks for helping us get to know you better. Have a question for Mark? Drop us a comment and we will get you an answer.

Hello JaKaylah. We are so happy to have you on the RESTORE team. Let's introduce you to our users, so they can be happy too.

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. I am a COTA/L by practice and I wanted to use my clinical knowledge and experience to provide a platform for treating clinicians that would help foster higher skilled outcomes for their patients.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. I love watching cooking shows and trying new recipes.

Q. What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

A. My mother always told me that the ability to be educated is a privilege and for me to make sure that I take every opportunity to learn because people can take a lot from you in this world, but they can never take your knowledge.

Q: If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

A. I think my superpower would be time traveling.

Q: If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Potatoes! I love potatoes in any kind of way (fries, scalloped, baked, tater tots, chips). I love it all.

And we love you! Thanks so much for sharing with us JaKaylah. Have a question for JaKaylah? Drop a comment below and we will get your question answered.

Hey Sarah. You're the one who is helping us get organized around here and we appreciate you. Let's get this Q&A organized.

Q: What do you do at RESTORE-Skills and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?

Q: What led you to this career path?

A. I enjoy analyzing information and developing solutions for other people's problems. Originally, I wanted to be a lawyer, but after some thought I realized that developing solutions, while building relationships was the right thing for me.

Q: What energizes you at work?

A. Getting to do new things, such as creating new processes. Also, the ability for growth and collaboration with other people. I really enjoy working with people from different teams, and hearing different perspectives.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when not at work?

A. Reading a book, going for a walk, watching documentaries, sleeping.

Q. If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Cheesy bread.

Q: What's one song/artist you are embarrassed to admit you like?

Facilities love to share those smiling faces on social media. Social media is a beautiful thing