Tag Archives: Multidisciplinary

COVID-19

AVOID the Health Risks of COVID-19 Isolation

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Now, more than ever, it is imperative to keep your residents active, happy, and healthy! In this series of posts, we will discuss the challenges & health risks that may arise due to patient isolation and restricted visitation in the wake of COVID-19. 

We know your first priority is the health, safety, and well-being of everyone in your community. During this time, we want you to know we’re here for you! RESTORE can help mitigate the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial risks involved with social isolation.

 

Physical Health Risks COVID-19Physical Risks

  • Skeletal muscle strength can decrease up to 1.5% per day of bed rest → Skill-building with RESTORE can occur bedside in the patients’ room (and may be used by multiple team members simultaneously)
  • Heightened risk of falls with fracture → Our games support functional mobility, range of motion, coordination, balance, & activity tolerance
  • Increased risk for skin breakdown & pressure sores → FUNctional games turn every patients’ room into a skill-building gym 

 

Cognitive Health Risks COVID-19Cognitive Risks

  • Seniors who suffer from social isolation have a 64% higher risk of dementia → RESTORE helps dementia patients reach their best abilities
  • Potential for a shortened attention span → Games promote cognitive skill-building with attention, concentration, memory, problem-solving, & safety awareness
  • Loss of trust and self-confidence or decreased safety awareness → Players succeed with patient-centered activities individualized to their cognitive level

 

Cognitive Health Risks COVID-19

Psychosocial Risks

  • Increased prevalence of anxiety, depression, & unwanted behaviors → Features include leaderboards so players can compare their game scores with others
  • Heightened sense of loneliness, social isolation → Friends & family can be included during a RESTORE session via video conference with screen sharing
  • Increased thoughts of mortality → RESTORE creates an opportunity for meaningful interaction, encouragement, & education

 

How We Can Help! 

Players can experience the FUN of virtually pulling a slot machine handle to win a jackpot, skiing down the slopes of a world cup race, or controlling the flight path of a plane from the comfort and safety of their room. Enhance your own devices and take advantage of RESTORE’s portability to keep residents active, happy, and healthy from the comfort of their room. 

To help you overcome these challenges, we’ve decided to dramatically reduce the cost of our platform. Now your residents and team members can enjoy RESTORE and connect family members at a special monthly cost.

3-MONTH SPECIAL OFFER*: $199/month (MSRP $495)

*Special offer grants three-month access to a limited version of RESTORE-Skills. Valid until 03/31/2020.

For more details click here or if you have any questions or would like to learn more about our special offer, please email us at info@restoreskills.com. 

Who is a Good Candidate for RESTORE?

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When first starting RESTORE people often ask "who's a good candidate?" or "who can play?" We want residents of all levels to play our games, move more, and have fun! If you can successfully facilitate the session, you can play with anyone. So in this post, you'll learn who can benefit from playing and get tips on how to get started. We'll also look at examples of how others are incorporating RESTORE into their routines.

Players can engage in any position. Sitting, standing, supported by a therapist, or lying down.

Play More, Reach for More, Achieve More

The most important thing to know before setting a patient in front of RESTORE is what skills you will target. Our therapeutic activities focus on the following skills areas:

  • Mobility - balance, weight shifting, sit to stand, lateral, forward/backward, dynamic
  • Upper/Lower Extremity - ROM, coordination, isolated/integrated movements, activity tolerance
  • Cognition - attention, concentration, memory, problem-solving, judgment, sequencing, decision making, following directions

When you first introduce the platform to your patients, begin by explaining how the tech works and how playing can help them achieve goals in a fun yet beneficial way. Then discuss the skills to be addressed and help the player choose a game and an object to use as a controller. Regardless of the goal, players will stay engaged in therapeutic activities longer and have fun!

Who Can Play?  

Our platform is accessible and adaptable. With a simple object and a webcam, residents can interact with games in any position: standing at parallel bars, seated at a desk or in a wheelchair, supported by a walker or therapist, or lying in bed. The following stories are great examples of the different types of players who've succeeded with RESTORE!

Long Term Patients

First is the story of a patient we'll call 'Sarah' who was recovering from carotid surgery when she first played. During her initial session, the therapist had 'Sarah' play the game Ski Saga to work her range of motion. She started by using her right arm to reach outside the base of support in seated and standing positions. Next, she played the time using her full body. With assistance from her therapist, 'Sarah' shifted from side to side and squatted for the bridges on screen. Even though she hit almost every obstacle, with the skier yelling "oomph" each time, 'Sarah' was cracking up! Her friends were visiting during therapy, and they were all laughing together. When 'Sarah' sat down, she was short of breath from the session. We asked what she thought, and she responded, "That was tough and made me work hard! I almost said the "f" word!"

At a different center, the recreation team often brings long term residents to the gym to play RESTORE games. One of their patients, Tina, enjoys playing the game Jackpot to work on her active range of motion, crossing midline, and functional reach. Every time we played and scored the jackpot, she got so excited and yelled out her winnings to everyone in the gym. As Jen, the center's Recreation Assistant, shared, "the residents caught on fast and were remembering fun times in Atlantic City. So, we weren't only exercising but playing and reminiscing too!"

Short Term Patients 

One of the most enthusiastic players we met was Tamie in Cleveland, Ohio. Tamie was a short-term patient who recently had surgery on a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder. Her OT, Liz, knew Tami was a great candidate and explained how RESTORE can help her have fun while she develops her skills! Liz was working with Tamie to increase her range of motion and activity tolerance so that she can soon independently manage dressing, bathing, and other self-care needs. Tamie played the game Ancient Temple using both arms to reach the top! When we asked her what she thought of playing, she said, "I forgot about the pain, I forgot everything! I forgot that this was therapy. It allowed me more mobility & I had fun."

Elsewhere therapists set up a mobile platform in front of a patient while she was sitting on a mat. They asked her favorite color and placed a green RESTORE controller (ball) in her right hand. She played games to challenge her core control and dynamic sitting balance while working on functional reaching with the right UE. The player had the most beautiful smile and felt empowered being in control of her movements while interacting with the games. The session ended up being 45 minutes, although the patient didn't want to stop! She stayed engaged the entire time, and it was clear this was the best she had ever performed. The multiple skill goals of the session were realized, thus accelerating her outcomes.

The RESTORE Difference

Each of these players went into their session not knowing what to expect but they left feeling excited and accomplished. Because when patients smile, laugh, and have fun, they push harder, practice longer, and move more. In this post, we learned who's the right candidate for RESTORE, reviewed practical tips to get started, and saw the magic of therapeutic gamification in each story. We can't wait to see how you create a better day for your patients!

Follow RESTOREskills on Facebook & LinkedIn for updates on our platform, new game announcements, testimonials, tips, and much much more! To schedule an obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (330) 968-2879. We look forward to supporting your goals!

Meet Your Group & Concurrent Therapy Goals

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We want to help you reach your group and concurrent therapy goals in an exciting and engaging way. Add fun to your center, encourage residents to move more, and build community with our new group play feature. In this post, we'll discuss group play and learn how centers are incorporating games into their group practice. Then, we'll review tips to help you and your team get started!

The RESTORE Difference

The Group Play feature helps with the PDPM requirements for group and concurrent therapy. The portability of the platform eliminates environmental limitations to promote enjoyable and engaging group therapy opportunities. For instance, you can create practice opportunities by setting up several stations or engaging multiple players on different devices simultaneously.

Our users love to engage with the group play setting. In fact, at a team training in a Massachusetts center we saw the power of gamification during simultaneous group sessions. To start, the therapists split people into two groups and set up each station was to play Ski Saga. Then, players worked on weight shifting, trunk rotation, squatting, strengthening, and standing tolerance. It was great to see the variety of exercises and controllers used to enhance the session! The whole room was full of excitement as players took turns "skiing" to reach their therapy goals.

Together is Fun

Our fun, innovative, and engaging therapeutic activities bring a vibrant boost to your therapy gym. Playing games in a group session can facilitate conversation among players as they discuss their hobbies, memories, or traditions. Players enjoy playing together as a team, in large groups by taking turns, or even tournament style to create some excitement and light-hearted competition.

Centers can also enjoy Group Play when playing as part of a community event in the activity department or elsewhere. For instance, the team can create a "pet therapy" day at the center and incorporate RESTORE animal-themed games as one station, along with stations for making dog biscuits, playing fetch with a therapy retriever, and setting up a pet show.

We hope these tips spark your imagination and encourage you to step out of the box for your next therapy session or group activity. Do you have any fun stories from a RESTORE group play session? Tell me about it by sending your account and a few of your favorite pictures to amanda@restoreskills.com.

Follow  RESTOREskills on Facebook & LinkedIn for updates on our platform, new game announcements, testimonials, tips, and much much more! To schedule an obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (330) 968-2879. We look forward to supporting your goals!

 

“Take Flight” with Our New Reaction-Testing Game

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Our newest RESTORE activity takes players out of the therapy gym and into the blue skies above…at least virtually! You will facilitate greater engagement while supporting residents as they practice to improve their reaction time

To play Take Flight, patients navigate their plane side to side or up and down through the obstacles on the screen! The speed continues to increase until the player either (1) crashes their plane 🔥 or (2) manually ends the game. Keep track to see who can get the highest score!

Why Play?

Each of our games is designed to increase skill practice while improving function and Take Flight is no exception! Add this game to a player’s session to:

  • Improve reaction & response time
  • Increase stability & standing tolerance
  • Target visual perceptual & scanning skills
  • Maintain required proper postural alignment to increase endurance & independence with tasks by strengthening the upper extremities. 

This game is ideal for concurrent or group therapy settings! Want to see who can clear the most obstacles? Improve patient socialization skills with a little friendly competition by encouraging 2 or more residents to play at the same time. Motivate skill practice and track user’s daily progress by adding Take Flight to your next session.

Follow the RESTORE blog for updates on industry news, PDPM, platform upgrades, new game announcements, user experience, and much much more! To schedule an obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (234) 303-0723. We look forward to supporting your goals!

More Opportunities for Practice!

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Because we know that providing unique opportunities for repeated skill practice in a fun, positive environment improves mood and function, we added *three (3) more games* to the RESTORE platform. More games = more opportunities for meaningful skill-building & practice! 

What’s New?

Each of the following games can be used to target an array of skills, in a variety of positions for the just-right-fit!

BREAK THE ICE

Break all of the ice bricks! In this game, the player moves a paddle left and right along the bottom of the screen. Break all the blocks on the screen by bouncing the ball off the paddle. If the ball falls off the bottom of the screen, you lose a life. Some bricks release power-ups when broken - make sure you catch them and use them to break more ice! Skills: This game aims to improve accuracy, awareness, stability, motor regulation, planning, and midline crossing. Use two controllers to focus on bilateral coordination.  

  • Play with one or two controllers (attached or separated).
  • Recommended playing with a controller attached to the hand, head, chest or finger.
  • Change the range of motion based on the amount of movement desired for the player.

LADYBUGS

Control the bridge/s over the water to line up to the ladybugs to help them cross the river. Don’t let the fly’s cross! Stars and hearts are bonuses! Skills: This game aims to improve accuracy, efficiency, and attention. Ideal for targeting motor control and inhibition. Use two controllers to focus on bilateral coordination.

  • It can be played with 1 or 2 controllers (attached or separated).
  • Recommended playing with controllers attached to hands, knees or chest. Use weights and tilt camera up to work on shoulder press motion.
  • Attach to knee/s to work on weight shifting and balance. Attach to the chest and have the player step up and down on a step or into a squat position to reach the top and bottom of the river.
  • See the settings below for the specific skills/areas you can target including vertical and horizontal movement (Movement direction), visual tracking starting on the right, left or both sides (Bugs Appear From) and the number of bridges to control vertically (Number of Rivers to Cross).

SPACEBOARD

Help the surfer move to avoid hitting obstacles in their path. Play with one controller and move your body up, down, and side to side to collect coins and avoid obstacles. Skills: Ideal for improving balance, range-of-motion, and motor planning & timing.  

  • Play with one controller.
  • Recommended playing with controllers attached to hands, knees or chest
  • Tilt camera up to target lower extremities.
  • Incorporate a “real “ space board for your patient to stand on when playing, using a step or stool.

Add one or all of these games to a player’s session to encourage practice and track player’s daily progress! Don't have access to the platform? No problem, give us a call or email us! 

Follow the RESTORE blog for updates on industry news, PDPM, platform upgrades, new game announcements, user experience, and much much more! To schedule an obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (234) 303-0723. We look forward to supporting your goals!

It’s fun to go to the OHCA!

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Spring is officially here (even if it doesn’t feel like it) and we officially have Spring Fever! And in the SNF industry, Spring Fever = Conference Fever! As previously announced, our team will be present at the AOTA Conference April 3-6, 2019.  You can read more about those conference details here. While we love a chance to network on a national stage – we are thrilled for the opportunity to connect with professionals in our own backyard! Next month, our team heads to the 2019 OHCA Conference & Expo in Columbus. We’re eager for this chance to share the newest RESTORE innovations and network with Ohio’s skilled nursing community. 

  • 2019 OHCA Annual Conference & Expo
  • April 29 – May 2, 2019
  • The Columbus Convention Center
    400 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215

RESTORE, the online, skill-building platform, empowers patients in physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about our OT-developed platform. Stop by Booth #1042 – where we will be offering platform demos and answering your questions. Come give our activities a try or just to say hi! We look forward to learning how we can help you meet and exceed your goals under PDPM.

Not attending the conference this year? Don’t worry! Schedule an obligation-free RESTORE demonstration with our team anytime, just email info@restoreskills.com or call (234) 303-0723. We look forward to supporting your goals!

See ya there!

Sequencing Activities of Daily Living

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The ability to perform Activities of Daily Living is dependent upon cognitive, motor, and perceptual skills. There is also the critical distinction of a patient's ability to complete a task (physical and cognitive ability) versus the ability to recognize the job that needs to be done without prompting (cognitive ability). Each ADL and IADL involves a series of steps that are performed together in a specific sequence, without first mastering the proper sequence, it’s hard to complete these tasks correctly. As such, to accelerate practice and help patients establish an understanding of ADLs, we've created the game Sequence It!

Why Play?

  • Target & evaluate motor planning skills
  • Maintain required proper postural alignment to increase endurance & strengthen upper extremities.
  • Improve working memory skills

GAME UPDATE! 

We love receiving feedback from our users about the game, along with their ideas for which sequencing activities to include next.

Based on our suggestions, we've added a new task for your patients to practice. The latest Sequence It! the job, Making Dinner - Soup, asks players to select the correct sequence of events using the six cards on the screen.  As you can see, the player will correctly order the six (6) actions listed in the cards: (1) open can; (2) put the soup in pan; (3) warm on the stove; (4) serve; (5) eat with a spoon; (6) clean up!

We all know the saying, “don’t put your shoes on before your socks”...

Well, how about the correct sequence for grocery shopping, brushing your teeth, or making a doctor’s appointment? A highly useful strategy to guide patients in the sequential performance of ADLs and IADLs includes breaking down the task into smaller steps.  Sequence It! is designed to help your patients (and you) work through everyday daily tasks while further developing motor skills, planning, comprehension, reasoning.

Sequence It! features three different tasks to choose from grocery shopping, making a doctor’s appointment, and brushing your teeth, allowing players can practice these skills and monitor their daily progress in a fun and engaging environment.  Players need to select the correct sequence of events using the 4-5 images and words on the screen.

Adding this game to your players' sessions will promote the understanding of sequencing activities and encourage confidence when practicing ADLs. So, put away your box of flash cards, grab a red, green, or blue object & add Sequence It! to your patient's next session.

Follow the RESTORE blog for updates on industry news, PDPM, platform upgrades, new game announcements, user experience, and much much more! To schedule a obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (330) 968-2879. We look forward to supporting your goals!

 

 

 

Mo Money, Less Problems

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Who doesn’t like money?! Our guess is no one! And while money doesn’t grow on trees, you’ll find no shortage of the green stuff in our newest game Money Mania!  Our newest game requires players to complete a variety of rehab-driven tasks involving money ranging from the basic matching of bills to the collecting bills in order to reach a specified amount. Each activity has 4 levels that increase with difficulty as they are played through. To select a bill, players use the hand to hover over the bill of their choice.

  • Matching: Collect all of the bills that match the requested one in the instructions
  • Sequencing: Collect the bills and arrange them in ascending value. Check your answer or use "reset" to start over
  • Totaling: Collect the bill/s that total closest to the dollar up cost of the given amount

Like most of our games, Money Mania! allows players to practice both cognitive and motor skills. As they work through the various tasks involving money - encourage your patients to play with one or two hands together while sitting to expand the range of motion, strengthen their upper extremities, or cross the mid-line. Players can also practice standing, with or without support, to target balance and endurance.

How will you incorporate Money Mania! into your player's next therapy session? Let us know in the comments!

Follow the RESTORE blog for updates on industry news, PDPM, platform upgrades, new game announcements, user experience, and much much more! To schedule an obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (234) 303-0723. We look forward to supporting your goals!

 

We’re Heading to the Big Easy!

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Raise your hand if you're ready for #AOTA19 🤚🤚🤚

 

This winter has been a cold one for our team up north! So, we’re just a *little* excited for the chance to network with OT professionals in the Big Easy! April 4-6, 2019, our team will be exhibiting the latest RESTORE innovations at the American Occupational Therapy Association conference in New Orleans, Louisiana!

At the RESTORE booth, we will be offering demos of our skill-building activities. Stop by Booth # 619 and give it a try or just say hi! We look forward to discussing how we can partner with you to meet and exceed your needs as we prepare for PDPM.

Use #RESTOREwithUs on #AOTA19 posts for a chance to be featured  on our Facebook and Twitter. See ya there!

Not attending the conference this year? Not to worry, follow the RESTORE blog for updates on industry news, PDPM, platform upgrades, new game announcements, user experience, and much much more! To schedule an obligation free demonstration of our on-demand therapy platform with our team, please contact us at info@restoreskills.com or call (234) 303-0723. We look forward to supporting your goals!