Leah Wilsey, PTA, has been with Infinity Rehab since 2009. She assists with therapy and psych rehab in four buildings around the Twin Falls, ID area. She also oversees the daily therapy operations of two of those buildings as the Director of Rehab.
Leah enjoys providing patients with a high-degree of care and the challenges that come with it. She is also an advocate for Medicaid and VA patients. Her therapy situation is unique to others because she and her staff also provide a degree of psychological care and rehabilitation to their patients. “I will not say ‘no’ or ‘never’ to a patient,” says Leah. “I am thankful to have the opportunity to work with and be challenged with working in a behavioral environment.”
Leah and her staff have begun using Allen Cognitive Levels (ACL), a series of tests to determine a patient’s mental acuity, which has been a challenge with a big payoff. “Using ACL has been a core with occupational therapists, but physical therapists are using it more now to provide a backing for psych evaluations,” remarks Leah. “But it’s so great to use it with the whole team of therapists. ACL helps the therapists determine how to focus on treatment and nurses can use it as well.”
“Our team is great at thinking outside of the box,” says Leah. “Most people, even when faced with huge behavioral issues, have a rehab potential to some level.” It is a priority for Leah and her staff to adjust the patient’s plan of care accordingly. “Our levels of care change based on the individual needs of the resident. Each patient requires an individualized plan of care, so we work very diligently at creating one that meets their needs.”
There are many pressures on therapists to be as creative as possible in light of changing insurance regulations and Medicaid cuts. Leah and her staff have found ways to deal with the budget reductions while still giving patients proper care. “We strive to provide adequate adaptive equipment needs within a very limited facility budget,” says Leah. “There are a lot of people out there that need care. We might have to purchase the lower level of brand or style when it comes to new equipment because the budget is tight at a particular facility, but we in no way let that affect the level of care the patient receives.”
Leah recognizes that it is the efforts of an entire team that allows a patient to receive optimal care. “The residents and patients get such good care around here because it’s a combined effort, a program, by all the therapists, nurses, caregivers – all the employees at each facility,” she says. “It’s great to think that we all contribute in a different way but we all work toward the same goal of caring for the patient.”
