Subscription Box Keeps Senior Therapy Going After You Leave

The gift box, created and curated by two COTAs, keeps senior citizens connected to their families, while also keeping them active, independent, and engaged.

Last year, while doing their clinicals in a nursing home, COTAs Holly Masters and Ali Izzo witnessed a constant disconnect between the elderly residents and their families. They saw sadness, loneliness, and boredom in the residents. And they decided to do something about it.

The Purpose Therapy Box was born.

The Purpose Therapy Box is a subscription-based gift box, which families of senior citizens can purchase online with “set it and forget it” ease, and deliver joy to their elderly loved ones by way of the U.S. Postal Service. Each box contains functional and thoughtful items—but never food items, as Holly and Ali are mindful of possible food restrictions—and they are delivered on a one-time or quarterly basis, as selected by the family. Each box is delivered directly to their loved one, and is packed full of thoughtful, personal gifts, such as photos and messages from the family, as well as items that are hand-picked by the COTAs, meaning the often-included brain teasers, puzzles, and more are not only fun, but useful from a therapy standpoint.

“Our main focus for the box is to keep families connected, as well as to keep the person who is receiving the box independent, stimulate their mind, and keep them active. With therapy, especially Occupational Therapy, our main focus is trying to keep them as independent as possible. Someone in a nursing home is only receiving therapy for thirty minutes, maybe an hour, in a day. We send things in the box that they can use all the time, or on the weekends, and keep their therapy going,” Ali explained, when asked how the box assists the elderly, and what value it adds to the traditional therapy they are already receiving.

Holly and Ali are hoping to launch a profit-sharing model for other OTs and OTAs to recommend the box, in the future.

To learn more about the Purpose Therapy Box—or if your patients’ families are interested in learning more—we encourage you to visit purposetherapybox.com.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

APRNs Prove Vital to Improving SNF Care

New research has shown hiring APRNs to lead nursing home care teams can improve the way facilities handle “basic” needs such as mobility, hydration, medication management, and communication.

A new study conducted by researchers at the Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri has found that training APRNs to lead health care teams and coordinate care in nursing homes can lead to a decrease in hospitalizations for nursing home patients related to falls, dehydration, and other health issues. Given that the 65+ population is projected to double in size by the year 2050, according to the U.S. Census, this find is promising not only for elderly patients, but for APRNs themselves, as they fight for full practice authority, as well as for the healthcare industry, which continues to struggle against a shortage of providers.

The MU nursing research team, now in its fifth year of the Missouri Quality Initiative for Nursing Homes, had APRNs routinely document the actions they took to improve care in nursing homes, related to problem areas in “basic” care needs such as mobility, hydration, medication management, and communication.

Some of actions taken by APRNs that proved successful included:

  • Identifying fall risks and solutions to them through fall huddles with nursing home staff.
  • Implementing hydration stations throughout the nursing home to encourage family, friends, and staff to assist in keeping patients hydrated.
  • Monitoring blood pressure and adjusting medications as needed.
  • Working with licensed social workers to coordinate care procedures and discussions on end-of-life goals.

In total, 12 of the 16 facilities participating in the program reported reductions in hospitalization rates after hiring an APRN.

More on the researchers’ findings can be found in the July/September issue of the Journal of Nursing Care Quality.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.