Through the Clinicians Who Inspire series, we continue to share motivation, creativity, and inspiration from clinicians in the field. This month we spoke with Shannon Rasmussen, Champion Level II Therapist, and SLP at Pecan Tree Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Texas. Shannon states that working through the pandemic was the most trying time of her SLP career. What kept her encouraged during those times is the advice she now gives other clinicians, “remember why you became a therapist.” Shannon stresses the importance of staying focused on remembering that we are in our field of work to help others. This focus is what motivated her to use her vocation to provide a positive, meaningful impact during the pandemic. When social isolation became a reality in her facility, Shannon decided to tackle a very real consequence of isolation- weight loss. She met with the dietary manager, and together they initiated a snack cart, filled with a variety of the residents’ favorite snacks. This cart would make its rounds at the facility and provide a real pick-me-up (and additional calories) to the residents spending increased time in their rooms. As in many facilities, another area of concern was the loss of communal meals. Shannon recognized that residents spending increased time in bed could negatively impact their cognitive and communication skills. She worked with the IDT to ensure residents were up and enjoying mealtimes. She even facilitated roommates enjoying socially distanced meals together while seated and facing each other to promote mealtime conversations and socialization. These seemingly straightforward strategies are just a couple of examples of Shannon and her IDT communicating, brainstorming, and working together to bring back some sense of normalcy during demanding times and a reminder to us to focus on our calling to provide patient-centered care. Thank you, Shannon, and team, for being clinicians who inspire each other, your patients, and all of your therapy peers! Keep up the amazing work you do each and every day!
Condensed Version:
Through the Clinicians Who Inspire series, we continue to share motivation, creativity, and inspiration from clinicians in the field. This month we spoke with Shannon Rasmussen, Champion Level II Therapist, and SLP at Pecan Tree Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Texas. What kept her encouraged during trying times is the advice she now gives other clinicians, “remember why you became a therapist.” When social isolation became a reality in her facility, Shannon decided to tackle a very real consequence of isolation- weight loss. Together with the dietary manager, they initiated a snack cart, filled with a variety of the residents’ favorite snacks. Another area of concern was the loss of communal meals. She facilitated roommates enjoying socially distanced meals together while seated and facing each other to promote mealtime conversations. These are just some examples of Shannon and her IDT working together to bring back some sense of normalcy during demanding times and a reminder to us to focus on our calling to provide patient-centered care. Thank you, Shannon, and team, for being clinicians who inspire each other, your patients, and all of your therapy peers! Keep up the amazing work you do each and every day! #CareMatters