Feel The Advantage

Shannon Sicher Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA/L) Cedarbrook Nursing Home - Allentown An Employee Review AdvantageCare Rehabilitation (ACR) has come a long way since I started in 2014. I started working for ACR fresh out of college where they helped build my skills as a COTA and professional. I am appreciative of the way ACR has helped me grow as it speaks highly of their leadership. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my co-workers, specifically how we all have each other's backs and are always willing to lend a hand. Whether someone isn't feeling well or under an enormous amount of pressure, we are quick to help with their caseload, so their patients get the high-quality care they deserve. AdvantageCare Rehabilitation is always flexible and understanding. They work with each employee on their weekly schedule and understand that things come up that can limit daily capabilities - they have no problem with make-up work over...

Carly Engel Level II OTA Student Susque-View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center SNF Expectations v. Reality of Health Care Before beginning my time at Susque-View Home Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, I truly did not know what to expect and what exactly healthcare was like in a SNF. I think many people expect nursing homes or SNF's to be sad or depressing places, but that is not the reality I experienced during my time at Susque-View. Aside from the healthcare aspect of an SNF, the environment alone upon entering Susque-View Nursing Home is uplifting. There is a beautiful garden with numerous plants and clear windows on the ceiling allowing sunshine to shine down on the garden and brighten the room. Also, based on previous experiences, I expected a lot of the healthcare in a SNF to be focused on maintenance with the residents. I was pleased to learn the reality is that healthcare in a SNF is all about reha...

Allie DeBor Marketing Assistant Childhood Cancer Awareness “Your child has cancer.” Those were the words my parents heard the afternoon of August 5, 1995. At the age of two, we were just beginning what would be a long journey none of us were prepared for. A few weeks before, I had a persistent cold that wouldn’t seem to go away. I was more tired than usual and in most situations, was found curled up on my mom’s lap, hunched over in pain. After an appointment that felt like days at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the doctors told my parents that I had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of blood cancer commonly referred to as ALL. From there I started chemotherapy that caused me to be an insomniac, lose all of my hair and for a period of time even made me paralyzed. I wouldn’t change any of it though, because without it, I wouldn’t be here today. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what I went through those years I had cancer. That being said, ...

Carmen Bauer, M.S. CCC-SLP Speech Language Pathologist Valley View Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Impact As I sat back in my car tonight, I reflected on the positives on the day and the things I could have done or reacted to differently. This has been an attempt at decompression before driving home after work. As many you know, the age-old adage of leaving work at work often doesn't bode well for those of us in healthcare. The lives of those we treat become interwoven in our days, and we find ourselves pausing and wondering how X, Y, or Z is panning out for our patients. Today, I found myself struggling to find a positive. After a long week, I could hardly pinpoint exactly if what I did was therapeutic, let alone something positive. As I pulled out of the parking lot, it donned on me: Impact. We have impact on these patients and their families. We have impact on lives just as they have impact on ours. We are incredibly blessed to be in a profession that all...

Bryce Hancock Marketing Intern Advantage Home Health Services, LLC AdvantageCare Rehabilitation, LLC Internship This summer, I started working with Advantage Home Health Services, LLC and AdvantageCare Rehabilitation, LLC (Advantage) as an Intern in the Marketing Department. Advantage was founded in 2003 by CEO/President, Amy Hancock, and is known for their high-quality care for their patients. The company serves the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and employees nearly 800 people. The main goal of my summer internship was to increase traffic to our Facebook page. As a department, we started the #LetsGetSocial Campaign to raise awareness of our social media to all employees across the state. After successfully achieving my halfway point, I was satisfied with my experience because I was able to apply what I learned in the classroom to my work here at Advantage. To know that what I learned in the only Marketing class I had taken made me successful in this inte...

Lisa Beck, MS CCC SLP/CS Director of Rehabilitation Premier Washington Health Center Teamwork In May 2017, the Pennsylvania State Board of Examiners passed the decision to offer a provisional license to Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists.  Many have asked, “Why is this such a big deal? The Board of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy have been doing this for years.” When a student graduates with their Master's Degree in Speech Language Pathology, they must complete a nine-month internship referred to as clinical fellowship.  Many states offered a provisional license to clinical fellows which would allow them to provide therapy as a licensed therapist under the direct and indirect supervision of a licensed/certified Speech Language Pathologist (SLP).  Until this decision last May, other states who provide a provisional license, it was very difficult for newly graduated SLPs to find a job in Pennsylvania as a clinical fellow due to str...

Lindsey Houseknecht, COTA/L Valley View Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Annual Reflection Yesterday I was thinking about how different my career is this year compared to last year. Last year at this time, I had lost all my desire to be a COTA. Frankly, I was looking for any other job option to get out of the therapy game all together. I used to dread going to work every day. There was no heart in my work.  I spent all of my days watching the clock and counting down the hours until I could go home. I couldn’t wait until Friday, spending a week just going through the motions was starting to get old. I was never willing to work extra hours or put any extra effort into anything work-related. I was only working for the paycheck, not for the passion. Since then, a lot has changed for me. This year, I love working as a COTA in the rehabilitation department at Valley View Rehabilitation and Nursing Center under AdvantageCare Rehabilitation. I want to stay at work. ...