Success Stories

Ethal Hardin chose Ivy Hall for her Rehabilitation needs to regain her strength and balance to reduce her risk for falls at home. She participated in Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy to ensure she was able to return home independently. 

Physical Therapy targeted strength, coordination, standing, transferring, and walking longer distances. Occupational Therapy worked on Ethal’s ability to safely dress herself, bathe and move around safely while completing daily activities. Speech Therapy focused on cognitive testing and training to make sure Ethal’s cognitive skills were appropriate for independent living.

Ethal’s dedication to her therapy and hard work paid off. In just two short weeks, she made significant progress and was able to discharge back to her home independently. Ethal was a wonderful addition to the Ivy Hall family in her short time here. She brought so much love and joy to those around her. We are so proud of her success and wish her the best of luck back at home!

Mr. Hardin was admitted to Ivy Hall following a hospitalization that left him unable to care for himself independently. He immediately started a therapy program that included Physical and Occupational Therapy to get him back on his feet so he could return home independently. 

Skilled Occupational and Physical Therapy helped Mr. Hardin go from requiring moderate assistance with transfers, walking, dressing and other activities of daily living to becoming independent. In two short weeks, Mr. Hardin no longer required skilled inpatient services and discharged home with the help of Home Health Therapy and Nursing services.  

The staff reported that Mr. Hardin was one of the most pleasant and polite patients they had worked with, and that he will be greatly missed. Everyone truly enjoyed watching his progress. We wish him the best of luck at home with his continued success!

Ethal Hardin chose Ivy Hall for her Rehabilitation needs to regain her strength and balance to reduce her risk for falls at home. She participated in Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy to ensure she was able to return home independently. 

Physical Therapy targeted strength, coordination, standing, transferring, and walking longer distances. Occupational Therapy worked on Ethal’s ability to safely dress herself, bathe and move around safely while completing daily activities. Speech Therapy focused on cognitive testing and training to make sure Ethal’s cognitive skills were appropriate for independent living.

Ethal’s dedication to her therapy and hard work paid off. In just two short weeks, she made significant progress and was able to discharge back to her home independently. Ethal was a wonderful addition to the Ivy Hall family in her short time here. She brought so much love and joy to those around her. We are so proud of her success and wish her the best of luck back at home!

April is Occupational Therapy Month. This April we’d like to recognize Kristie Roberts, OTR. Kristie works hard to keep our resident’s independent and pain free by providing functional exercises, assisting residents in functional activities, evaluating and fitting splints and wheelchairs, and improving positioning for comfort in chairs and beds. 

Kristie is pictured with resident Donald Maloy putting the ‘fun’ in functional activities. She recently assisted Tim Andrews from the Activities Department in an Easter egg dying activity. She helped the residents with coordination and strength to decorate and dye the eggs. The residents love participating in familiar activities during the holidays that they would have been doing if they were home. Kristie makes sure that during every holiday the residents get to fully participate in a fun-filled familiar activities. 

Thank you, Kristie Roberts, for all of your hard work and dedication to Ivy Hall!

Judy Orr is no stranger to Ivy Hall Rehabilitation. Back in 2019, she attended Outpatient Physical Therapy for her therapy needs. This time, she chose Ivy Hall for Inpatient Rehabilitation following a knee replacement surgery.

Ms. Orr participated in aggressive Occupational and Physical Therapy six times a week to regain strength and range of motion in her knee so that she could return home independently. Within a week, she made significant gains and began taking the stairs to the Therapy Gym instead of the elevator! In two weeks, she was ready to return home independently. 

Ms. Orr will return for another round of Outpatient Therapy to continue her rehabilitation on her knee. We are happy to have her return as she is such a joy to work with. When asked what her favorite part of her stay at Ivy Hall was, she said could not separate out a favorite person or thing. It was all wonderful! We are so proud of Judy’s success!

We offer Outpatient Therapy for all Physical, Occupational and Speech/Language/Swallowing needs. Please give us a call at 423-547-3840 to get started with your Outpatient Therapy at Ivy Hall.

Carolyn Childers required a knee replacement following non-surgical interventions which were unable to restore her quality of life. Mrs. Childers chose Ivy Hall for her rehabilitation needs following her surgery. Upon admission, she promptly started a program with Physical and Occupational Therapy to address range of motion and strength in her knee so she could be as independent as possible.

Along with exercises, the Therapy Team also assisted Mrs. Childers in completing activities of daily living such as dressing and toileting while wearing her immobilizer knee brace. The Ivy Hall Medical Team assisted her in following through with doctor appointments and scheduling a fitting with a local ortho company to make a custom knee brace. Due to her level of motivation and participation, Mrs. Childers made excellent progress and was able to discharge home independently. 

We wish Carolyn the best of luck with her continued success and miss having her in the Therapy Gym on a daily basis!

Pansy Rouse selected Ivy Hall for her nursing and rehabilitation needs following an illness that left her short of breath and too weak to ambulate and complete tasks of daily living. Mrs. Rouse required maximum assistance to stand up, walk short distances and complete most daily self-care tasks. She also required extensive Respiratory Therapy services to regulate her oxygen levels for normal activity. 

Upon admission, Mrs. Rouse immediately began working with the Therapy team and the Respiratory Therapist to regain her health and strength so she could return home. She worked with Physical and Occupational Therapy to improve her ability to stand, walk, and perform self-care. She worked with Speech Therapy to improve her breathing and swallowing coordination to reduce her risk of aspiration and reduce her risk of pneumonia. She also worked with Respiratory Therapy to improve her respiration function and to learn how to use her oxygen equipment appropriately to help her maintain oxygen levels needed for daily activity.  

With the support of her husband and family, Mrs. Rouse dedicated all of her energy to her recovery. She demonstrated the motivation and positive attitude needed for a transformation in her health. After 3 weeks, Mrs. Rouse was able to walk longer distances and complete her daily activities independently. We know she is looking forward to returning home with her husband, but we will definitely miss her smiling face at Ivy Hall. We wish Pansy the best of luck with her continued success!

Mrs. Joyce Drewes had been undergoing several medical issues resulting in increased falls and generalized weakness. She realized she was in need of intensive skilled nursing and rehabilitation services and chose Ivy Hall for her medical and therapy needs. 

For nearly 5 weeks, Mrs. Drewes worked closely and intensely with nursing, therapy, dietary and outside medical appointments to regain her health and strength. Her medical team saw that her needs were being met and she put forth the motivation and effort required to make significant gains in her health. Mrs. Drewes progressed from requiring maximum assistance with walking and most daily activities to being able to transfer and walk with a cane and complete her daily activities independently. 

Mrs. Drewes paid some very nice compliments to the staff of Ivy Hall Nursing Home. When asked what her favorite part of her stay was, she reported that she could not separate favorites. She stated “I would like to thank everyone. They were so nice, gracious, and helpful. I never felt like I needed anything. If I asked, I received.” She also stated that the Therapy Department did more than just Therapy. They were vital in helping her with planning her discharge to home. 

We wish Mrs. Drewes the best of luck and continued success with her health as she returns home!

Jane Cole was admitted to Ivy Hall after suffering a fall that left her non-weight bearing on her left foot. She spent a little over two months unable to bear weight. During that time, she worked closely with the Therapy Department to improve strength, balance, and coordination to make sure she was ready once she was able to start walking again. She also worked closely with the Therapy Department to learn how to complete activities of daily living while unable to bear weight on her foot. 

After two months, Mrs. Cole finally got the all-clear to bear weight on her foot. At his point, Mrs. Cole absolutely took off with her therapy. She was up walking around with minimal assistance in no time. 

Mrs. Cole will soon be returning to her home at a local assisted living residence. She will be greatly missed as she has been a joy to the staff and residents. She can often be found playing cards with her roommate, socializing in the hallway, and joining facility activities. 

We are so proud of Mrs. Jane Cole and will be sending lots of love with her when she returns home!

Mrs. Billie Creasey is a long-term resident of Ivy Hall Nursing Home. Six months ago, she began suffering from medical conditions that made it difficult to sit up in a chair, participate in activities of daily living, and eventually even participate in therapy. 

During that time, she received excellent nursing care to meet her needs. The nurses were very attentive to her needs and changes in her condition and when Mrs. Creasey began making positive changes, they immediately involved the Therapy Team.

She first expressed a desire to make some modifications to her diet. Speech Therapy got involved and in a short time, helped Mrs. Creasey progress from a puree diet to solid food. Speech Therapy was able to improve her attention and involvement in meals and brought in Occupational Therapy to assist with self-feeding, grooming, and self-care. Mrs. Creasey progressed so well with Occupational Therapy that she was able to begin Physical Therapy to work on bed mobility, transfers, and sitting up by herself. 

Mrs. Creasey continues to work with the Therapy Team to manage her pain and regain her independence. We are so proud of Billie’s ability to tolerate simple activities of daily living and ability to progress toward her level of function prior to her illness!

Brenda Stout was admitted to Ivy Hall after a fall that left her unable to move without intense pain. At her time of admission, Brenda was fully dependent on staff for almost all movement and activities of daily living. 

Brenda immediately started an intensive therapy program with Occupational and Physical Therapy 6 days a week. Therapy helped her regain independence and manage her pain with adaptive equipment, compensatory strategies, and strength training. In 3 weeks, Brenda returned to her original physical function and was able to go home. 

Brenda was a treat for the Therapy Department. She brought joy, laughter, hard work, and motivation to the Therapy Gym. She will definitely be missed. We wish Brenda good luck with her continued success!

At Ivy Hall, our Dietary Department prides themselves on accommodating our residents wants and needs. We are blessed with wonderful cooks, kitchen aids and our Dietary Manager, Jill Burrow. 

Upon admission, Jill meets with each resident to learn their likes, dislikes, allergies, and special dietary needs. Weekly, Jill reviews resident’s weights and labs to help ensure dietary needs are being met.

Along with patient interaction and chart reviews, Jill also works closely with the Nutritionist and Therapy Department. Dietary and Speech Therapy work together to make sure the kitchen is serving foods that meet the resident’s medical and therapeutic needs such as appropriate diet textures and consistencies. Occupational and Physical Therapies work closely with Dietary to implement adaptive equipment and positioning techniques to help the residents eat comfortably and independently. 

Our Dietary Department is known for constantly running to the store to pick up popsicles, gluten free bread, Pringles, and a million other items to make sure our residents have exactly what they want! We are thankful for our entire Dietary Department and all they do for our residents at Ivy Hall!

Last week our Therapy Department took time to pass out Valentine Cards made by St. Anne Catholic School in Bristol, Va. 

We love how community service projects can teach our youth about love and service while at the same time brightening up a resident’s day. These cards, which were full of innocence and love, brought so much joy to the staff and residents!

Thank you to St. Anne School for thinking of our residents on this special holiday and thank you to our Therapy Department for sharing the love.

Betty McKinney came to Ivy Hall for a short stay when she started experiencing weakness that made her unable to complete activities of daily living safely and independently. She started a therapy program to regain strength and coordination while learning to live independently despite some of her deficits.

Betty quickly made progress toward her goals to return home. In less than 3 weeks, she learned to use a walker to move around independently. Betty initially required assistance from staff members to stand and walk so her progress with a walker in such a short time was a huge success.

We are proud of Betty’s insight to seek help when she started declining and her quick recovery. She’ll be returning home safely with the help of her new walker! Good luck Betty with your continued success!

Mildred Nidiffer, who goes by “Midge”, will be returning home after a grueling 100 days of skilled therapy. Following two injuries resulting in non-weight bearing status (meaning no weight on the injured leg), Midge has had to overcome pain and weakness to return to being able to walk and return home.

Midge participated in skilled Physical and Occupational Therapy two hours a day for 5-6 days a week for 100 days to regain full independence. Therapy focused on the usual strength and balance training but also on how to live as independent as possible with her injuries. Midge quickly became able to complete a lot of her daily tasks during her stay with minimal assistance from Staff. Once she was able to bear weight on her injured leg, she became fully independent with the assistance of a walker. 

Midge progressed from simple strengthening exercises to walking short distances to completing complex tasks of daily living. Midge is pictured working with Occupational Therapist Kristie Roberts and Physical Therapy Assistant Jonathan Greenlee completing a cooking task while using her walker. She put forth the effort required to recoup from her injuries, and it shows!

Sometimes the journey is not short or easy, but it is always worth it when the outcome is this good!

This week, Nancy and Ken Calloway celebrated their 60th anniversary! Nancy and Ken met at Elizabethton High School when Nancy thought it would be fun to splash Ken with a water gun in the middle of American History class. A few years later, after Ken had returned from serving our country in the Air Force, the two reunited and fell in love.

Nancy has been a resident at Ivy Hall since this past April. During her stay, she has become very close to both the Therapy and Nursing staff. Chelsea Rose and Rickia Bell with the Therapy Department, surprised Nancy and Ken for their anniversary. They brought cake, pizza, a fruit tray and balloons so they could celebrate properly. Nancy and Ken enjoyed the day celebrating while surrounded by their Ivy Hall family.

Happy Anniversary Nancy and Ken! You are such an inspiration and we’re so happy to be a part of your lives!

Once a long-term patient has completed skilled therapy they usually transition to a Restorative Nursing plan. Restorative Nursing works on maintaining the skills obtained during Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapy which helps to prevent a patient from declining back to the condition that required skilled intervention in the first place. 

Barbara Fox, who has been at Ivy Hall since 2019, is pictured playing bean bag toss with one of our Restorative Nursing Aids, Chelsea Rose. Chelsea and Barbara play bean bag toss and navigate cones in an obstacle course to maintain Barbara’s balance and coordination while having fun. We are thankful for Chelsea’s enthusiastic and creative techniques to keep our patient strong and active!

Barbara, we are proud of your dedication to your physical health and love seeing you maintain your independence!

Irene Trivett is our oldest resident at Ivy Hall! At 101, she comes down to the Therapy Gym and exercises five times a week. We look forward to her coming down to the gym and watching her amazing strength and endurance!

Irene is a joy to the staff and residents alike. She loves to sit and socialize with her roommate and with the therapy staff. She brings a peaceful and easy-going attitude to the Therapy Gym. 

We are proud of her ability to regain strength and endurance to reduce falls and improve independence. She just goes to show, you are never to old to learn new skills! 

We’d like to recognize two of our remarkable staff members, Ally Markland and Joyce Iverson, for their hard work in our dining room at Ivy Hall.

Communal dining is one of our resident’s favorite activities. For starters, it’s tradition! Dining together can bring back memories of eating with their families and new friendships can grow while sitting around the table together. Communal dining has also been shown to increase food intake which potentially leads to weight gain and corresponding improvements in nutritional status and rehabilitation. With supervising staff in the dining room, if a resident needs refills, second helpings, specific condiments, or an alternative entrée that request can be fulfilled immediately. 

Joyce Iverson, one of our full time Speech Language Pathologists, is present during afternoon meals to assist patients with chewing and swallowing problems to accommodate a more traditional dining style while overcoming deficits. Joyce is also available to ensure safe and efficient intake for all residents to help overcome weight loss and malnutrition struggles that are often seen in our population.

Ally Markland is a constant source of comfort and help for our residents. She has been with Ivy Hall as a CNA and Restorative Nursing Aid since 2017. She has the experience and the skills needed to ensure a safe and fun environment during mealtime. 

Thanks Joyce and Ally for all you do! We love seeing our residents dining together!