Success Stories & More

Grace Lepkofker recently required surgery that left her in pain and with limited mobility. Having stayed at Ivy Hall before, she happily selected Ivy Hall for her Inpatient Rehabilitation needs. Grace required Physical and Occupational Therapy to improve mobility and independence while reducing her level of pain for completion of activities of daily living. 

Physical and Occupational Therapy assisted Grace in reducing pain to enhance her quality of life while giving her the exercises and tools to become stronger for independent walking. Within 2 weeks, Grace regained most of her independence and is walking greater distances with minimal assistance. 

When asked about her favorite part of Ivy Hall, she replied that the food was wonderful and that she couldn’t ask for better help. She said the nurses and CNAs always responded immediately when she asked for help. 

Grace will continue her Rehabilitation journey with as an Outpatient in our Therapy Outpatient Program. We are so proud of Grace’s success and look forward to working with her as she continues her healing journey!

At Ivy Hall, our Wound Care Program identifies residents at risk for skin breakdown and/or wounds who may benefit from alternative therapy approaches. Pictured is Sydney Jones, RN from nursing and Zack Feathers, DPT and Kristie Roberts, OTR from Therapy who are vital to our Wound Care Program.

Sydney Jones, RN is responsible for our Wound Care program at Ivy Hall. With the help of the Interdisciplinary Team she is able to identify and treat wounds on site or make the appropriate referrals as needed. 

Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapists along with Nursing provide an interdisciplinary approach to treatment, assist in wound prevention, skin integrity, positioning, wound care, hydration, swallowing, weight loss, nutrition, and cognition to aid in the prevention of skin breakdown and wound healing. Non-healing wounds can lead to further complications impacting overall health and rehabilitation progress. Therapists serve a vital part of the interdisciplinary team to identify root causes of wounds and make recommendation for overall resident safety. 

We are thankful for out team and everything they do!

Norma Carter was recently seen by our Occupational Therapy Department for wheelchair management. Occupational and Physical Therapists are often key members of the wheelchair seating evaluation team. Seating interventions, including pressure management, seated angles, and strategies to address common positioning challenges are addressed by the team to help our residents function at their highest comfort level.

She received special attention for cushions and foot positioning to allow her to utilize her chair throughout the day as her main source of seating and transportation. Norma enjoyed working with her therapists and felt that she had achieved an enormous improvement in her comfort level.

We are so glad to see Norma comfortable and happy with her wheelchair accommodation!

Thank you for making us the Best Nursing Home in our area for 2022!

Roxie Simerly was admitted to Ivy Hall for Rehabilitation following an illness that left her unable to return home safely. At the time of her admission, she required moderate assistance from caregivers to complete activities of daily living and required a softer diet to improve nutrition and hydration. Roxie participated in Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapy to address her deficits. She made progress in her physical and mental function as well as improved nutrition and hydration. 

Although Roxie made significant progress with her physical ability, she has decided to stay at Ivy Hall for continued medical care to maintain a safe and happy quality of life. Ivy Hall offers a Restorative Therapy program for patients to maintain the progress made from Skilled Therapy and to help patients continue to thrive in their new living environment. 

Due to Roxie’s progress with Therapy, she can function in all activities of daily living with minimal assistance. She enjoys her independence and is experiencing increased opportunities to be social. She will continue with our Restorative Program to help make a seamless transition to a longer stay at Ivy Hall. We are so proud of Roxie’s success and look forward to caring for all her needs!

Interested in becoming a CNA or know someone who is? Register for our CNA Class to be held on January 17 to February 14 at Ivy Hall. Click the link below to Register.

Linda Payne was admitted to Ivy Hall for rehabilitation following an injury that left her unable to take care of herself at home. She immediately began an Inpatient Program with Physical and Occupational Therapy that was tailored to her specific needs to regain her strength and independence.

Linda’s injury left her unable to bear full weight on her leg and required special training to adapt to her injury so that she could maintain independence. Therapy targeted activities of daily living while following her weight bearing status along with strengthening exercises to improve her transfers and ambulation. 

Linda has made excellent progress in her Therapy Program. She progressed from completing simple activities in her room to walking all the way to the Therapy Gym. She will soon be ready to discharge home to continue her healing and rehabilitation. We are so proud of Linda and wish her the best with her continued success!

Sherry Perrigan is full of life and ready to get back to some of her favorite activities. She came to Ivy Hall with significant weakness and required maximum assistance for most of her activities of daily living. Sherry participated in a lengthy 2-month intensive Skilled Therapy Program to improve her general strength, ability to transfer, communicate clearly and eat safely. She worked diligently toward her goals and made excellent progress resulting in increased independence in functional activities and “just for fun” activities.  

Sherry is reaping the rewards of her hard work in her Restorative Therapy Program. Restorative Therapy helps her maintain her skills and apply them to everyday tasks. Sherry is pictured decorating a cake with Chelsea Rose, RNA. She used to love decorating cakes and now she can enjoy this activity once again! 

We are excited to see what the future holds for Sherry and with her the best wish her continued success!

Pictured are two long-term residents, Barbara Fox and Alvin Whitehead, decorating one of the many Christmas Trees at Ivy Hall. Both Barbara and Alvin have benefited from skilled therapy as long-term residents. Through various Therapy Programs, they have achieved higher levels of independence. The Therapy Department and the Nursing Department continuously monitor all residents for changes in function and intervene with Therapeutic Interventions to help our residents function at their maximum level to maintain their highest quality of life.

Due to their success in Therapy, Barbara and Alvin are enjoying everyday holiday tasks such as decorating Christmas trees. Decorating Christmas trees at Ivy Hall is an enormous task as there are already 7 trees up with more to follow! Our facility, staff, and community donate trees and decorations. We are blessed this year to have the family of Dorothy Oaks and two local schools participate in our tree donations and decorations. 

Later this holiday season, our residents will get an opportunity to gather together and judge their favorite tree while enjoying treats and Christmas caroling. We are thankful for the health of our residents, our staff, and community this Holiday Season!

Ken Howerton was admitted to Ivy Hall with considerable weakness. He required the use of a mechanical lift for transfers and was unable to walk. He required extensive Inpatient Rehabilitation to regain his strength.

Upon admission, he started Physical and Occupational Therapy. At first, Therapy addressed exercises that targeted Ken’s ability to simply get up and down and move more independently. After a couple of weeks, Ken was able to transfer without the use of a mechanical lift. Since then, he has progressed to transferring with only a 1-person assistance and he’s walking up to 50 feet with the assistance of his Therapist. 

Ken continues to make progress and he will continue to work with Therapy to increase his independence. We’ve enjoyed watching Ken get stronger and we are so proud of his success!

Teresa Teague was admitted to Ivy Hall for In-patient Rehabilitation following a brief hospitalization. At the time of admission, she suffered from severe pain and required moderate assistance for transferring, walking, and activities of daily living. She started a Physical and Occupational Therapy Program that targeted strengthening exercises, walking, activities of daily living training, and pain management. 

Teresa demonstrated a strong will to overcome her deficits and made rapid progress toward her goals. In just a little over a wee, she progressed to walking long distances independently with her walker. She will transition home with Home Health Therapy to continue her progress.

We loved watching Teresa’s rapid progress and wish her the best of luck with her continued success!

Rachel Davis, our Speech Language Pathologist and Rehabilitation Director, recently completed the rigorous certification process to obtain her Resident Assessment Coordinator Certification. 

The Resident Assessment Coordinator Certification, RAC-CT, improves a clinician’s knowledge and capability to properly complete resident assessments. The RAC-CT helps a clinician proactively solve quality pitfalls and uncover unique solutions that honor resident preferences. 

Having a higher understanding of the nursing assessment process, Rachel is now able to share insights to the nursing team and the therapy team to improve patient outcomes and establish more effective care plans. 

Thanks to Broad River Rehab, Rachel was able to obtain this certification and further contribute to Ivy Hall’s success!

Our Nursing and Therapy Staff had fun celebrating Halloween this year with our Residents.  See our Facebook Page for more photos.

Ms. Alsie Byrd was admitted to Ivy Hall Nursing Home following a recent decline in function. Due to her recent physical change, she started on Physical and Occupational therapy. 

When Ms. Byrd started therapy, she required extensive assistance with getting up and down from surfaces, walking, and activities of daily living. As a direct result of her hard work and perseverance, Ms. Byrd had increased her strength, balance, coordination, and mobility. 

She discharged home last week able to walk, get in and out of bed, transfer, and complete her activities with decreased burden of care and increased independence. In little over 1 month, Ms. Byrd returned home! Great job Mr. Byrd!

October is Physical Therapy Month! At Ivy Hall, we are more than happy to celebrate our Physical Therapists! From making positive impacts on our Resident’s lives to bringing fun and joy to the Therapy Department, they are known for their professional, compassionate, and knowledgeable attitudes. 

Pictured is Jonathan Greenlee, Physical Therapy Assistant, Matthew Smith, Physical Therapy Assistant, and Zack Feathers, Physical Therapist. These three comprise a team that continues to bring success to our Inpatient and Outpatient Residents at Ivy Hall.

Jonathan Greenlee, a graduate of Walters State Community college has been with Ivy Hall for eleven and half years. He takes pride in his resident’s success and enjoys the bonds formed during the rehabilitation process. He has fun with his patients and loves to help them get back to their homes.

Matthew Smith graduated from South College and has been with Ivy Hall almost eleven years. Matthew provides ongoing support and patience for his residents so that they can develop a sense of purpose and set goals to better themselves so they can build relationships they may not otherwise have done.

Zack Feathers is our newest member. He graduated from the University of Tennessee Health and Science Center and has been at Ivy Hall for one year. While developing clear treatment plans and transparent and reasonable goals he enjoys giving patients a voice in their day-to-day function and new ways to socialize and enjoy life.  

While our guys are very serious about their work, they are also a lot of fun! They can be found attending facility activities, celebrating milestone events with patients, enjoying comradery with fellow coworkers, and going the extra mile to make Ivy Hall a family fun facility! They are a joy to work with clinically and professionally. Happy Physical Therapy Month!

What started as a few pumpkins for fall decorations at Ivy Hall has evolved into a community endeavor resulting in a magnificent pumpkin display! Our Dietary Manager, Jill Burrow, who helps organize the donation of pumpkins from local schools, churches, and community members thoroughly enjoys watching this project come together. She uses this opportunity to roll residents outside nightly to see the display and interacts with the neighbors who walk over to watch the display grow. 

This year, our Social Worker, Joseph Taylor, and his family coordinated with West Side Elementary School to bring in a large donation of decorated pumpkins. We couldn’t be happier with the results of these creative children. Their hard work and dedication have brought lots of enjoyment to our residents and our community. 

The display has been a lot of fun for the Therapy Department. The display wraps around the building, so the Therapists have used the opportunity to assist patients in walking longer distances and on uneven surfaces to see every last pumpkin. The Therapy Department enjoys the change of scenery just as much as the residents!

We always welcome opportunities for our staff and community to come together to bring joy to our nursing home. A big thank you to Jill Burrow, Tiffany Jenkins, and Joseph Taylor for spearheading community involvement for the pumpkin display. Also, a big thank you to Tim Andrews who will be assisting residents to the Pumpkin Patch next week! Thank you to all of those who support our facility and our community!

Mrs. Peggy Willocks came to Ivy Hall for Inpatient Rehabilitation to regain her independence in performing daily activities. Upon admission, she promptly began a therapy regimen that included Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy. The three therapy disciplines assessed Mrs. Willocks ability to complete all tasks of daily living including walking, transferring, self-care, eating and safety awareness. 

She began therapy at a level where most treatments were provided in her room and were limited to short distances and minimal activities. She quickly progressed to activities in the gym that involved increasingly complex strengthening tasks and more activities of self-care. 

Mrs. Willocks progressed to walking from her room to the therapy gym, an incredible distance of 500ft, and walking on uneven surfaces and steps. As she progressed in strength and balance, she began completing tasks of self-care with minimal assistance and achieved a level of care that could be managed at home versus a Skilled Nursing Facility.

Mrs. Willocks was a joy to work with. She brought an easy going and joyful attitude to the therapy gym and the facility. We are so proud of Mrs. Willocks success and wish her the best of luck at home with her family!

Nan Ellis came to Ivy Hall the first week of August to recover from an injury that left her unable to return home from the hospital. She participated in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Program that addressed her physical condition, safety awareness, and completion of daily activities. 

In the beginning, Nan required maximum assistance for most daily tasks including walking. With the support of her family and the Ivy Hall staff, she was determined to regain her independence and return home. Nan recalls Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Kimberley Patterson, taking the reins and pushing her to achieve goals she didn’t know that she could achieve. Nan quickly progressed from maximum assistance to minimum assistance for transfers, walking, and activities of daily living. She is so thankful for the encouragement and the “push” from her family and the Ivy Hall Therapy Staff. 

After the first week of September, Nan was able to transition from Inpatient Rehabilitation to Outpatient Rehabilitation. She comes to the facility two times per week for up to two hours at a time to strengthen her physical condition for increasingly more complex tasks of daily living. We are so proud of Nan for her progress and her dedication to success!

Calvin Keplinnger came to Ivy Hall following an illness that left him weak and unable to care for himself. He was primarily confined to the bed and required maximum assistance to sit up on the side of the bed and complete basic activities. 

Calvin immediately started an intensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Program that assessed his entire body and designed a treatment program that addressed his physical and cognitive needs. He began completing strengthening exercises in the gym and completing functional tasks in his room with Skilled Therapists to regain his independence. 

Over the past 2 months, Calvin has started standing, completing transfers, and increasing his independence in activities of daily living. His spirit  and level of motivation have skyrocketed with his success, and he can now be seen making his way up and down the hallways to socialize with residents and staff members. 

Calvin says he is not done with his success and plans to continue to make improvements in all areas of function. We are so proud of Calvin and thoroughly enjoy watching his progress!