Margaret Dunnigan, Lifespark client, broke her sacrum at 91 – but thanks to her Lifespark Home Health team and physical therapists including Aron Beatty, PTA (pictured here) she was walking and back to doing what she loved….read the full story in our spring issue of Glow
With a $2500 Sign-On Bonus…
Cynthia Schmidt, PT, used to work in a long-term-care setting and was increasingly frustrated because she wasn’t able to do more for her clients to move them forward from a health challenge. It’s a common issue among physical therapists (PTs) says Karen McCarren, PT, Director of Rehab Services at Lifespark. “We go into this profession looking to have an impact on the clients we serve and sometimes that means we need to go beyond traditional medical care to have a long-term effect. For many PTs out in the field, they have large caseloads and they need to work within the rules of Medicare,” explained Karen.
“All the pieces needed to come together to support a person and it didn’t. In healthcare today, there’s too much focus on what they can’t do, their deficits, not what they can do or what they want to do,” added Cynthia.
Does Cynthia’s experience sound familiar? We’ve heard from other healthcare professionals – nurses, caregivers, home health case managers, etc., that they went into healthcare to make a difference in people’s lives and look at the whole person, not just their medical diagnosis. But as Karen pointed it, in a system that’s riddled with paperwork and rules, sometimes delivering that kind of care model can be challenging. At Lifespark though, things are different, on purpose.
“I didn’t know there was an alternative,” said Cynthia. Lifespark team members can see their own clients because of the size of our team and because of the acuity and complexity of the clients served by the home health division. “But they also have the ability to have autonomy to manage their caseload,” said Karen. “That’s a big draw for PTs looking for an employer who offers an in-home environment. The ability to build relationships directly with the client on a consistent basis is appealing, as is our proactive model that focuses on wellness, prevention and sparked lives.”
Karen also believes it’s our whole person model that ‘sparks’ new employees. ‘Lifespark is an organization that is very accepting of a variety of skillsets. You provide value even if you are coming from a different healthcare environment.”
But it’s also because Lifespark is progressive and innovative that’s very motivating for Karen. “We provide a very different client experience by focusing on longer-term outcomes rather than episodic care. And we have a company that encourages our own personal professional growth. It’s a culture that you can’t really explain until you experience it.”
That too is on purpose, the spark you create is up to you. Nothing we do is traditional because we know it takes much more than that to create a different experience for seniors. Don’t you agree?
We want to hear from you – what’s your experience as a PT in today’s healthcare? Oh and P.S., We’re hiring. Check out our careers page– we’re offering a $2500 sign-on bonus for the right physical therapist candidate.