May 7, 2021
Named Clinical Advocate of the Year by HealthPro Heritage
2020 was a really tough year for many therapy programs, but it was the outpatient programs that saw a quick drastic reductions in appointments as soon as COVID hit. HealthPro Heritage Regional manager Betsy Michnicki thought for sure that Matt Baloun and his team at Kendal at Oberlin were going to see drastic drops to their overall caseload and residents might be at risk of isolation and functional declines. This simply wasn’t the case. Matt got creative in his scheduling approach and presented a plan which allowed dedicated clinicians for IL and AL residents to be able to enter homes to provide therapy.
Helping Residents Connect with Technology
As the need for technology grew to keep residents in touch with their families, Matt developed a program within Kendal to work with residents who needed assistance with technology/new technology. Matt would see the resident who was struggling with technology, addressing the sequencing, cognition, problem solving, and fine/gross motor deficits to help the residents use their device/technology. This helped set them up for success to be able to do telehealth appointments and stay in touch with family. This was such a need on the campus and it has been widely recognized at Kendal as an appreciated, innovative approach to care for their residents.
Adopting Telehealth
Matt also led his PT/OT team into telehealth as he saw the growing need on the campus. His insight into the future allowed us to have both PT/OT staff trained and competent with telehealth. When HealthPro Heritage teams could no longer staff multiple sites, telehealth helped maintain caseload and quality outcomes despite the team being at another facility. Matt has consistently had to dig deep in his clinical skills set over the last year to sustain the caseload, quality of care, and great customer service to Kendal at Oberlin residents, continually advocating to provide therapy in new and innovative ways.
Recognition Well-deserved!
With his innovative approaches to providing services to residents during the pandemic, Matt was named Clinical Advocate of the Year for his division. According to Betsy Michnicki, the division includes multiple states (Ohio, PA, KY, TN, FL, and GA). Congratulations Matt! Your friends at Kendal at Oberlin appreciate your initiative and your dedication to serving the residents of this community!
Kendal at Oberlin is a vibrant life plan community for older adults, located in Oberlin, Ohio. HealthPro Heritage is our partner organization for rehabilitative therapy services offered on the Kendal campus.