While the current health crisis has highlighted a need for greater patient-centered flexibility when it comes to access to health care for all ages, occupational therapist Jill Gabbert identified a similar gap in care when it came to outpatient therapy access for seniors.
That’s why in 2014, she opened Goodcare AtHome Rehab, a Sioux Falls-based physical, occupational and speech therapy clinic that treats older clients where it’s most convenient, comfortable and safe: in their homes.
A model of service called “in-home outpatient” or “mobile outpatient” therapy, Gabbert’s motivation for opening the clinic was to meet the needs of patients who didn’t qualify for home health therapy services through Medicare.
“I found that my senior patients were more successful in their treatments when at home,” Gabbert said. “And, they were less likely to return to the hospital if we could continue an outpatient course of therapy within their home setting.”
At the time, Goodcare AtHome Rehab was the first mobile outpatient clinic in the Upper Midwest with the sole purpose of helping patients live their best lives while remaining in the home.
As the clinic grew, it quickly began to focus not just on seniors who did not qualify for home health services through Medicare.
Goodcare AtHome Rehab now also serves patients through partnerships with senior living communities who do not wish to travel to an outpatient client; those wanting to “age in place” in their homes but who have difficulty performing common daily activities and tasks; and those who have recently been discharged from the hospital and not considered “homebound” to qualify for home health therapy.
In addition to serving their Sioux Falls partners, Goodcare AtHome Rehab is currently expanding their partnership program with senior living communities in Sioux City, IA, and Omaha, NE.
“This program provides seniors who live in senior living communities with better access to quality, at-home and in-facility occupational, physical and speech therapy programs,” Gabbert said. “Senior living communities often don’t realize there is a piece of the puzzle missing to their care team until they speak with us and learn how we can serve their residents and support their team, all at no charge to the community.”
Goodcare AtHome Rehab therapists are highly skilled in improving seniors’ lives related to aging in place, fall prevention, dementia care, pelvic floor dysfunction, hand therapy, pain, low vision, and other needs that are important to those seeking to live at home.
These therapy services are covered by Medicare Part B and supplemental insurances.
“Our mission is to make a lasting difference in our clients’ quality of life as they seek to live their best lives at home,” Gabbert says. “This means making their goals our goals, assisting our partners in optimizing care and services for their residents, and providing high-quality outcomes while reducing rehospitalizations or transition to higher level of care.”
“Statistics show that anywhere from 80 to 90 percent of seniors prefer to remain in their homes, or ‘age in place,’” she added, “and it’s our job to help ensure they can do that safely and effectively.”