Presenter: Jennifer Darling, LCSW

Date: Thursday, Aug 5th

Time: 7-8:30pm

Location: St. Luke’s Meridian, lower level conference rooms

Cost: Free

Brought to you by St. Luke’s-Elks Children’s Rehab

During this in-service, parents/caregivers will learn how to identify the motivation behind their child’s behavior, how to use themselves as an effective intervention tool to help their child and about anger in children.  They will have the opportunity to learn about and practice anger and stress management skills they can teach their child.

Call 706-5548 to sign up! 

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On June 21^st, 24 campers and 24 counselors will come together on the NNU campus to socialize, tell jokes, play games and produce works of art.  For some of these campers it will be the 1^st time they have ever experienced camp.  For some it will be the 1^st time they have seen another child who talks like they do.  For these children, communicating has always been a struggle.  Their “voice: has not always been heard”.  They rely on technology to communicate their wants and needs.  They use “talkers” as their “voice” to express themselves.  The technical term for “talkers” is speech generating device or voice output communication aids (VOCAS).  These children are often the only one in their school to have such a device.  For some they are the only one in their town.  Their parents have often fought long and hard to get such a device for their child.  Because they are incredibly expensive and insurance is often used to help pay for them.  So it is even more important that the child learn to us it, his/her family learn to support it and the educational staff facilitate its use.

            AAC camp integrates these areas of need and emphasizes use and learning while also having fun!  With a 1:1 ratio between campers and counselors, campers will be able to maximize opportunities to communicate using their talkers.  AAC camp is where the pace slows down and people both understand and want to learn more about speech generating devices and the people who use them.

            This is our first year on the NNU campus and we have a lot of exciting things planned!  Our theme this year is “Science!”  Campers and counselors will be “experimenting” all week, culminating with a science fair on Friday.  Swimming and rock climbing compliments of Nampa Rec Center, along with arts and crafts and games will make AAC camp a fun-filled week of activities.

            Campers need to own a speech generating device and have a need to use it.  Counselors must come with energy and enthusiasm to learn more about augmentative communication.  If you are interested in finding out more, go to our website:  www. Aaccampidaho.org or contact Anne Kuhlmeier at akuhlmeier@elksrehab.org. 

Anne Kuhlemeier, MA, CCC-SLP, ATP

Filed under: Pediatrics, Speech-Language Pathology, St. Luke's-Elks Rehab Camps, St. Luke's-Elks Rehab Events | No Comments »

• Injury Prevention

• Balance & Coordination

• Core Strength

• Proprioception

• Speed

• Agility & Reaction Time

• Power

• Endurance

 Who: Athletes ages 7-14

When: Boise Camp June 8- July 1  /  Nampa Camp July 13-August 5

Camps will meet Tuesday and Thursday with the option of : 9am-11am or 6pm-8pm

Cost: $115 a late registration fee of $25 after May 28 (for Boise Camp) and July 2 (for Nampa Camp).

To register, contact Lorie Allison @ 484-0730 or email lallison@elksrehab.org

Filed under: Sports & Injuries, St. Luke's-Elks Rehab Camps | No Comments »

Filed under: Pediatrics, St. Luke's-Elks Rehab Camps, St. Luke's-Elks Rehab Events | No Comments »

Wendy Rouse will present on the topic of voiding and eliminating dysfunctions in school aged children, including bedwetting and constipation. She will discuss normal voiding and eliminating patterns; types of dysfunctional voiding and eliminating; and what the PT, doctor and parent can do to help. (Sorry, this topic does not cover potty training.)

Presenter: Wendy Rouse, DPT

Date: Thursday, June 3rd

Time: 7-8:30pm

Location: St. Luke’s Hospital in Meridian, lower level conference rooms

To register please call 706-5775

*Childcare is no longer available, sorry for the inconvenience

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Everyday there seems to be a new device on the market that makes communication easier and quicker. Our phones are instruments that we can use to text or type a message and get a response in a matter of seconds. For those of us that need this fast paced interaction, the world is literally at our fingertips. Speaking of fingertips, thumbs, wrists…. to communicate on these devices encourages one to use their thumb or index in tiny little repetitive motions over and over which could lead to a repetitive strain injury (RSI).   An RSI can be caused by these repetitive tasks, sustaining an awkward position, or not allowing sufficient rest time after an activity. Specifically, the thumb is not meant to be held in the position that it is in when rolling the small ball on the Blackberry. This posture of the thumb can lead to tendonitis or arthritis. “Blackberry thumb” has been coined to describe the symptoms of pain and inflammation.  Will there be an iPhonitis next? The average person does not appreciate the importance of hand function until they are unable to do simple tasks without pain. The message is clear: we must be aware of how we use these small muscles and joints in the hand and have respect for the possibility of injury. To follow are some tips.

• First, be aware of your posture. Avoid rounding your shoulders and looking down at the device for long periods of time. As with any activity, take a break every 20-30 minutes and stretch in the opposite direction from the working posture. See below for simple stretches.
• Change the way you use your device:

-Can you use your index finger for some of the input instead of just the thumb?

-Can you use a stylus?

-Use shortcuts and abbreviations.

• Sync your device with your computer

-Save the heavy texting or typing for emails for computer use.

-Use a mini keyboard that you can plug into your PDA.-

• Change your thinking pattern:

-Do you have to use this device as much as you do?

-Could you use this device only for emergencies, or check it only 2 times a day?

Stretches. These can be done intermittently throughout the day:

(Hold all for 10 seconds)

• Interlace your fingers and turn your palms away from your body as you extend your arms forward.
• Repeat the above, but this time extend your arms overhead.
• Place your hand just above the back of the elbow and gently push your elbow across your chest toward the opposite shoulder. Stretch both the right and left arms.
• Raise one arm overhead. Bend the elbow. Place the opposite hand on the bent elbow and gently push the elbow back further. Stretch both the right and left arms.
• Extend an arm in front of you, making sure the elbow is completely straight. With your palm down, take the opposite hand and bend the hand down toward the floor. Then turn the palm up, and stretch the hand up toward your body.
• Open up hands and spread the fingers as far as possible.

The prevalence of RSI’s is on an increase with the growing base of technology. Realize that our hands are our livelihood and are an extension of who we are. It is worth it to have an awareness of how we do things throughout the day and to save our hands for the fun things that we enjoy doing.

-Kristin Biggins, OTR/L CHT, Ketchum Clinic Manager

Filed under: Arthritis, Common Aches & Pains, Ergonomics, General Health Tips, Occupational Therapy | No Comments »

Does your child refuse to eat? Are there only certain foods your child consistently eats? Is your child a messy eater? Are you concerned about your child’s weight gain?  If so, this presentation will help determine if your child has a musculature concern or a sensory concern. We will discuss ways to both help treat and increase your child’s food repertoire and ensure safe swallowing. Exercises and resources will be shared, and questions are encouraged.

Filed under: Education Opportunities, Pediatrics | No Comments »

Filed under: Education Opportunities, Pediatrics | No Comments »

Patients’ needs are always growing and changing in our region–and St. Luke’s-Elks Rehab is always at the forefront, ready to meet those therapy and rehab needs!  We’re welcoming to our team a new Physical Therapist in Ontario, Oregon, a new Speech Language Pathologist specializing in children, and a new Occupational Therapist with extensive hand therapy and occupational rehab experience!!

Here are the newest openings within the St. Luke’s Elks system of clinics:

-Occupational Therapist-Outpatient, Ontario

-Physical Therapist-Clinic Manager, Twin Falls

-Physical Therapist or PTA, Inpatient, Twin Falls

-Physical Therapist-Clinic Manager, Hailey

-Physical Therapist-Outpatient, Hailey

-Physical Therapist or PTA, Float, Treasure Valley

We just returned from sunny San Diego where St. Luke’s-Elks Rehab and Elks Healthcare Staffing teamed up to bring job opportunities to attendees of the APTA Combined Sections meeting. Roughly 7,500 PT’s and Student PT’s shared 4 days of professional learning opportunities. Thanks to those who stopped by to meet us in booth #1442. We had the best chocolate treats! We also created quite a stir with the drawing for an autographed Tony Hawk skateboard. St. Luke’s-Elks Rehab was the therapy provider for the 2008 Boise stop on Tony’s “Boom Boom Huck Jam” tour! He’s had a resurgence of media attention lately as the mentor of Olympic Gold Medal snowboarder Shaun White.

Call or email me if you’d like more details about joining the St. Luke’s-Elks Rehab team! Also check out the opportunities for travel and PRN work through our sister business, Elks Healthcare Staffing

www.elkshealthcarestaffing.org

Claudia Weathermon Tester

cweathermon@elksrehab.org

(208) 489-5023

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The first time I see a patient is for the evaluation.  At the end of the evaluation I give my patients a packet of information to take home and read, instruct them in the Anatomy and Physiology of the Lymph System, and give them two things to get a head start on before we initiate our treatments.  These two things are:

1. Any time you wash, dry, or lotion the swollen arm/leg, always rub up towards the body/heart.  What we generally do is rub up and down.  The lymph system is very close to the surface and the normal pressure we use to do these every day activities of washing, drying and putting on lotion is enough to stimulate that lymph system, so move the direction we want the fluid to go.
2. Deep Abdominal Breathing:  The last tube of the Lymphatic system goes up through the chest passing through the Diaphragm. As we breathe the Diaphragm moves up and down massaging the lymph fluid up and into the Blood Circulatory System.  Thus, by doing Deep Abdominal Breathing it creates a “wicking” effect, drawing the lymph fluid from the limbs and body.
   • Deep Abdominal Breathing:  Place one hand on your chest, the other hand on your stomach just below the ribs.  Breath in slowly through your nose – your chest should stay still while your stomach expands out.  Then blow the air out through your mouth as if blowing out 50 birthday candles – your stomach should pull in.  Your exhale should be twice as long as your inhale.  Do 10 of these breaths as often as you can recall throughout the day.  (If you start to feel light headed stop and breath normal.  To not get light headed, pause for 2 seconds at the end of each inhale and each exhale.)

With these two activities I often see patients return to start treatment with some decrease in their swelling.

Sonja M. Maul PT, CLT-LANA

National Board Certified Lymphedema Therapist

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