Author: Beth Case

April is Occupational Therapy Month. We would like to highlight some of our talented teammates. Meet Tara Ayers COTA/L.

Let’s meet Tara! She has been sharing her Occupational Therapy skills with the residents at Epworth for 10 years. As a therapist for 25 years, Tara says,” I enjoy working with my patients and coming up with new and safer ways for them to achieve the ability to do the things that they want to do in their lives more independently.  I just love my patients and learn so much from them too!”

Her first job was in a skilled nursing facility, “I thought I wanted to work with children, but I just fell in love with the older population and never left them.” Tara feels that everyone is a success story” and enjoys watching someone regain their independence through the therapy process.

If you would like more information about the rehab services at Epworth Villa please call 405-752-1200.

As we slowly and safely emerge from the pandemic. We are hopeful!  We are hopeful for times of great reunion, joy and happiness. This month we would like to highlight a few members of our Health Services leadership team and their stories. We are forever grateful for their stories and you might want to grab a tissue.

Meet Mia Owen, Director of Nursing of Health Services. She started at Epworth Villa March of 2020. Mia has 30 plus years’ experience in nursing. She has spent over half of her career in leadership roles serving the geriatric population which is where her true passion lies. Read on to hear her story………..

“This past year, we all were experiencing feelings of fear and an overwhelming need to protect the residents we serve. One of my first obstacles was to guide our staff in overcoming their fears of Covid-19. Through discussion, education, and demonstration we learned to trust the process and the importance of maintaining compliance with the use of the PPE (Personal, Protective, Equipment) and hand hygiene. It is with great pride that I witnessed our front-line staff learn to be brave, fearless, and confident.

Social distancing and no visitation were the hardest things for me, personally. I missed interacting with the residents. It was a dark time for us all. As families called, I could hear the fear in their voices. One of the family members asked me to love their parents like they were my own. This made me cry because I could feel and understand their pain. I TOO had the very same feelings when my father developed Covid. I took him to the ER and as he entered the double doors, I thought it might be the last time I would see him. I am thankful it wasn’t, but I could and do empathize with all of our families. Now that we have been able to re-open for visitation, I cannot explain how much I love to hear our residents and their families singing and laughing again-something we will never take for granted.  It brings me joy and blesses my soul!”

April is Occupational Therapy Month. We would like to highlight some of our talented teammates. Meet Keli Boone, OT.

Keli has practiced Occupational Therapy with Epworth Villa for the past 10 years. When asked why she does what she does every day, she said, “I love to help people, and I love the friendships developed with my patients. I feel blessed to be able to have a job where I get to spread God’s love and help people every day.” Keli goes on to say, “when people leave my office feeling better than when they came in, I consider it to be a small miracle.”

When Keli was 15 years old, she had a job after school taking care of an elderly couple that lived close to her, that is when she fell in love with helping the geriatric population! Keli has a specialization in manual therapy technique and loves sharing her skills with our residents at Epworth Villa!

If you would like more information about the rehab services at Epworth Villa please call 405-752-1200.