|
|
Aegis and Nautilus make a difference with 'Freedom Through Functionality'
Home » News » Aegis and Nautilus make a difference with 'Freedom Through Functionality' |
Visitors walking into the new rehabilitation room at Beverly Enterprises’ Sleepy Hollow Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center in Annandale, Va., face a row of gleaming, state-of-the-art Nautilus exercise machines. Upon closer inspection, it’s apparent that the equipment is different than the standard-issue exercise equipment found in most health clubs. For one thing, each piece of equipment is outfitted with seat belts. On some, the weight increments begin with zero, some have padded backrests, and all have grab bars and wider-than-normal seats.
What’s going on at Sleepy Hollow is “Freedom Through Functionality,” a business venture between exercise giant Nautilus and Fort Smith, Ark.-based Beverly Enterprises. “We’re not just offering therapy, we’re offering therapy with a difference,” is how Blaise Mercadante, Beverly’s senior vice president of new business innovations, explains the program, which is part of Beverly’s foray into the rehab market.
Not all of the facilities that contract with Beverly’s Aegis Therapies subsidiary have the Nautilus equipment. With a price tag of $25,000 per facility, Aegis has drafted a very stringent set of guidelines for eligibility. These guidelines include the stability of the facility’s staff, whether staff want the equipment, and whether the facility has at least 325 square feet of space for the equipment. There are also requirements regarding the makeup of the patients and the surrounding community.
For those facilities that qualify, the special equipment brings with it a plethora of marketing opportunities. “We get a lot of media attention when we install one of these at a facility,” said Cindy Susienka, president of Aegis Therapies. In addition, facility administrators and therapists talk to physicians, hospitals, retirement communities and others to generate interest in the program. In the end, word of mouth is what makes the program work, said Susienka.
At Sleepy Hollow, staff are working on a pricing plan that would allow community seniors who have been discharged from the nursing center to use the equipment in place of a trip to the local gym, according to Vera Giles, district manager of Aegis Therapies.
The advantages of such a rehab program are clear, said Kisha Walker, an occupational therapist at Sleepy Hollow. “You can simulate the same exercises with free weights and other equipment, but with these machines, you can chart better, monitor better. You can also isolate muscle groups you want to work on.” In addition, the program not only helps patients with rehabilitation, it also helps those on restorative programs.
“This equipment helps with stability, walking, transfers, breathing, good posture and weakness on one side following strokes,” said Walker.
Added Susienka, “We’ve seen incredible results. It helps with blood pressure, depression, all of the areas that exercising helps with. People who thought they would never walk again are walking.”
|
|
|
|
|