Winning Wheels

Winning Wheels is proud to be the recipient of the "Make a Difference" award given at the Illinois Brain Injury Conference in October. We were given this award as the result of offering our outrigger canoe and numerous staff "man hours" to various other facilities including a brain injury camp on Lake Bloomington in Bloomington, Illinois. Camp Funzone is a four-day camp for children with brain injuries. Our Director of Social Services and Admissions, Amanda Riedell, and our Director of Therapeutic Recreation and Special Projects, Karla Belzer, were in Oak Brook Terrace at the conference to receive the award on behalf of the facility.

Eventually we will run out of "firsts" at Winning Wheels! It was a very hot day (over 100 degrees) in July when Yvonne Ouillette and Jeff Conant, accompanied by Karla Belzer, Director of Therapeutic Recreation, drove to the Back Water Gamblers ski site on the Rock River near Rock Island, Illinois. Each year, the "Gamblers", in coordination with Genesis Medical Center, host an adaptive water skiing clinic and this year Winning Wheels participated! Upon arriving, they enjoyed a riverside picnic lunc and then were greeted by friendly volunteers. They were there to learn to water ski -- adaptive style.

"They took the time to see what we needed," Jeff and Yvonne agreed, "and they seemed to have everything covered." First the skiers were evaluated to see what their specific needs were. For instance, Yvonne had outriggers on her ski and her seat included a back, whereas Jeff's ski consisted of one wide ski and he sat in a cage to be towed. They were taught hand signals they could use to communicate with the ski boat such as slower, faster, stop, back to dock, and turn around. Then it was out to the water. Jeff said there were spotters beside and starters behind him. He found himself having some trouble staying upright, so he asked to go a bit slower, and the problem was solved. Both Jeff and Yvonne said they felt completely safe at all times because while they were in the water there were so many people close by. The water was very warm too, and that made it more pleasant.

Karla was impressed with the size of the clinic as well as the support from all participating. "Each time a skier got up, volunteers, spectators, and other skiers cheered and clapped while the skier went by the staging area. We encountered many wonderful people who we now consider our friends."

"It was freedom, really. Normality." said Yvonne. Jeff said, "The people were awesome. There were people on my left and people on my right, and behind me on jet skis." Would they go again? "ABSOLUTELY!"

CARF, the National Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities has announced that Winning Wheels, Inc. has again been accredited for the maximum period of three years. This accreditation is the fourth consecutive Three-Year Accreditation outcome that the international accrediting commission has awarded to Winning Wheels, Inc.

In addition to achieving accreditation for its Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehabilitation program for physically disabled adults, the organization also received accreditation for its Brain Injury Residential Rehabilitation program. Two Winning Wheels affiliates also achieved CARF accreditation: STRIVE, also located in Prophetstown, Illinois, was accredited for its Comprehensive Community Living Services, and the Lyndon Progress Center was accredited for its developmental training / Personal and Social Services program.

This accreditation outcome represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization's substantial conformance to the standards established by CARF. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation outcome has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.

CARF is an independent, not-for-profit, international accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes for services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now know as CARF, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

Reflective of the national movement within the long-term care profession that has improved the quality of care for the frail, elderly, and disabled, Winning Wheels has received a Step II award for quality achievement from the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). Winning Wheels is one of only ten facilities in the nation to achieve this level of recognition with the AHCA/NCAL Quality Award program, demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to a systematic process to achieve continuous quality improvement.

"The AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards are the single most prestigious recognition of quality within the long term care profession," stated AHCA/NCAL President and CEO, Hal Daub. "This facility's achievement places it at the forefront of organizational and performance excellence, where the mission of exceptional care for the disabled is embraced and vigorously pursued."

Continued Daub, "Winning Wheels' achievement shows that dedicated frontline caregivers, administrators, nurses and physicians -- in the face of daunting challenges within long term care -- are demonstrating their commitment to quality of care and meeting patients' needs." The Quality Awards are part of AHCA/NCAL's Quality First initiative, a covenant for healthy, affordable and ethical long-term care.

AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards consist of an entry level, Step I Award; a more rigorous Step II Award; and the comprehensive Step III Award. Previously, Winning Wheels earned the Step I award. Recipients at the STep II level addressed in detail leadership, strategic planning, data collection and analysis, human resource development, etc. Step I applicants who earned the award demonstrated an organization-wide commitment to a resident-focused vision and mission statement, conducted customer satisfaction surveys and had data to demonstrate that customer expectations were being met.

The AHCA/NCAL Quality Award is modeled after criteria from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier recognition for quality achievement. The AHCA/NCAL award recognizes commitment to a continuous quality improvement process at nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and residences for persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. The facilities selected have made customer satisfaction and quality outcomes their top priority.

The national presentation for award recipients was held during AHCA/NCAL's Annual Convention and Exposition October 16-19 in Las Vegas. The facility administrator, Libby Goodman; Assistant Administrator, Greg Engstrom and facility Director of Rehabilitation, Mary Burgess attended the conference and accepted the award on behalf of Winning Wheels.

Staff from Winning Wheels, STRIVE, and the Lyndon Progress Center have been making floats for the Prophetstown parade for the past 17 years and have decided this will, unfortunately, be their last in a long line of fun and beautiful floats. Employees donate their time and talents two to three nights a week beginning in October, working to put together an amazing float for your enjoyment. The challenge each year has been outdoing the previous years' entry.

This year Winning Wheels featured "Peter Pan and a Magical Neverland Christmas". We soared with Peter into the island pirate paradise of Neverland on Captain Hook's ship with Tinkerbell floating above it all. Our hero dodged cannon fire to save Wendy, John and Michael. Captain Hook walked the plank, with that tick-tocking crocodile following him!

Winning Wheels has won first prize many years in a row, and donates all winnings to the local food pantry.

Winning Wheels hopes you and your children have enjoyed the sights and sounds of Peter Pan and all the memorable floats of the past. Happy Holidays from the staff and residents of Winning Wheels, STRIVE, Frontier Hollow, and the Lyndon Progress Center!

As the mid-May morning sun warms the crisp spring air, there is activity on the playground at the elementary school. Volunteers are rushing around setting up tables and booths, putting up signs, blowing up balloons, and getting ready for the crowd. Soon the playground will be filled by kids riding their bikes in figure eights, learning which signal to use to make a left-hand turn, getting their bikes inspected and the brakes adjusted, or maybe dreaming about riding home one of the shiny new bikes being given away as door prizes. What is going on you ask? It's the Winning Wheels "Safe Wheels Bicycle Rodeo".

The Bike Rodeo was held on the playground of the Prophetstown Elementary School. This annual event is part of Winning Wheels' Brain Injury Prevention Program and is co-hosted by the Prophetstown Police Department. The Bike Rodeo features a safety course, free bike inspection/registration, safety information, game booth, door prizes featuring bike safety equipment and brand new bicycles, lots of free food and refreshments, and let's not forget the Air Castle moonwalk!

The Bike Rodeo has an average attendance of 100 children plus their family members. The main emphasis of the Bike Rodeo is safety and providing the kids with information that lets them know that they can have fun and remain safe. In the first five years, the event has been responsible for the distribution of over six hundred helmets to local grade school children. The fact is notable considering Winning Wheels is located in a rural community of just over two thousand.

The Prophetstown Police Department, the Winning Wheels Employee Service Committee, local businesses and organizations lend their support to the bike rodeo through volunteering or donations.

By educating our young people and encouraging good choices in regard to bicycle safety, the Bike Rodeo is one way for Winning Wheels and the community to pull together and work toward a safer future.

Winning Wheels and STRIVE residents in the Day Treatment Program at the Lyndon Progress Center grew an assortment of several thousand annuals that were sold to the public on Mother's Day weekend.

Winning Wheels is pioneering an innovative new technology that brings efficiency and fun to Physical Therapy. Using patented video technology, residents are immersed in a virtual reality environment, where they are guided through clinician-prescribed therapeutic exercise programs. Through interaction with on-screen objects, residents complete a comprehensive and clinician-directed exercise program. Resident performance and compliance is measured and recorded on a real-time basis by the system's camera technology. The IREX system can be tailored to the specific needs of the residents, by isolating certain body parts and/or movements.

Here's how it works . . . Sophisticated camera technology captures the resident's image on a computer monitor, which allows the resident to see themselves move and interact with objects in the virtual environment. IREX uses no wires or other peripheral devices, allowing users total freedom of movement.

IREX then guides the resident through an on-screen exercise routine. Exercise programs consist of sports games such as soccer, volleyball, snowboarding, and other adventure-oriented exercise programs. These exercise programs incorporate many facets of human movement, including balance, hand-eye coordination, flexion, abduction, rotation and other functional movements.

The visually-stimulating environment and interactive mode of the IREX system captures the resident's concentration and enthusiasm for the exercise program. This creates a welcome distraction from the standard repetitiveness and relative discomfort of conventional exercise for the resident.

IREX tracks the movement of the resident's body and extremities within the clinician-prescribed range-of-motion criteria. This data is recorded in an output report to evaluate resident performance to see if the resident is performing relative to prescribed exercise targets.

Winning Wheels residents are very excited about the IREX machine. Feel free to stop by the Winning Wheels Physical Therapy department and have a look!