Meet Three of Our Therapists

There is never a dull day in our Therapy department at Cedar Haven Healthcare Center! Our team of over 20 certified therapists work together with residents to get them rehabilitated and back to their homes. Thusfar this year, our average length of stay for short-term rehab therapy residents has been 24 days, meaning that residents were able to get back to their lives after receiving therapeutic services at our facility for a little over 3 weeks.*

Cedar Haven also boasts a very low hospital readmission rate compared to the National Average. Across the country, 18% of residents admitted to nursing homes are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, but at Cedar Haven in March and April of this year, our rate was below 6%. These statistics demonstrate that Cedar Haven provides the highest-quality care for our residents, whether they are with us for long-term or short-term services.

Let’s meet some of the therapists who deliver this care on a day-to-day basis: Amber, Sheri, and Stacy:

Meet Amber:

How long have you been working as a therapist?

Amber: I have been an Occupational Therapy Assistant for 10 years and my focus has always been long term care & short term rehab to home.  I graduated from Penn State Berks in 2007.  I was actually a student at Cedar Haven during my clinicals, and my first job after I graduated was at CH as well!

What is your favorite part of working with Cedar Haven residents?

Amber: My favorite part of working with CH residents is learning their stories.  Our patients are so diverse and have such unique histories and backgrounds.  It is amazing to be able to listen to their experiences and to travel through time with them and their family, reminiscing.  Occupational Therapy’s focus is always on the person and their personal goals as well as their quality of life, so getting to know them is the most important part of successful rehabilitation.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

Amber: I am also a part-time photographer, I work primarily with children & newborns, and I am also a mom to a 3 and 5-year-old.  As a family, our hobby is raising small livestock like chickens & turkeys!

Meet Sheri:

How long have you been working as a therapist?

Sheri: I have been a therapist for 20 years and I have worked in either in long-term or acute care the entire time. Pursuing therapy as a career really fell into my lap. In college, I thought I would pursue broadcast journalism or education, but took a career aptitude test that matched me perfectly to Speech Language Pathology. That’s one test that I’m very glad that I took.

What is your favorite part of working with Cedar Haven residents?

Sheri: I love that there is always a variety of residents to work with at Cedar Haven, we have a lot of different residents with many backgrounds, skills, and interests. One resident a while back was a member of the CIA. You get to meet a lot of people. The staff is like a family, especially for those who are there long-term. I enjoy that and I prefer it to the turnover in a hospital setting.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

Sheri: I have 2 boys, teen and preteen age so I am always driving them to different sporting activities. I also enjoy watching ice hockey, playing with our dog, and reading when I have free time.

Meet Stacy:

How long have you been working as a therapist? 

Stacy: I have been a physical therapist for 12 years and have worked in a variety of settings throughout my career but I must say working with geriatrics has always been a favorite of mine.  I heard about Cedar Haven through a friend of mine that is now a colleague.

What is your favorite part of working with Cedar Haven residents?

Stacy: My favorite part of working with the residents is being able to help them return to doing the things that they like to do and that make them happy.  I always appreciate the time with them and love hearing about their lives.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Stacy: First and foremost enjoy spending time with the love of my life, Tom, we have fun doing anything or nothing.  We have 2 dogs, Gus and Tank that we like doing things with.  I love going to the gym and weight training as well as doing outside activities now that the weather is warm.  I also run a side business that I am very passionate about and keeps me busy.

*This number represents the average length of stay for residents requiring short-term therapy and rehabilitation at Cedar Haven between 1/1/2017 and 7/28/2017, indicating that residents were ready to return to home after an average of 24 days in our care. Contact us to learn more about our short-term therapy services.