Founded in 1998, FOX Rehabilitation forged its own path by treating older adult patients in their home. Unlike a singular room in a brick-and-mortar outpatient clinic, FOX clinicians are on the go, treating patients where they live. This allows for a constant change of scenery and also gives clinicians a peek into their patients’ day-to-day function. There’s no need to simulate someone’s kitchen, flight of stairs, or height of their living room couch when a clinician can survey it for themselves in a patient’s actual living space. Those who crave variety find themselves at home with FOX Rehabilitation, much like Savanna Grife who, today, details her favorite reasons why she loves doing house calls.

Jim: Hello everybody! Welcome to The FOX Five, the series that explores FOX Rehabilitation through an original list created by a FOX colleague. That FOX colleague today is our FOX Five co-host, returning once again, FOX Rehabilitation occupational therapist, Savanna Grife.

Savanna: Hello! What can I say? I love to be here.

Jim: We love to have you, and I love that you want to do FOX Five episodes.

Savanna: I do, I love it!

Jim: For the most part, everyone is fine with doing it, but occasionally, I have to twist some arms.

Savanna: Well, you don't have to twist mine.

Jim: Yeah, no, I never had to twist yours, and I appreciate that. So, Savanna, what is your FOX Five today?

Savanna: My FOX Five is Five Reasons I Love Doing House Calls.

Jim: Alright, because that is what goes down at FOX Rehabilitation. We treat patients in their homes, where they live. So, Savanna, what is Number One on your FOX Five?

Savanna: Number One is I love the constant change of scenery. I am in a different place every hour, so no two hours are ever the same. I'm never bored. If I am, I'm missing a good opportunity to not be bored.

Jim: Savanna, you are perfectly built for FOX Rehabilitation.

Savanna: Thank you.

Jim: I've talked to other clinicians, some that have been here almost 20 years, and they love FOX too because of the change of scenery. I know someone who worked in an outpatient clinic, and they said, “Yeah, I just went to the same place every day,” but it is cool working with FOX because you have a different change of scenery every hour.

Savanna: Yeah, it's the truth. I think FOX is a great fit for me for that reason. It keeps me engaged all day long.

Jim: Yeah, that's a good one. So, what is Number Two on your FOX Five?

Savanna: Number Two is building relationships with patients and their families. When you're in a home, it's an intimate setting, and you get to know the patients and their families quite well. You get to know the family dynamics, see their environment, and approach things from a more holistic perspective for that reason.

Jim: A lot of times when you go to a person's home, there are family members there.

Savanna: Oh yeah, I do a session with someone really early in the morning. He lives with his young grandsons, and at 7:45 in the morning, it is hustling and bustling. The kids are running around getting ready for school, and we're just doing Parkinson's balance exercises.

Jim: It's also cool that they see that because when you leave, they can work with their family member.

Savanna: Yes, that's true. A lot of times, I even offer for some of the family to come join in. I'm like, “Do you want to throw the ball with us? Do you want to help with this activity?” It can sometimes be very helpful.

Jim: Yeah, so that brings us to Number Three on your FOX Five.

Savanna: Number Three is, it's a sentence: you can't get more functional than doing ADLs or IADLs in the home in your patient's own space.

Jim: We're going to have to word that in a way so it fits in the box below.

Savanna: Well, okay, here you go. Oh gosh, I don't even know what to say.

Jim: No, that's on us. We’ll figure it out, you continue.

Savanna: So yeah, when you're in the home, your options are endless, really. You can work on meal prep, showering, or doing the laundry instead of just simulating it. When you are in the home, function is everywhere. Your options are endless. You could have 10 different goals because of all the opportunities you have to work on things.

Jim: What is Number Four on your FOX Five?

Savanna: Number Four is no two days or hours are ever the same. I don't think that there is such a thing as a typical day when you work with FOX Rehabilitation. I could start my day with a shower and a dressing session, then jump to an hour of balance, do some meal prep for lunch, work on fine motor coordination, and finish off the day with upper body strengthening.

Jim: I need to record that clip and show it to everyone at orientation. That perfectly sums up the life of a FOX clinician. I love it because, as they say, variety is the spice of life.

Savanna: Yeah, okay, there you go. You get variety here, believe me.

Jim: And that brings us to Number Five on your FOX Five.

Savanna: Our treatment options are nearly endless. We don't have a rehab gym, for those of us who are in the home. So, the house and everything in it is your gym. If you want to use a carton of milk as your weight, that is so functional. Think about that. We just use what's in our environment to make a gym, and it's actually quite fun. You can be really creative that way.

Jim: I was going to say this leads into OTs being very creative.

Savanna: Yes, which I've already spoken about.

Jim: Check it out. You can see the past episode to see what Savanna says about OTs being creative.