On our latest episode of The FOX Five, Ali Pappianne, MS, CCC-SLP, returns to share her top five benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration. From enhancing patient care to supporting colleagues across all disciplines, Ali breaks down how teamwork makes the dream work at FOX Rehabilitation. Whether you're an OT, PT, SLP, or Fitness Specialist, this episode is a powerful reminder of the impact we make—together. Plus, get an inside look at how FOX’s collaborative culture drives better outcomes and builds lasting professional relationships. Tune in for good vibes, great insights, and a little friendly record-breaking competition!

Jim: Welcome to The FOX Five, the show that explores the wonderful world of FOX Rehabilitation through an original list created by a FOX colleague. Today, we welcome back FOX Five veteran speech-language pathologist, Ali Pappianne. Ali, welcome back.

Ali: Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me, as always.

Jim: Always good to have you back. I think as of this recording, you hold the record—it's a tie—for most episodes of The FOX Five.

Ali: Oh, I love it! I guess I'll have to be back to break the tie.

Jim: Yeah, break the record. So, the last time you were on The FOX Five, I maybe asked a mean question. I said, “What discipline has the best personalities?” Or maybe I worded it as, “Do SLPs have the best personality?” And you said, “I can't answer that question. There are great personalities in all disciplines.” And I think your FOX Five plays into that today? Ali, what is your FOX Five?

Ali: Very true. My FOX Five is the Five Benefits of Interdisciplinary Collaboration.

Jim: Yeah. It’s good you didn’t smack talk on the previous episode.

Ali: I was prepared for it. I was ready.

Jim: No bad feelings in this one. All good vibes. Ali, what is Number One on your FOX Five?

Ali: Number One is having an interdisciplinary team supports a really holistic view of the patient. You get a better handle on their physical, mental, social, cognitive—all of those—skills, and how they play into each other, by leaning on your physical therapists, your occupational therapists, and your Fitness Specialists to help inform your plan of care. You can really see the patient from all of the angles that need to be assessed.

Jim: Ali, you and I both live in the New York City area, and I feel like there are people for everything in New York City. Like, “Hey, I know a car guy. I know a window guy.” So to me, that almost sounds like, “Hey, I got a physical therapist person, an OT person, an SLP, a Fitness Specialist.” With FOX, you get all of that.

Ali: Absolutely.

Jim: Ali, what is Number Two on your FOX Five?

Ali: Yeah. Number Two is you get to support and carry over each other's skills. There are so many times where the OT and PT are working on the sequencing of a transfer or a safety strategy, and I can support that from a cognitive perspective. When we lean on each other and talk about things that are working—or not working—how we can help support each other in that, or even just be that extra person to remind, “Hey, remember to use your transfer strategy when you sit down,” you really get to support each other's goals and what the patient needs the most.

Jim: And we can agree this makes for much better healthcare.

Ali: One hundred percent. It’s really important, and without it, it’s a disservice to not only us, but the patients.

Jim: Yes, absolutely. What is Number Three on your FOX Five?

Ali: Number Three is you get to be a team and provide consistent education to families, the patients themselves, or even buildings that you may be in, and sometimes repetition of continued information about diagnosis, prognosis, or realistic expectations—having multiple people and having a team approach—can be helpful for personal support, and also for reiterating those things to help that sink in a little better.

Jim: What the outside world doesn’t know is that internally with FOX, we have a community where, if anyone has a question from any discipline, they shoot it out to the field—and then immediately there are answers. Like, “How do I do this?” Everyone has everyone’s back.

Ali: Definitely, definitely. It’s huge.

Jim: That brings us to Number Four on your FOX Five.

Ali: Number Four is it offers really nice screening. Sometimes you'll be with a patient and you'll find, “Gosh, you’re having a hard time walking back to your room,” and you can put in a referral for PT.

Or OT can notice that they’re having a hard time remembering to take their medications, and they can put in a referral for OT. We can support each other by recognizing these areas where our other colleagues can help our patients. That's another nice area—just looking out for all the ways we can help our patients.

Jim: If a PT is working with a patient and they notice that there may be some type of swallowing issue.

Ali: Yeah, absolutely.

Jim: An SLP is only a phone call away.

Ali: Yeah, yeah. It’s happened before—“Oh gosh, you’re having a hard time drinking your water in between exercises. Maybe we should get a speech therapist in here.”

Jim: That happened with my grandmother when she was alive. She was seeing a PT and they were like, “You need SLP too.”

Ali: Yes. And like I was saying in my previous video, sometimes you don’t even realize that’s a therapy that can be available. PTs and OTs can advocate for that too.

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

Ali: Number Five is it gives you the opportunity to work with really wonderful colleagues and clinicians. I’ve loved working with all of my OT, PT, and speech colleagues. You learn so much from each other. We're just in such a wonderful field of people who have the best hearts and are passionate about what they do. It's just such a joy to get to work alongside those people.

Jim: That was a unifying FOX Five, because a lot of times on the podcast and FOX Five, I will playfully try to pit disciplines against each other. You don’t take the bait—and I love that.

Ali: Not happening.

Jim: Well, Ali, thank you for the time today. I appreciate it.

Ali: Thanks for having me.