The last day of Physical Therapy Month also happens to be Halloween, and coincidentally this episode of The FOX Five was recorded after dark. This is probably the closest The FOX Five will get to having a Halloween special! So, as “spooky season” wraps up, we speak with Jackie Loeshelle, PT, DPT, GCS, about being a house call clinician with FOX Rehabilitation. Because she sees older adult patients in New York City her day to day is different from a clinician who works in a more rural or suburban setting. While other FOX clinicians may drive from patient to patient, Jackie travels to most of her patients’ homes by walking from block to block. If you want to know more about the life of a house call clinician who works with FOX—mixed in with some autumnal chatter—this is the episode for you!

Jim: Welcome to The FOX Five, the show that explores FOX Rehabilitation through an original list created by a FOX colleague. That FOX colleague today is FOX Rehabilitation physical therapist Jackie Loeshelle. Jackie, welcome to The FOX Five.

Jackie: Thank you, Jim.

Jim: Jackie, can I say we usually do FOX Five recordings in the morning or the afternoon? We are recording in prime time tonight, and there is a cool vibe about doing the FOX Five in prime time.

Jackie: Love that! And it’s spooky season. Look at my background, it’s getting dark outside, and I think there's maybe the moon is behind me.

Jim: Spooky season, possibly the moon in the background, and it's PT month!

Jackie: There you go! Perfect!

Jim: So, Jackie, what is your FOX Five today?

Jackie: So, my FOX Five is Five Things You May Not Know About House Calls.

Jim: And that's what FOX Rehabilitation is all about. Our clinicians go from house to house, home to home, to do Geriatric House Calls™.

Jackie: Exactly.

Jim: All right, so what is Number One on your FOX Five?

Jackie: Number One on my FOX Five is that I work in a pretty tight radius. I work from 21st Street past Union Square to about West Third Street right now, so about 15 blocks and maybe three avenues west and east.

Jim: To me, that's cool. It makes sense because I live in New York City, and I know there's a lot of people in a tight area. FOX Rehabilitation treats in over half of the United States of America, and there are some clinicians who drive miles to get to their next patient. You're walking blocks!

Jackie: Yeah, totally different. It's definitely a nice way to work.

Jim: Yeah, we need to have a FOX Five where you sit down with someone who drives a lot in, say, South Carolina.

Jackie: I could not imagine!

Jim: Some people would say the same thing about working in New York City.

Jackie: Without a doubt! To each their own.

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

Jackie: So, Number Two is that working in Manhattan, I get to walk from apartment to apartment. Mostly, I think once a quarter, I'll take the subway, depending on where I am. It's spooky season, so we're in October. We're in fall, and I feel like it's the best time to be working for FOX. It's such nice weather, and it's nice to just get a little reprieve in between patients—like five to ten minutes walking, seeing what's going on outside. It's really nice.

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

Jackie: Third on my FOX Five is that I don't carry much equipment. I carry a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, my timer, that I actually carry in a soap dish because when it beeps it sounds like it's ticking. You don't want to be doing that walking around Manhattan when you touch it—so it's in a soap dish. But that's really it, and the other things I use are in people's apartments. So, it's a fun setting because you have to get pretty creative, but also pretty functional. You're working on a lot of things that people are having trouble with.

Jim: And you, being in New York City, you kind of have to travel light in order to go from home to home.

Jackie: Definitely, yes.

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

Jackie: I don't bring a lot of equipment, and kind of like I alluded to, I use a lot of things in people's apartments. So, balancing on unsteady surfaces, water bottles, books to step over, bottles to walk around. People hate using the pillow when I’m getting the pillow out, which sounds kind of crazy. They're like, "No, not the pillow!" If someone is listening, they'd be like, "What?" But a pillow for balancing is really helpful.

Jim: I love this because when you're doing House Calls, you're in the home.

Jackie: And it's helpful. You don't have to set up a mock situation; you're doing the exact thing, which helps a lot with efficacy and follow-through.

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

Jackie: So, my Number Five is that I have free reign of my schedule. I make my schedule, and you know, it's really helpful. People have changes in their schedule; I have changes in my schedule. It just allows for the best work-life balance, I think, and to make adjustments based on what people have going in their life. I make my own schedule. Someone once asked me who the scheduler was and who they could call, and I said, "You have my number."

Jim: That might not be unique to house calls, but it is unique to FOX Rehabilitation—that flexible and autonomous schedule.

Jackie: Yes! Yes, exactly!

Jim: That was a great FOX Five! Thank you. How do you feel it went, this being your first FOX Five?

Jackie: I think it went well. I’m grateful for working in Manhattan because it's definitely a unique setting. You know, sometimes you're trudging around like, oh, you know, Manhattan can be a tough place. It's an easy place to hate.

Jim: An easy place to hate, but also an easy place to love!

Jackie: Exactly! I don't know why I said that. You got to love it!

Jim: Like you said before we started taping today, September and October are just such a beautiful time of year. So, I love walking around Manhattan in the fall.

Jackie: It's really nice! I definitely feel grateful for working for FOX at this time.

Jim: All right, so Jackie, thank you for your FOX Five today. You'll have to come back!

Jackie: Sounds good!