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May 20, 2010

Portland Seniors First to Test New Rehabilitation Technology

Marquis Care at Mt. Tabor and Consonus Healthcare Explore New Geriatric Rehabilitation Option

PORTLAND, Ore. – This April, Marquis Companies, a skilled nursing, assisted living and home health care company, and its sister company, Consonus Healthcare, began testing a new virtual rehabilitation system specifically designed for geriatric patients and others with limited physical abilities. Marquis Care at Mt. Tabor in Portland, Ore. and Marquis Care at Plaza Regency in Las Vegas, are the first skilled-nursing facilities in the country to use this new virtual rehabilitation technology.

Developed by Accelerated Care Plus Corporation (ACP), a Reno based rehabilitation technology and education company, the OmniVR™ Virtual Rehabilitation System, is one-of-a-kind. Virtual technology is not new to the rehabilitation industry. Products such as the Nintendo Wii™ and Nintendo Wii Fit™ have been used to help patients improve balance and range-of-motion.  However, these products are targeted to higher functioning individuals and often are not appropriate for the elderly. The OmniVR provides an opportunity for patients with more limited physical capabilities to participate in the benefits of virtual rehabilitation. 

“Recent medical research and the success of the Wii system has confirmed the value of virtual rehabilitation.  Our goal was to develop a system that could make these benefits available to a broader patient population and the specific rehabilitation needs of aging adults,” noted Tony Taylor, chief marketing officer at ACP. “ At Marquis’ Mt. Tabor and Plaza Regency facilities, we’ve already seen how the OmniVR system engages patients, as well as their therapists, to go beyond previous milestones for improved function and quality of life.”

The OmniVR system being tested by Consonus Healthcare at Marquis Care at Mt. Tabor, is a clinical tool offering six different rehabilitation programs appropriate for the entire spectrum of aging adults from very frail to independent. The system includes an innovative, three-dimensional camera that captures the patient’s image and places it in a virtual exercise environment, which is then viewed by the patient and their therapist on a large color monitor. By exercising in a game-like environment, patients are more likely to exercise harder and longer. 

“We’ve built our organization around the idea of vitality and a commitment to progressive technology, so we were excited when ACP approached us about working with them on the OmniVR system,” said Phil Fogg Jr., Marquis Companies CEO.  “As a way to prepare Marquis for the future, our management team has been working together to explore the ways healthcare might evolve over the next 20 years. Our guess is that technologies like the OmniVR will be at the forefront of that evolution.”

In its fifth week of testing the OmniVR, the rehabilitation staff at Marquis Care at Mt. Tabor has witnessed significant results. Working with a patient who found it difficult to sit up on the side of the bed to get dressed, she immersed herself in a game on the OmniVR system that required her to lean side to side. In just a short time, staff members saw the patient able to balance on the edge of her bed and her skills improved so much that she was able to put on a shirt without help. In another game, a stroke patient used the upper part of his body to catch objects from side to side on the screen. Rehabilitation staff members at Marquis Care at Mt. Tabor were able to identify a significant deficit in the patient’s visual field and focus further therapeutic attentions to improving that deficit.

 “We have already had several breakthrough moments with residents who were afraid to move, side step or walk backwards, getting so caught up in the virtual games that they were moving in all directions without fear and with a large smile on their face,” Says Allison Dehaan, Rehab Director at Marquis Care at Mt. Tabor. “The most exciting piece is that these skills are transferred into their daily activities.”


About Consonus Healthcare Services
With more 20 years of experience, Consonus Healthcare Services provides rehabilitation, pharmacy, staffing and consulting services to the long term care industry.  Consonus’ comprehensive pharmacy services are designed specifically for the long-term care industry, which allows facilities to maximize occupancy, increase resident retention and improve residents' functional independence.  Based in Portland, Ore., Consonus serves more than 160 customers in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Idaho and Nevada and has pharmacy locations in Portland, Redmond, Wash. and Vacaville, Calif.  For more information visit, www.consonushealth.com .

About Marquis Companies
Marquis Companies provide skilled nursing, long-term care, assisted living, at home care and memory care throughout its 26 facilities in Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho and Nevada.  Marquis’ sister company, Consonus, provides pharmacy, rehabilitation, staffing and consulting to the long-term care community. Both family-owned companies share the mission to promote the vitality within their employees and everyone the companies serve– and created its Vital Life Foundation to fulfill that mission.