Innovation

Excel at Woodbury is located in Woodbury, New York. They use their rehab and nursing facility to create specialized programs for all of their patients. An example of one of their innovative approaches to care is the state-of-the-art technology they have implemented, Natus Smart Balance Master. The Smart Balance Master is used to treat patients with dizziness or that have suffered strokes previously to rehabilitate their balance. It is used to see how muscles, joints, eyes, and all necessary body parts work together to measure a patient's center of gravity. This is done with a force plate, installed in the equipment, that has rotation capabilities and together with visual information presented to the patient it then records the information. Therapists are then able to use data and evaluate the information provided by the Smart Balance Master to provide balance assessment and retraining. The additional services they offer are Amputee, Cardiopulmonary, Tracheotomy, and Specialized Nursing.

Inspiration

Many people view the elderly as second-class citizens. There are various examples of this group getting unsatisfactory care. At Excel, their main focus is inspired by the stories of their patients and people like them. They are inspired by how they were turned away, forgotten about, and disregarded. It further inspires the company to treat their patients as regular human beings who have dreams and goals. At Excel, the staff is committed to focusing on how to bring out the best in their patients, regardless of their age and how society views them. An example of how they treat their patients as normal human beings is the state-of-the-art gym at the facility. Many people would not think to have a setup like this for the elderly or people who need round-the-clock care. Many of the patients at similar nursing facilities use exercise material once a week. At Excel, they are focused on improving the lives of their patients, and the gym is one of the most popular ways of inspiring their patients to live a healthy and active life.

Excel is also inspired to make care plans that will help their patient’s entire lives. They pride themselves on doing specific evaluations that examine a multitude of fields to determine the best plan of action for their patients. Director Anderson noted that all of the disciplines come together to analyze how they can all be of service to the patient and not what one discipline can do over another.

Overall impact

Excel at Woodbury is a leader in providing exceptional personalized care to its patients and surrounding communities. The rehabilitation program highlights their use of the Smart Balance Master by Natus demonstrates a positive impact on the business as a whole. Natus Medical Incorporated sells these technologies and as such is scrutinized from a variety of angles. Environmentally aware, Natus manufactures machines like The Smart Balance Master not by its own accord but instead contracting various manufacturers. The elderly community has benefited greatly as we continue to understand and treat such issues. By upholding their commitment to "The Excelsior Advantage," the Excelsior at Woodbury demonstrates how to effectively provide outstanding personalized care.

Business benefit

"The Excel Advantage'' is the guiding principle by which Excel at Woodbury conducts business operations. As a business, Excel aims to provide each patient with a detailed personalized medical care experience. By utilizing what is considered the "pinnacle of physical rehabilitation technology," the SMART Balance Master by Natus, Excel leads its competitors through superior individualized care.

The Smart Balance Master is manufactured by Natus Medical Incorporated and this machine allows rehabilitation specialists at Excel at Woodbury to analyze real-time patient biofeedback. Natus Medical Incorporated supplies many facilities worldwide with medical technology and therefore utilizes a variety of manufacturers. As indicated on Natus.com, "other companies manufacture a significant portion of the components...we perform final assembly, testing, and packaging ourselves to control quality and manufacturing efficiency" (Natus).

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Social and environmental benefit

The manufacturing of these technologies can have negative impacts on the environment; therefore, by utilizing various manufacturers, Natus can reduce its carbon footprint. All medical technology undergoes regular quality assessments and contracted vendors have random on-site audits of the materials. Staying in line with environmental considerations, all manufacturers NATUS use are "subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), government agencies and held to standards set by the International Organization for Standardization" (Natus).

A paper published by the "Biological Research for Nursing" journal discusses a study conducted to test the effectiveness of The Smart Balance Master. The study monitored 12 healthy women aged 54-88 years old for a 15-week period in which they participated in jazz dance classes (Researchgate). Using The Smart Balance Master, researchers were able to measure the effects of jazz on a patient's postural sway and how the frequency of falls impacts those results. Future and long-term effects of this particular study range from determining the way physical rehabilitation is conducted to new possibilities and new ideas for treatment in balance problems.

Interview

Angela Anderson, Director of Social Serivcs