At the end of January, winter storms broke out across the United States, leaving many of our teams facing snow and bitter cold. During this time, our telerehab team members rolled up their sleeves and braced themselves for the increase in patients.  

“During the inclement weather, we saw a significant influx of patients needing to transition from in-person care to virtual care, often with little notice,” Virtual Care Coordinator Heather Lawrence told the RoundUp team. “The primary focus was maintaining continuity of care while minimizing disruption for both patients and clinicians.”

On the backend, that meant our Virtual Care Coordinators needed to closely monitor the transfer inbox and prioritize time-sensitive cases first. The team leaned into their communication skills, aligning quickly on workflows, confirming coverage, and ensuring providers had the information they needed to pick up care seamlessly in a virtual setting. 

“Overall, the experience highlighted the importance of flexibility, strong communication, and teamwork during unexpected events. Despite the challenges, it was rewarding to see how quickly everyone adapted to ensure patients continued receiving the care they needed,” Heather added.

Where Heather worked behind the scenes, Telerehab Physical Therapist Shelby VerHage was front in center with patients. She treated several of the patient transfers. 

“As a Michigander, familiar with wintery weather, for the first time in my career as a physical therapist, I feel like there is now an option for when the weather gets tough for travel, not only in Michigan but throughout the United States. ATI makes this possible,” Shelby said. 

Shelby then took us through her process of ensuring top-notch care for these patients, from reviewing the chart from the initial evaluation and previous treatments to making the patient feel welcome with a smile when meeting them for the first time. She then explained the benefits of virtual PT, process, and consent prior to beginning treatment. 

“With every appointment, I made sure to allow for the anonymity of patient care, encouraging patients to ask questions throughout and to discuss any feelings or symptoms of discomfort in order to ensure the patients received the care they required,” Shelby continued. “As a result of these initial transfers, we were able to schedule additional telehealth sessions throughout the duration of the storm, if not longer, to allow for patients’ continuity of care without the delay that weather can sometimes cause.”

Virtual Operations Director Michael Manning expressed his appreciation of the entire telerehab team in the wake of the winter storms. “We had the largest same week transfers to our telerehab team for care during the storms,” he said. “We have never seen such an influx in patient transfers before, and the way our entire team responded was incredible. It’s this type of partnership between our clinics, virtual patient coordinators, and telerehab clinicians that creates access for patients when they need it most.”