The addition of five therapists has made Prairie View the go-to place for anyone in need of rehabilitation
By Per Peterson
A group of five women are living proof that Prairie View Healthcare Center has grown into more than your ordinary assisted living facility.
With the recent addition of three more therapists, the Prairie View therapy team is now at full force.
“It’s nice because they’re basically dedicated to our building,” Prairie View Director Brian Hinrichs said.
The therapists don’t just work with residents, said Crystal Knakmuhs, who has been the rehab director at Prairie View since April 2021.
“We have a speech therapist here five days a week,” she said. “I want the community to know that there is speech therapy in Tracy. We see nursing home patients and out-patient patients. You can get treated Monday through Friday. We have a pretty high success rate.”
Knakmuhs said gone are the days when facilities like Prairie View are simply places for kids to put their parents for the remainder of their lives.
“We have people who transition back home, or transition to a different living environment,” she said.
The five certified therapists — Knakmuhs, Ashley Remus (occupational therapy), Paige Buchert (occupation therapy assistant), Allison Hubbel (physical therapist) and Christina Garcia-Smith (speech/language pathologist) — are technically third-party contractors. They are employed through Iowa-based Blue Stone Therapies but work at Prairie View. Blue Stone, in September 2020, partnered with Accura Healthcare, which since 2019, has overseen daily operations at Prairie View.
“We work with the nurses and aids; I think it’s a really good environment,” Knakmuhs said. “That leads to success for the residents and patients.”
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.