GANADO, Ariz. – In our spotlight series featuring innovators at Sage Memorial Hospital, we interviewed Deidrea Salabye, Director of Rehabilitation Services and her team. Deidrea has been instrumental in expanding the Rehabilitation Services at Sage, bringing culture change to the department, and fostering a collaborative and supportive team environment.
Salabye took on the role of Director of Rehabilitation on March 2023, and since then has significantly worked on improving the department’s services. Patients now have access to both outpatient and inpatient services, with specialized care for all ages from pediatric to geriatric. However, Deidrea recognizes that there is still room for growth and improvement.
“The department is not fully staffed yet,” says Salabye. “We are in need of an Occupational Therapist and a permanent Physical Therapist. With additional staff, we can take in more patients and offer even better care.”
“Our mission has always been to provide comprehensive Rehabilitation Services, from Speech-Language Pathology to Occupational and Physical Therapy,” said Salabye. “Despite facing staffing challenges, we have maintained a high level of service through our dedicated staff and innovative approaches to care.”
Salabye provided an overview of the department’s offerings, including plans for the new hospital, “We deliver both outpatient services in our clinic and inpatient services to those staying in the hospital, including our swing bed patients,” said Salabye. “The new space is designed with our patients’ privacy, dignity, and specific rehabilitation needs in mind, allowing us to offer a more individualized approach to rehabilitation.”
The new rehabilitation space will include two enclosed exam rooms for PT/OT, a pediatric room, a speech-language pathology room, a significantly larger gym, and a room designated to ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) training. Our patient bathroom will also be designed to assist with shower and toilet training.
Salabye highlighted the importance of rehabilitation practical life skills, “We currently don’t have the space or equipment to practice life skills like dishwashing, dressing, laundering clothes and cooking. However, in the new hospital, we will have an area and a rehab clinic where we can do those things.”
“We are able to work on balance while performing complex activities because a lot of patients don’t care if they can curl a ten pound weight, they care if they can make themselves dinner or do their dishes or sweep and mop their floors – so really tailoring to the needs of our patient is very important,” Salabye explained.
Salabye also gave praise to the staff, from the warm reception by Administrative Assistant, Florene Long, to the expert care provided by Physical Therapists Eli Morales and Daniella Peters, Speech-Language Pathologists Angela Curtright and Jeffrey Meeks, and the support of PT technicians Truman Slim and Cynthia Bob, “their ability to work with patients is just unmatched – I’m so grateful to have them. We just do a really good job at creating a safe place for patients to heal.”