Four years ago, Rocky Knoll Health Care Center invested in a device that uses vibration to reduce atrophy and pain in low-mobility patients receiving therapy.
The county-owned skilled nursing facility in Plymouth, WI, continues to use its VibeTech equipment in that capacity, but it is now working closely with the manufacturer to develop and measure the effectiveness of modified versions meant to serve other resident populations.
For its research-based efforts, Rocky Knoll is a Gold winner in the 2020 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards in the Skilled Care track’s Innovator of the Year category.
In 2018, staff created a pilot to study how well memory care residents would tolerate the device, which imparts low-intensity vibrations tuned to contract muscles in the legs and low back to simulate standing and walking. That led to a Quality Assurance and Performance Initiative. In 2019, data showed a 45% reduction in falls over a three-month treatment period versus the previous three months.
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