Rockwall health and rehab facility ‘walks the walk’

Highland Meadows: Character, Integrity and Exemplary Care

ROCKWALL, TX (Oct. 21, 2020) From car parades and window welcomes to phone calls and video chats, residents of Highland Meadows Health and Rehab have experienced just about every form of virtual visit possible under COVID-19 regulations. Strict adherence to safety protocols and a committed staff have helped keep Highland Meadows residents connected with loved ones and COVID-free throughout the pandemic.

Drive-by parade for residents of Highland Meadows.

Like many other skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, Highland Meadows recently received the go-ahead from Texas Health & Human Services to open its doors for Essential Caregiver Visitation. On Sept. 28, Mr. Peterson was the first in-person visitor at the facility since March, able to hug his wife for the first time in six months (WATCH the reunion in this video below!)

“Adapting, pivoting, and responding to our patients’ needs is what we do,” said Highland Meadows Administrator Gracen Hawley, LNFA, M.A., CCC-SLP. “There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our patients. Our entire team has worked extremely hard to ensure that proper policies and procedures are in place to help protect our patients and staff during this difficult period. All the while we’re tending to the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of the people we serve.”

For Gracen and her team, these are more than words. It’s a way of life, and Highland Meadows is family.

Located at 1870 South John King Boulevard in Rockwall, the privately owned and operated facility is home to approximately 75 long-term residents and more than 30 short-term patients.

Strikingly beautiful, immaculate and spacious, the state-of-the-art facility provides skilled nursing and comprehensive rehabilitation programs including inpatient and outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, IV therapy, and a myriad of other services as needed. Their professional, licensed care team specializes in stroke recovery, orthopedics, wound care management, pain management, post-surgical rehab, and Diabetes. A physician makes rounds seven days a week, and their Medical Director, Dr. Tony Bui, is a licensed, board-certified Physiatrist. There’s a large, fully equipped gym and a dedicated room that serves as a simulated home environment, complete with kitchen appliances, washer and dryer – for functional therapy.

“As part of our therapy services, we offer functional rehab,” Gracen explains. “One of our main goals is to get patients back to functioning the way they were prior to hospitalization, so we simulate activities like putting dishes in the dishwasher and doing laundry. We watch for things like balance and endurance, so when we send you home, you’re safe.”

The licensed therapists are dedicated employees of Highland Meadows, and rehab programs are tailored to fit each patient’s specific needs.

“This helps ensure each patient achieves the best possible outcome in the shortest period of time, combined with the individual care, guidance and support they deserve,” Gracen said. “The average stay for most of our rehab patients is 17 days, far below the national average.”

Inside Highland Meadows you’ll also find fully furnished living suites, spacious private and semi-private rooms with flat screen TVs and internet access, clean and luxurious restrooms, a community dining hall with chef-prepared meals and specialized menus, activity areas, a beauty salon and barber – all situated on gorgeous grounds in Rockwall.

Marie Pitts, Clinical Liaison, is quick to point out that Highland Meadows is not part of a large chain.

“This gives us greater flexibility and allows us to provide truly personalized care,” she said. “We can adapt quickly to changing needs. And when you or a loved one is with us, you aren’t just treated like family; you are family,” she said.

Highland Meadows resident Stella Tobola turned 104 in September. She is originally from Czechoslovakia and she loves to sing gospel music. She knows a thing or two about making kolaches, too.

Although Highland Meadows has served the Rockwall community since 2015, Gracen, along with her husband, Russell, took ownership of Highland Meadows earlier this year.

“We faced so many challenges following the transition in February,” Gracen said. “As new owners, we had to overcome one obstacle after another in order to make our vision for Highland Meadows a reality. But God’s hand has clearly been in this, every step of the way.”

Gracen and her team got busy planning a Grand Opening event to welcome the community and showcase the facility. The date was set – March 13. But when the big day came, so did news of an unprecedented shutdown of healthcare facilities due to COVID-19.

“It was heartbreaking. But we kept the focus on protecting our patients and staff and doing what we do best – providing exemplary healthcare and rehabilitation services,” Gracen said. “Our leadership team, along with every member of our staff, worked together – diligently and painstakingly – to implement new policies and procedures to ensure further safeguards. We worked to receive necessary PPE (personal protection equipment) to ensure our staff and residents stayed safe. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster, but there has never been a time that God has not provided for Highland Meadows. It has built my faith, reassuring me I’m in the right place.”

Gracen explained that the lockdown allowed them to look internally at their culture, leadership, and integrity – making sure Highland Meadows was indeed living up to our philosophy: “Are we who we say we are?” In other words, walking the walk – not just talking the talk.

“It all comes down to character and integrity,” she said. “Our goal is to provide honest, transparent, ethical care from the top down. When our staff comes to work, they can rest assured they will have enough gowns, gloves, and masks so they, too, can feel secure and supported. Skilled nursing facilities can be a dreary place and patients can be sad, but if your staff is friendly and happy – they bring the life, they bring the love. And that’s especially important now.”

Highland Meadows assists Meals on Wheels with meal delivery. “It’s important to be part of a project like this because our mission at Highland Meadows is truly to help all seniors in Rockwall County, not just in our facility, but in and around the community.” ~ Marie Pitts, Clinical Liaison

Gracen added that it’s her ministry to the staff to invest in leaders and relationships, so they can make a difference in patients’ lives. She’s done a lot of self-assessment and praying, too.

“For some of our critical care patients, these may be the last days they have left on Earth, and we’re going to give them our absolute best and do everything in our power for them,” she said. “What I’ve learned through this process is to invest in leaders, train them, and then step back and allow them to lead so they can be effective. I throw my heart into them so they can carry on those values and flood our entire organization.”

Gracen also believes that it’s important for patients to retain their dignity and their rights, especially their right to choose.

“Patients come to us who have been independent in the past but now may have trouble even getting their own cup of ice water. They may feel as if everything’s been stripped away from them. Here, they don’t just get one pillow; if they want five pillows, they’re going to get five pillows. If they want to shower in the evening rather than the morning, we’re going to make that happen. We’re going to provide them with a good, clean smelling home, see that they’re up and dressed for the day, and that they flourish.”

Gracen’s own grandmother lived at Highland Meadows, until she passed away in September at the age of 87.

“She looked better in the last 60 days in our facility than she had in years,” Gracen said. “I was so confident in my staff’s abilities that I brought her here. As a granddaughter, I feel so good about that.”

Tending to the residents’ emotional, spiritual, and physical needs includes monthly activities like Bingo, Bible study throughout the week (led by Norman Patton, long-term resident and retired pastor), church services on Sunday morning, BodyWorks group exercise, big hat teas, men’s group, dance parties and ice cream socials, choir, movie time, and more. During the pandemic, when non-essential providers were not permitted entry, staff members even stepped up to continue offering hair styling services to residents on ‘Salon Days’. Transportation services are provided to ensure patients can get to their follow-up doctor appointments.

Highland Meadows staff members styled residents’ hair and took ‘pandemic portraits’ when professional salon services were suspended.

Looking toward the future, Gracen is excited to announce they are enhancing patient services by providing their own in-house laboratory services. The time it takes to draw and process stat lab results will decrease dramatically from the usual four hours to as fast as five minutes.

“This is important to our care delivery models because it will enable us to act more acutely by quickly identifying changes in conditions and efficiently initiate a treatment plan. Ultimately this will allow us to give better care, and drastically reduce our return-to-hospital rates,” explained Gracen. “It is a space that no other nursing facility has ventured into.”

“We also have plans to begin providing General Inpatient Hospice services. The senior population holds a special place in our hearts, no matter where they are in their journey. We realize that quality of care, safety and comfort is most important to our geriatric loved ones, and that is what is most important to us, too. We are excited to be able to extend our services to a more acute, end of life stage as well.”

Highland Meadows accepts Medicare, Medicaid, private pay, managed-care, and private insurance. To learn more, call 972-722-7408 or visit their website at www.highlandmeadowshealth.com. Follow all of their activities and events on Facebook and Instagram, @highlandmeadowshealth.

Sponsored spotlight article written by Dawn Redig. Highland Meadows is a client of BRN Media. Photos by BRN Media as well as submitted photos.

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