A referral to the HOP-UP-PT program can come from anyone!
Unlike traditional physical therapy services, you don’t have to get a doctor’s prescription to participate in HOP-UP-PT (although physicians referring their patients is certainly welcome!)
Older adults can refer themselves into the program or other people can recommend an older adult learn more about HOP-UP-PT (with the older adult’s permission of course!)
An older adult may receive a recommendation for the HOP-UP-PT program from any healthcare provider, a community center staff member, a first responder, and even friends and family! No private personal information is collected on this form so you can be sure that your information is safe with us.
Once the recommendation has been placed via our convenient form, a HOP-UP-PT connection expert will reach out to the older adult by phone or email, whichever is preferred.
The HOP-UP-PT connection expert will ask a few questions to learn more about how HOP-UP-PT can help the older adult, including what area the person lives in and a little about their past health history. This will help to get the right HOP-UP-PT Certified Therapist to their house!
After this call, the HOP-UP-PT connection expert will contact a HOP-UP-PT Certified Therapist and provide you with their name and contact information and then you can decide whether you want to call them, or they will call you.
At a time of your convenience, the HOP-UP-PT therapist will make a house call to your home and do a thorough evaluation of the key areas that are important to maintaining your independence and health. This first visit generally takes about 60-90 minutes.
During the first visit, the therapist will examine your balance, strength, problem solving skills, home environment, and other health-related areas. After this, the therapist will sit down with you and create an individualized Independence Plan with key recommendations or talking points to discuss with your healthcare team.
The HOP-UP-PT will then initiate the scientifically proven and award-winning Foundational HOP-UP-PT Independence Program. You have a choice whether you want to work with your insurance to have these physical therapy visits covered by your health insurance or pay for the services themselves. As HOP-UP-PT works with your local providers of physical therapy in your community, procedures and fees for these services may vary.
Even hall-of-fame professional athletes need coaches.
After the first visit, your personal physical therapist will return to your home about once a month for four months to provide coaching in key balance exercises, home modification recommendations, a health maintenance plan, and recommendations on other important areas of maintaining your independence.
After these five in-home visits, you will work with your therapist via three telehealth visits where they can provide additional coaching and recommendations. During these sessions, you will be able to talk with your therapist and they will be able to see and hear you demonstrating your exercises and answering any questions that you might have about your personalized Independence Program.
After these telerehabilitation visits, your physical therapist will visit your home one more time to help you get over the finish line and make sure that you are aware of the various resources that are available to you in your community to keep you free and independent for a good long time.
You are special and unique and your Personal Independence Plan that you develop with your HOP-UP-PT Certified Therapist will be just as specialized and unique! In addition to the Foundational HOP-UP-PT program, your therapist may identify additional services or treatments that can help you to maintain your freedom and health. Below are just a few examples of these enhanced services that your HOP-UP-PT therapist can recommend based on your individualized circumstances.
Sometimes getting on the floor is a necessary component of living independently and other times, it may occur unexpectedly. Either way, your therapist can provide individualized training in proper procedures to get up from the floor. This has the added benefit of being able to problem solve possible situations that may occur in your own home and how to minimize injury and improve your chances for success.
Nobody expects an emergency or natural disaster to happen to them but its always a good idea to plan ahead for such an event. It could save your life and the lives of your loved ones. You and your HOP-UP-PT therapist will go over what might happen in common emergencies such as fires, natural disasters, power outages, floods, or other safety issues. This will also include a video starring first responders on some of the best ways to prepare for common emergencies and what you can do to prepare for these events.
It’s a sensitive subject but the muscles that control your urine and bowels are just like any other muscle. They can be trained and strengthened just like any other muscle. The therapist can provide you with advice and recommendations to get these muscles strong and controlled as any other muscle in the body! In some cases, they may identify that your circumstances may also benefit from even more specialized care from a pelvic health physical therapist. This is rare but may be very helpful to make sure these important muscles are doing what they are supposed to and allowing you to do all the great things that you love to do!
Free educational modules are available to discuss healthy eating as we age. These include diet recommendations on how much fiber to eat, how many calories is safe, and how to eat well to feel great and look great!
In this 21st Century, being able to use technology is increasingly important especially when it comes to your freedom and independence. If it’s helpful, your therapist will be able to provide resources and training in how to best access and use technology for your health. This might include being able to use a wearable activity monitor to help you keep track of your steps and health, learning how to do telehealth and telerehabilitation visits, and some common tips and tricks for smartphones, computers, and tablets such as iPads. We even recruited some young people to help to provide you with the state-of-the-art technology recommendations!
