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Senior Care Plus is pleased to announce we are now a proud sponsor of Jam On It Pickleball, open to the community seven days a week at the Reno Sparks Convention Center. We’re excited to help promote this fun activity to our members, employees and the public. Pickleball has many wonderful health benefits – particularly for seniors. It’s a low-impact game that raises the heart rate, improves hand-eye coordination and increases mobility. In addition to the obvious physical benefits, pickleball is a great social activity. Getting out of the house and playing a fun, easy-to-learn game with others is a great way to make new friends while improving your physical and mental health!   Ralph Barbato, a Senior Care Plus member from Reno, is a huge fan of pickleball and all it has to offer. “Pickleball has made such a positive impact on my life. I love the physical and mental health benefits along with the social aspect – it’s a great way to meet new people and I’m excited to have it in our community,” said Ralph.

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If you’ve ever spent time at Renown, you may have noticed there are some four-legged volunteers roaming the halls greeting patients, visitors, and staff. Since 1997, Renown has been fortunate enough to have its very own therapy dog program. As of today, there are 43 dogs in the program, and each of them have gone through countless hours of training to offer healing, comfort and support to those seeking treatment within our health system. Each of these therapy dogs have their own special personalities, but they all share the same mission: to make a paws-itive impact on everyone they meet.  One therapy dog that has touched many lives at Renown is Raven, a five-year old Belgian Malinois mix. Raven's Story In March of 2019, Reno residents Richard and Vickie Lange rescued Raven from an animal shelter in Portola, California. When the Langes made Raven part of their family, they immediately started her in obedience training. After seeing her do so well, they thought of an idea that would not only help Raven reach her full potential but also allow them to give back to others – they decided to train Raven to be a therapy dog.

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Despite the challenges of a pandemic, the Renown Rehabilitation Hospital continues to help their patients thrive outside of the hospital walls. On July 31, 2021, they hosted the first-ever Renown Alumni Sports Extravaganza, or RASE, a day focused on adaptive sports for all abilities. “Sports and recreation have a unique way of breaking down emotional barriers,” states Jared Worchel, DO, MS. The alumni used their skills on a climbing wall, Frisbee golf, archery, an obstacle course and bag toss. Over 20 people spent the day cruising the first adaptive mountain biking trail in the Tahoe region. “Having old friends meet up and seeing new friendships form had to be the highlight of the weekend,” says Shaun Stewart Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) with Renown Rehabilitation Hospital. “RASE was a great way to learn new methods to improve outdoor recreation engagement from both participants and the many programs involved.” Dr. Worchel agrees, “The smiles really make it worth it, and we even saw several touching moments with tears of joy when participants completed a task and finally felt like they were getting past their injury, mentally, after years of being so focused on recovery.” Adaptive Climbing and Camping One touching moment came on the adaptive climbing wall. Cassie Firchau, an occupational therapist at Renown, recalls a rehab alumni who had never been on a climbing wall (pre or post injury) conquering the wall. “Everyone was cheering him on. I was impressed with how he used the ascending pull up bar to get up the wall,” she remembers. Mark Wellman, the founder of No Limits, provided the climbing wall. “I had heard of Mark, but I had no idea that he climbed El Capitan only a few years after his spinal cord injury,” says Cassie. “Having him at the event was a great opportunity to learn how to stay active and enjoy the things you love, no matter the circumstance.” After dark, the event continued with a DJ spinning hits followed by overnight camping. That evening Shaun Stewart had the chance to talk to one of the alumni. “He spoke on how he was nervous about camping and how it would go in a new campground. He said that he was happy for an opportunity to practice with our group prior to going out on his own,” remarks Stewart. “Knowing that this event can help create opportunities even outside our events is great to know.” Adaptive camping activities allow all abilities to not only enjoy nature, but also connect. “We also saw a lot of interaction between the participants themselves, sharing their journeys with each other during the down times which was possible with the extended format,” explains Dr. Worchel. “Overall it was an overwhelming success and we are already looking forward to next year.” Northern Nevada's Adaptive Sports Community Not only did the Renown Rehab alumni come together at RASE, but so did the greater northern Nevada community. Along with the hard work of the Renown Rehabilitation employees, the City of Reno Adaptive and Inclusion Programs, Wasting Arrows, Disable Sports Eastern Sierra, No Limits, and High Fives Foundation, provided support and equipment for the alumni. “It was so great to see multiple groups, volunteers and non-profits collaborating to support alumni participants to live life to the fullest, and to experience outdoor recreation in such a dynamic way,” states Josh Patterson, Supervisor of Rehab Therapy Services at Renown Health. "The City of Reno is so grateful for this sponsorship to bring together new and old Renown alumni to learn and encourage each other. There were many firsts this weekend, and we look forward to future participation in City of Reno Adaptive programs,” says April Wolfe, CTRS, City of Reno Parks and Recreation. For more information on future alumni adaptive events, please email: shaun.stewart@renown.org.

Read More About Renown Hosts Adaptive Sports Day for All Abilities at Sky Tavern RASE Event