WEST PLAINS, Mo – John Tollenaar, D.P.T., recently joined Ozarks Medical Center (OMC) to serve as Director of OMC Home Care. Tollenaar brings over 10 years of clinical and leadership physical therapy experience to the multi-faceted OMC Home Care. OMC Home Care is comprised of three different home care programs housed together under one roof, where they coordinate service to provide a full continuum of care to meet patients’ needs.
Tollenaar previously served as Director for Kindred Home in West Plains, MO, and as a physical therapist before that. He also worked as a physical therapist at Physical Therapy Associates in West Plains.
Tollenaar earned his doctorate of physical therapy from Missouri State University in Springfield. He earned a Bachelor of Science with an exercise physiology focus from Evangel University, where he also played baseball.
A native of Thayer, Missouri, Tollenaar is married to West Plains native Mary Louise. They live in West Plains with their 4-year-old daughter. Mary Louise is an art teacher at West Plains Middle School. They both enjoy golfing and love to travel.
Tollenaar says he never saw himself working in-home, care but actually as a sports physical therapist. Seeing his great-grandfather receive compassionate home care and the burden removed from his great-grandmother left a lasting impression. He believes home care for the rural population is so important, to be able to keep patients in their homes receiving medical care and rehabilitation.
Tollenaar says if you’re going to work in healthcare in West Plains, you couldn’t pick a better organization than OMC. “By being directly interfaced with OMC, we can facilitate a seamless transition from acute care to a patient’s ongoing care in their home,” says Tollenaar. “Knowing our patients’ providers personally, allows us to have better communication and as a result better patient care.”
“We are thrilled to welcome someone with John’s clinical and management experience as the newest member of OMC Leadership,” says Kurt Abbey, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer, Ozarks Medical Center. “Home care and rehabilitation play a pivotal role in continuing to expand OMC’s healthcare services to meet the needs of the area residents and continue to be the healthcare provider of choice in the Ozarks. ”
About OMC Home Care – 3 Services to meet all your home care needs.
OMC Home Care works closely with providers to provide the medical care they recommend for patients. Their skilled staff of nurses, home health aides, rehabilitation therapists, and social workers are dedicated to providing the best possible healthcare to patients in their own homes.
As part of OMC Home Care, OMC Support Services offers the assurance that patients’ daily needs are met by providing services such as homemaking, personal care, respite care, and in-home companion care.
OMC Home Care Transitions is a volunteer-based program that offers assistance, encouragement, and support to those who are diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and who have a prognosis of one year or less, but who are not yet suited for or are not choosing, hospice for a variety of reasons. The focus of the program is to link clients with community resources that can help meet their needs.
OMC Hospice provides for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients and their families in the final stages of an incurable illness. OMC Hospice offers a full range of services, including nursing care, medications, and much more. Trained volunteers play an integral role in the care that is given to both patients and the patients’ families as they face end-of-life issues.
OMC Home Care provides care in Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Douglas, Shannon, Texas and Wright counties in Missouri. OMC Home Care is located at 114 E. Main St., West Plains. For more information about the services offered by OMC Home Care, call 417-256-3133
Ozarks Medical Center is a system of care encompassing eight primary care and 17 specialty clinics, along with complete rehabilitation, behavioral healthcare, and home care services. While the 114-bed acute care hospital cares for more than 5,400 admissions, the entire medical system has more than 364,000 patient visits annually in South Central Missouri and Northern Arkansas. For more information about OMC, visit www.OzarksMedicalCenter.com.
