On With Life, Abby Showalter
Abby shared with us the history and vision for On With Life, a nationally recognized Brain Injury Rehabilitation Treatment Center, located in Ankeny, Iowa.
The facility was founded out of need. In late 1980, Kathy Herring's world was turned upside down. Her son, Robert Rabe, was the passenger in a car that was run off the road by a drunk driver. Rabe sustained a significant brain injury and required extensive inpatient care. In the midst of this chaos, Herring formed a bond with the members of seven other families in similar circumstances. It was that bond that more than a decade later led to the formation of On With Life. It opened its doors to the first admission on August 12, 1991.
Today, On With Life Ankeny campus sits on 20 acres of land on the south side of town. The programs based here include: Post-Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation<https://www.onwithlife.org/inpatient-rehabilitation.aspx>, Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation<https://www.onwithlife.org/outpatient-services.aspx>, Neuropsychological Services<https://www.onwithlife.org/neuropsychological-evaluation-and-consultation-services.aspx> and the Apartments of OWL Creek<https://www.onwithlife.org/independent-living.aspx>(Independent Living).
On With Life also has a Residential Neuro Rehabilitation <https://www.onwithlife.org/residential-neuro-rehabilitation.aspx> program located in Des Moines.
On With Life also has a campus located in Glenwood, Iowa. It is housed on the grounds of the Glenwood Resource Center (GRC) located on the south side of Glenwood, Iowa. This program, Long-Term Care for Youth and Younger Adults<https://www.onwithlife.org/long-term-skilled-care.aspx>, opened in 1996 with 22 skilled nursing beds and expanded in 1999 to 32 beds. This program serves youth and younger adults, many in a coma/minimally responsive state.
Abby said 99% of their funding is from insurance and 1% is from philanthropic giving. A typical patient stay can last from 60 to 90 days. 80% of their patients are able to go home after undergoing treatment at the facility.
Abby shared that there are ~2.5 million traumatic brain injuries per year. We're all just one moment away from an event. But, she cautioned, "If you've seen one brain injury, then you've seen one brain injury." No two are alike. OWL tries very hard to do what is right for the individual patient and the environment they want to return to.
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