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Posted 10/29/2020

People on the Move - ElderTree - Erin Keefe and Deanna Rocco

People on the Move - ElderTree - Erin Keefe and Deanna Rocco

ElderTree Care Management is pleased to announce two new team members

Deanna Rocco has joined our growing team as an Associate Care Manager (a care manager in training).  Deanna has been working in the field for 6 years.

"I have been told on numerous occasions that I have an old soul. I’ve always connected with elders as friends and love learning from those who are much wiser than me. Growing up I lived close by to my grandparents and spent a lot of time with them. I also grew up visiting my great grandmothers who both lived to be over 100 years old!! 

When I pursed my Psychology Degree I gravitated toward coursework focusing on adulthood and later life and took up a Gerontology minor. I started a project where college students would deliver groceries to elders and build a relationship over time. I also took a class about aging alongside elders who were living in an assisted living home – we would read texts together related to aging and would have genuine and open conversations as well as presentations with the elders about what they were experiencing! 

Post-graduation, I worked as a Recreational Therapist in Upstate NY for a transitional care facility that housed about 288 seniors. I learned how important it was to provide interdisciplinary services and this is where I began contributing to care planning – I found a deep love for both providing meaning and purpose in the daily lives of those I worked with as well as creating care plans to meet individual goals. 

Two years later, my now husband and I moved to Northern Virginia, and I took on a new role as a Director of Activities/Recreation for a CCRC. I oversaw the Recreation/Activities Departments for both a Rehabilitation and Nursing Center as well as an Assisted Living and learned so much in the 4 1/2 years that I worked there. 

When I spoke with Eldertree founder, Kate Caldwell, our visions meshed perfectly and I knew that I wanted to support Eldertree’s mission to promote quality of life and solutions – especially now during COVID-19 and looking into the future of Elder Care!"

and 

Erin Keefe, Occupational Therapist, has joined the team as a Senior Level Care Manager.  Erin has been working in the field for over 13 years.

Erin is a native of Northern Virginia with over 13 years of experience in healthcare and senior care as an Occupational Therapist. From a young age, Erin had a calling to serve her community and to help individuals live meaningful lives. She joined service organizations in high school and college involving children and young adults with physical and mental disabilities as well as the homeless and senior populations. Through these experiences she pursued the field of Occupational Therapy and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, a minor in Psychology and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Duquesne University. She has also obtained a certification as a Certified Dementia Practitioner. 

Erin has worked as a staff occupational therapist, team lead, assistant director, and director of rehabilitation at numerous local healthcare facilities in Northern VA. She has worked in the following settings: skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, long term care facilities, dementia care, home health, outpatient, and private practice. She has worked closely with patients, their families, and their care team to provide comprehensive assessments of current needs and provide appropriate patient centered treatments, plans of care, and discharge plans. She planned and developed nursing home programs such as a urinary incontinence program and assisted a nursing facility with both personally building as well as partnering with local wheelchair vendors to build custom and specialized seating systems for Geri chair bound residents. 

Erin has also worked closely with a skilled nursing facility participating in program and policy development for rehab and providing care to patients during the COVID 19 pandemic. Working with the facility management team, she developed processes to ensure patient and staff safety while providing essential therapy services.  She is looking forward to serving the residents of Northern VA and DC as an ElderTree Senior Care Manager. 

see Bios at https://www.eldertreecare.com/eldertree-team

We are excited to have Erin and Deanna join our growing team.

If you are interested in becoming a Care Manager and you are passionate about elder care send your resume to info@eldertreecare.com

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