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NILES — A new Niles business striving to keep seniors happy and healthy was welcomed to the community Tuesday afternoon.

The Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce and other community members gathered to celebrate ONR Therapy with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. 

A rehabilitation and therapy facility, ONR Therapy opened its doors inside Brentwood at Niles Senior Living, 1147 S. 3rd St., Niles, last year. The facility, complete with a physical therapy gym, provides Brentwood residents with a variety of rehab and therapy services they need to remain healthy and active in an effort to bring more advanced and integrated care services into senior living communities. 

ONR Director of Rehabilitation Jennifer Thompson-Boothe, an Occupational Therapy Specialist, brings more than 25 years of experience with her to the position.

“We service the clients here in the community,” she said. “If they need any kind of therapy or if they go to the hospital and come back, we’re here for them.”

Bringing ONR to Niles was a homecoming of sorts for Thompson-Boothe. A Brandywine graduate, Thompson-Boothe was inspired as a youth to become a therapist after seeing therapists care for her grandpa.

“When I was younger, I was able to see what therapists were able to do to help him,” she said. “It meant a lot to me that he was able to come home and get to a chair, sit on the porch and watch people walk by; I wanted to give back and that’s how I ended up here.”

Thompson-Boothe’s team consists of licensed physical therapist Divya Waghray as well as an OT assistant and a speech pathologist. According to Jennifer Kedik, Director of Sales and Marketing at Brentwood at Niles, having ONR Therapy on site helps make it easier for residents to get the care they need and their concerns addressed.

“They’re more familiar with them, so when it’s time to sign up for services, they’re like ‘I know her.’ It’s a familiar face, which is so important,” she said.

“Families are coming and going, so we get a chance to talk to them and give them updates as needed and they know us,” Thompson-Boothe added. “They can stick their head in and say, ‘hey, I was letting you know about their legs, or have you noticed this or can you work on this?’ We’re in the community just helping every single day as much as we can.”