Case Study: Glengariff Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center (October 2018)

Patients Age: 73-years-old
Admission date: 10/23/18
Admitted from: St. Francis Hospital
Discharge date: 10/31/18
Discharged to: Home
Length of stay: 8 Days

Reason for stay: Spondylolisthesis, lumbar region. Back surgery procedure completed at St. Francis Hospital.

How did this patient hear about Glengariff Healthcare Center? Although this was Ann’s first time at Glengariff as a patient, she was already familiar with Glengariff as her husband, Joseph, had recovered from a knee replacement surgery five years ago. Both Joseph and Ann were so impressed with the care provided at Glengariff, that she decided to receive short term rehabilitation services at Glengariff for her own journey to recovery.

Ms. Ann Ammirati arrived at the short rehab Pratt Pavilion center of Glengariff Healthcare Center in hopes of making a full recovery from her recent back surgery. Ann and her husband were greeted at the entrance of Glengariff by our Concierge, Teddy, and patient representative, Margarette, as her ambulance arrived to the entrance. After being introduced to the department managers, she was shown to her room. Ann was pleasantly surprised to see the admissions nurse and CNA’s arrive to her room only moments after she and her husband arrived. Maxine, her certified nursing assistant, made sure to unpack her belongings as Teddy and Margarette began explaining the process of how she would make a full recovery from her surgery. After the nursing supervisor, Jean, connected with Ann to address her clinical inquiries, she was welcomed by the team from physical and occupational therapy. Suniel, the assistant director of rehabilitation, and Joe, her occupational therapist, performed their initial screenings in order to set goals and put a plan in place for her recovery. They took the time to explain to her what would be some of the aspects in therapy that they will be putting extra emphasis on in order to have her back on her feet.

Being that Ann and her husband were both avid travelers who even owned an RV, it was very important to her to ensure that she received the best physical therapy, which is what she associated with Glengariff from speaking with previous patients. Ann’s husband had been a patient at Glengariff five years prior to her stay, and he received exceptional care and therapy, which enabled him to return on the road only a few weeks after being discharged. This past experience made the decision for Ann to heal at Glengariff an easy one.

During her first day in the Glengariff gym, Ann was only able to ambulate a total of 50 feet while using a rolling walking and having the immediate assistance from her physical therapist, Noel. In occupational therapy, Ann wanted to put great focus on car transfers, which is why she and her occupational therapist ensured that she make use of Glengariff’s simulated car. During her first day of OT, Ann was only able to complete ADL’s (activities of daily living) such as toileting and bed transfers with minimal assistance and could not yet perform these tasks independently. With much work and help, by day five Ann had already begun to see outstanding progress in both PT and OT. She was now ambulating 75 feet with a rolling walker with only close contact guard from Noel. This was a big accomplishment for Ann as she expressed how motivated she felt after seeing such great progress in less than a week’s time. She made similar gains with the continued help of Joe. By the end of day five, Ann was completing her transfers with only supervision and no immediate assistance.

She was so glad to get back to being able to toilet, shower, and get in and out of her bed by herself. Joe taught her how to make use of the various safety grab bars that Glengariff encompasses throughout its therapy center, which helped strengthen her upper body. On the day before Halloween, it was Ann’s final day in the gym. On the 7th day of her stay, she could not believe that she was already ambulating 100 feet with a rolling walker at distant supervision and simultaneously completing her ADL’s with distant supervision. This meant that Ann was now walking with her walker and completing transfers all independently. It was hard for Ann to comprehend that only a week prior to this, she could barely walk half that amount and also could not complete any normal day tasks without direct help. She was now able to envision herself getting back home with her husband and going back to doing the things she loved.

Aside from Ann’s experience in the therapy gym, she also made sure to take advantage of the many activities and social gatherings that Glengariff offered. Ann very much enjoyed going down to the dining room led by Margaret. Ann also truly enjoyed sitting with some of the other patients who were in a similar situation to her and enjoyed listening to the fascinating stories of their recoveries. The dining room experience consisted of receiving drinks, soups, salads, and delicious main courses. Ann looked forward to the restaurant like dining experience at lunch and dinner daily. She also enjoyed socializing at the daily coffee and cookies social that took place in the Glengariff bistro. It was at the time that she could sit with her husband and chat about how the day had been going so far. Ann really enjoyed taking part in the various games such as bingo and the virtual reality experience, where she was able to see some of the places she had visited in 3D! This encouraged her to stay positive and attend therapy even when she was slightly tired.

As her discharge date drew near, Ann had a very productive meeting with Dayna the social worker, where they were able to order the equipment that she would need once she returned home. Dayna was very clear when explaining the process of being discharged and made it simple for Ann and Joseph to understand and follow. On October 31st Ann was ecstatic to see that she would be spending Halloween at her home with her husband, children, and grandchildren, and could not have been happier with her experience at Glengariff. On her final morning at Glengariff, Teddy completed a final discharge evaluation for her stay. Ann only had the best things to say about her time at Glengariff. She stated, “It was with the help of each and every staff member that I was able to make a full recovery and stay upbeat while doing so. The aids and nurses on the units were so responsive and took care of all my needs with a smile. It was also so enjoyable that Glengariff gives its patients an atmosphere where you can interact with others in a warm environment. I truly did not feel like I was in a rehab center with all the extras that they provide. It was really a pleasure to meet both Margaret and Teddy, who constantly checked in on me to see if there was anything they could do to make my stay more comfortable. I feel great physically and look forward to getting back to traveling thanks to Glengariff. This was something that I was skeptical about after I had my surgery, and now realize how much progress I had made. Thank you to all the team members at the Glengariff community!”