Patients Age: 66-years-old
Admission Date: 9/27/18
Admitted From: St. Francis Hospital
Discharge Date: 10/4/18
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 8 Days
Reason for Stay: Presence of right artificial hip joint as well as unilateral primary osteoarthritis in the knee.
How did this patient hear about Glengariff Healthcare? As per the recommendation of Ms. Merin’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. DiMaio from St. Francis Hospital, she and her brother received a wonderful tour by the Glengariff admissions team. They were so impressed with our community that they chose Glengariff immediately.

Ms. Nancy Merin arrived at Glengariff Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center on September 27, 2018 with the intention of rehabbing from her recent hip replacement surgery. Upon her arrival from St. Francis hospital, Ms. Merin was immediately greeted by the Director of Concierge Services, Teddy, and Patient representative, Margarette. Both Teddy and Margarette showed Ms. Merin to her room where she was introduced and welcomed by the nursing staff, dieticians, rehabilitation team, and social workers. After getting acquainted with the department managers, Ms. Merin was pleased to share some personal details about herself with Teddy, such as her hobbies, food preferences and shared details about her family and friends. This allowed for a more personal stay at Glengariff.

Ms. Merin expressed to all the staff members upon her arrival, that she had many questions and concerns about what her rehab program would look like. She expressed to the team that her main focus during her stay, would be to receive daily rehab therapy in the state-of-the-art therapy gym that she had seen on her tour of the facility. Being that she lived alone, it was crucial for Ms. Merin that she get back to her home doing her activities of daily living in a timely and independent fashion. She was assured by the Glengariff team that she would receive a therapy screening that very day. She was amazed to see that only a few moments later both an occupational and physical therapist arrived at her door to give her an initial therapy screening to ensure that the proper rehab plan be put in place for her to reach all of her goals.

Prior to her hospital stay, Ms. Merin had been living independently in Long Island after moving all the way from Alaska. She showed much passion and energy and took much enjoyment in cheering up all of those around her. She participated in many of the recreational activities throughout her stay, such as music, bingo, and the coffee and cookies hour, which was offered daily in the bistro lounge of the facility. She expressed to Teddy how surprised she was to have formed such close relationships with other patients during these various activities. Ms. Merin formed many relationships with her therapy and nursing staff as well. Her favorite aid in the facility was Maggie who made sure to take care of Ms. Merin’s every need and constantly go the extra mile for her. Ms. Merin was glad to have been informed about the Ray of Sunshine Program that Glengariff offers, where patients have the ability to compose personalized thank you cards to staff members that make their stay extra special. Ms. Merin went on to write multiple cards for Maggie and the other aids and nurses on her floor, thanking them for their warm and timely responses to all her requests. Ms. Merin also informed Teddy how much it meant to her when he and Margarette would come in on a daily basis to follow up with her about her health and the quality of her stay.

Upon her initial therapy screening, Ms. Merin was limited to ambulating only 50 feet with the assistance of a therapist providing close contact guard as she used her rolling walker. She also did not have the ability to climb stairs after the hip surgery. With the help of her physical therapist, Mike, Ms. Merin worked daily in the rehab gym to get back to her prior state of physical mobility. After just seven days of receiving physical therapy, she was now ambulating 150 feet with her rolling walking while only requiring distant supervision. Ms. Merin had now met her goals initially set in physical therapy. In occupational therapy, Ms. Merin had also made incredible progress. Upon her arrival from the hospital post-surgery, her upper and lower body functions, including toileting, required her to have moderate assistance at all times. With the help of her occupational therapist, Chris, Ms. Merin worked every afternoon for seven days to meet her goals, which she ultimately met. On her 7th day at the community, Ms. Merin was toileting on her own and had improved her upper and lower body functions to being fully independent with only requiring distant supervision.

Aside from all the progress she had made in therapy, Ms. Merin shared how wonderful of an experience she had at Glengariff. She expressed how impressed she was with the team at Glengariff always going the extra mile to make sure that she was comfortable and high-spirited. The highlight of her stay was the Oktoberfest celebration that took place on October 1st. The grand celebration consisted of root beer, apple ciders, and an enjoyable concert to wrap up the festivities! Ms. Merin explained that initially all she wanted to do was rehab and get home as soon as possible, but upon her discharge, she proudly shared with the team how attached she had become to all of the friendly staff and all the new friends she had made during her stay. Ms. Merin stated, “It is difficult for me to fully express my gratitude and appreciation to all of the staff at Glengariiff. They made my stay so pleasant and all played a role in my rehabilitation here. I enjoyed my stay at Glengariff so much that I will be returning in January for my scheduled knee replacement surgery.” We wish Ms. Merin the best of luck returning to her home and hope to only hear great news from her in the future!