Patient’s Age: 86-years-old
Patient’s Name: Joan T.
Admission Date: 07/31/20
Discharge Date: 09/25/20
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 56 days
Reason for Stay: Subarachnoid hemorrhage
How did this patient hear about Water’s Edge Rehabilitation and Nursing Center? Hospital Referral


Details of Experience:
Joan was admitted to Stony Brook Hospital and diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage after falling down the stairs in her home. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is otherwise known as a type of stroke that is caused by bleeding in the space that surrounds the brain. After spending some time in the hospital, Joan was recommended to a subacute rehabilitation center to assist her in getting back on her feet in the safest way, before returning home.

Joan lived at home with her husband, who could not wait for her to return home. They worked together to find a place that would help them reunite at home as soon as possible. Joan was admitted to Water’s Edge Rehabilitation & Nursing Center at Port Jefferson on July 31, 2020. She was eager and ready to get started on the rehabilitation process.

Upon admission, Joan was greeted by a number of people from Water’s Edge interdisciplinary staff. She was escorted to her room by the admitting nurse, who then completed her initial assessment. Followed by a visit from our team of directors and administration, Joan was extremely satisfied thus far. After the first 12 hours of her stay, Joan stated, “I love it here, everyone is so nice.”

Joan worked hard and diligently every day during physical therapy and occupational therapy. Her ultimate goal was to return home with the prior level of function before she landed in the hospital. She had all the potential to reach her goals due to good family support, ability to follow directions and motivation to return home.

In physical therapy, Joan and her therapist Jamie worked together on therapeutic resistance exercise and progressive resistance exercise. They also worked on standing balance training, along with gait training to her normalize gait pattern. All the while, in occupational therapy, Joan and her therapist Alyssa worked together to facilitate independence in self-care tasks. They worked on gross motor coordination techniques, bilateral integration techniques, and techniques to improve her ability to self-support on the edge of the bed for self-care tasks.

Upon admission, Joan needed much assistance with her daily life tasks. She was only able to tolerate about 30 seconds of functional activity and was not able to walk up or down any stairs. As it was getting closer to discharge, Joan was improving drastically. She was not able to tolerate activity for 25 minutes; she was able to walk up and down a flight of 10 steps and just needed occasional supervision with some daily life tasks. Joan’s husband and son were instructed on safe transfer techniques, safety sequencing techniques, and use of assistive devices to increase safety and decrease the need for assistance by caregivers.

After 56 days, Joan was ready to return home. She left with the utmost gratitude for everyone in our community for getting her where she is today.

Water’s Edge team wishes Joan and her family a happy and healthy future!