Patient’s Age: 38-years-old
Admission Date: 10/31/20
Admitted From: St. Francis Hospital
Discharge Date: 11/26/20
Discharged to: Home
Length of Stay: 27 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about Glengariff Rehabilitation & Nursing Center? St. Francis Staff

Details of Experience:
Mr. Michael Angevine was admitted to the Glengariff Nursing and Rehabilitation on November 31st, 2020. Prior to being admitted to our community, he was an inpatient at St. Francis Hospital, due a fractured left leg at the tibia and fibula in June 2020. This hampered his ability to walk. He also presented with a host of other ailments including: depression, pancreatitis, gallbladder removal, hypertension, type II diabetes, recurrent vomiting, abdominal and back pain, and cirrhosis of the liver. He also suffers from chronic pain. At the hospital, they recommended subacute, short term rehabilitation, due to decrease in strength and functional mobility, reduced ability to safely ambulate, reduced functional activity tolerance and activities of daily living (ADL) participation and complaints of pain. Mr. Angevine lives at home with his mother, with 4 steps to the home and access to bedrooms with two handrails. There is also a ramp to the home and a stair lift to the second floor. Patient receives assistance with ADL’s from his mother and walks very little at home. He also received outpatient PT three times a week prior to the hospitalization. He was already aware of Glengariff and our reputation for rehabilitation. Due to Covid-19, no tour was feasible but instead the patient chose our community and arrangements were made for Michael to be transferred to Glengariff.

When Michael arrived at Glengariff, he was very concerned about his lack of balance, mobility and strength. The slightest movements would prompt pain; and he exhibited little interest in his rehabilitation. He hoped that our rehab would strengthen him; but he was concerned about his ability to manage stairs and to be able to care for himself and his most basic needs. Michael was not able to walk by himself, and he did not know if he would be able to do so for more than ten steps with a rollator walker. He attempted it and was able to walk 20 feet with an assistive Rollator device. Richard was able to negotiate three steps using handrails bilaterally. He exhibited reduced quad strength and weak balance and cadence of his steps. This created additional experiences of imbalance and over-exertion. Activities in the bathroom involved significant dependence on the staff. Richard was at risk for recurrent falls.

Within a week after his arrival, Richard started to make strides, both figuratively and literally. His strength improved, and his steps increased, from 20 feet with substantial assistance to 75 feet in seven days! He progressed from not being able to climb even more than three steps when he was admitted, to climbing five stairs with only a therapist to keep watch over him! What’s more, his movement was switched from “Contact Guard” to “Stand By Assist”. As the therapy continued, Richard’s goals were reset again, establishing new short-term and long-term goals for him to achieve.
With the staff coming to provide both intensive physical therapy and the Concierge team keeping Richard content with chats about his family, reminiscing about his friends and experiences as a young man, and arranging window visits with his mother, he got stronger with each passing day. He was so relieved by this clinical and emotional support, which helped him feel confident and hopeful. He could focus on getting better and improving his techniques at maneuvering, sitting up in bed, toileting and bathing. It was also wonderful to receive a steady stream of food packages and restaurant meals from mom!

When was admitted, Richard could not muster the strength or balance to climb more than 3 stairs and was at high risk for falls. But within the month of his stay, Richard was mounting and descending 5 stairs at a clip and walking 200 feet unassisted!! There was supervision, but no actual physical help. When Richard was wheeled out on the day of his discharge, he rose out of his wheelchair effortlessly and strode over to his car and got in unassisted. His mother looked on, thrilled by her son’s independence and confident gait. She reflected that she could barely recognize the man who had gone to therapy appointments, trudging and struggling. As we spoke on the way to the lobby before he left, Richard expressed that he had made important strides at our community. I assured him that his years of activity, if he kept them up, would help him thrive at home, as he had at our community.

Throughout his stay, until his departure a little more than a month later, Richard was pleased with our staff and how they cared for him. He described them as “caring and patient. “They were so very understanding of my multiple issues,” he reflected. Regarding his care, he could still now recall how many times a week he would receive care packages from the Concierge that his mother had lovingly sent to cheer him up. He felt especially grateful for this ability to rely on the team when family could not enter the community to see him during his care.
At the point of his discharge on November 26th, 2020, Michael was able to climb steps with only stand by assistance and could travel 200 feet continuously without breaks and could turn in place successfully over 95% of the time. “I could never have done it without the team at Glengariff. They helped me to believe in myself to regain my former strength,” he said.

Another success story of hard work and dedication created from the bond between the patient and the care team at Glengariff.