Patient’s Name: Barbara Bakert
Patient’s Age: 69
Initial Admission Date: 1/3/18
Discharge Date: 2/14/18
Re-Admission Date: 2/20/18
Admitted From: Overlook Hospital
Discharge Date: TBD; early March
Length of Stay: 87 Days
Reason for Stay: Encephalopathy, difficulty walking
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Hospital nurse referral.

Details of Experience:

Barbara was completely independent prior to be admitted to Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center. She lives at home with her daughter, her newborn granddaughter and two family friends. Her goal, as she stated, was “I want to be able to take care of myself so I can take care of my daughter and her baby, not the other way around.”

Barbara initially came to Chatham Hills on January 3, 2018 with Encephalopathy, generalized weakness, and altered mental status. Upon admission, she was not able to ambulate long distances with the use of a rollator. She demonstrated deficiencies in standing resulting in frequent loss of balance. Barbara’s plan of care was focused around her ability to walk, dress, and maintain balance and safely performing household tasks.

During her stay here, Barbara participated in our Amputee Walking School with Dennis Oehler, Todd Schaffhauser and our therapy department. Barbara received her prosthetic in October 2016 due to Charcot Foot. During the Walking School, they focused on answering questions, shared experiences and got the time to talk to other patients with the same situation as her. Barbara also participated in many activities and events. She also participated in our special Wine and Cheese tasting night with our activities assistant, Dusti, and her family by her side.

Barbara was discharged from Chatham Hills to Overlook Hospital for a procedure on February 14, 2018. At the hospital, she was consistently having her blood pressure monitored as she struggled from having high blood pressure. The doctors adjusted her medication to address her blood pressure and she was readmitted back to Chatham Hills on February 20, 2018.

Upon re-admission, Barbara had stated to her therapists that she wants to be able to walk with a cane rather than a rolling walker. She wants to be able to stand and walk with her granddaughter in her arms. One of Barbara’s occupational therapists, Sara, took this goal into consideration. She started to practice Barbara’s therapy routine, but this time holding a baby doll. She practiced her therapy session to safely navigate with the baby in hand. Sara stated, “Barbara was very dedicated to improving her functional mobility. She made strides to reach the goals that she had.”

Unfortunately, on February 5, Barbara slipped and fell and suffered a decline in therapy. She initially started therapy walking 250 feet with a rolling walker. After her fall, she was only able to tolerate walking 10 feet. She was also only able to stand less than 3 minutes with support due to the pain in her right knee from the fall. Her therapists have been working with her five days a week to help her achieve her goal of going home walking with a cane.

As her discharge date is nearing closer, she is consistently improving every day. She has always been determined and compliant. As Barbara states, “I was a mess when I came here and was worried about my recovery. As of now, I am close to prior level of function including mobility, cognitive thinking and my speech. When you’re in a rehab, you’re constantly thinking about your health which isn’t good. Being able to talk to people and talk about things going on in the world and not just focusing on my health really helped me. You (Kathleen, Concierge) are especially good at that. Talking to you and getting to know you was where I got the most therapy. Thank you to the whole therapy department, Candace, Sara, Michelle, Archie, Leslie, Nicole, Steve, Gia and Sue; they helped me start to achieve my goal. Thank you to my aides Jennifer, Stephanie and Doreen for all the kindness you showed me while taking care of me. My time here has been the best part of a bad situation.” From Team Chatham Hills, we want to congratulate Barbara on her success in therapy here and her continuing success in our community!