Patient’s Age: 95-years-old
Admission Date: 12/28/2019
Admitted From: Overlook Hospital
Discharge Date: 01/24/2020
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 29 Days
Reason for Stay: Pelvic fracture.
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Knew from living near location.


Details of Experience:
When you think of Christmas, what do you think of it? Christmas cheer, bright lights, kids laughing, fireplaces. Unfortunately for Muriel, all that she knew of Christmas was soon taken away because of an accident. What was supposed to be a special Christmas lunch turned into devastation when her walker got stuck on the sidewalk leading to a hard fall.

Muriel presented to Overlook Medical Center with two fractured pubic bones in her pelvis with shattered bones around it. She was admitted to the hospital for a total of two days. After getting many tests done, Muriel was informed she required subacute rehabilitation to further assist in her healing process. Muriel knew she wanted to come to the Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center since she was familiar with the location.

Muriel was admitted to Chatham Hills on December 28, 2019. She was greeted by our receptionist and nursing supervisor to get settled in her room. Muriel was completely independent prior to admission and knew she had to stay motivated if she wanted to get back there. Her goal upon admission was, “to get back to living independently and carry on with my life”. Our highly-trained therapy team knew she would benefit from a personalized PT/OT plan. During her initial assessment, she was presented with moderate pain upon movement and discomfort sitting up.

Muriel’s case was a little different. Her doctor said she was not yet ready for her to put weight on her legs until January 9th. Prior to that order, she had the opportunity to strengthen her upper body in Group Therapy, which combines both therapy and recreation staff for a fun-filled treatment time, without noticing they are in treatment! Group Therapy is a perfect opportunity for social interactions, teamwork amongst Patients and Residents, cooking activities and competitive games. She also participated in Therapy Without Borders. Therapy without Borders in Chatham Hills is a perfect opportunity for our Patients to not only be comfortable with being in the gym but throughout our whole community. Within this program, our Patients can complete treatments in our dayrooms, their bedrooms and all hallways with varying floor surfaces. Nursing gets to be involved and aware of their patients’ therapeutic status. It also promotes social interaction during treatment.

January 9th came faster than expected and Muriel was motivated and ready to fully heal. She was weight-bearing as tolerated, which meant she could start walking again! She was consistently making progress, getting therapy six days a week. She went to therapy in the morning and would continue to train herself in the afternoon, as much as she could do. Muriel’s therapist, Michelle, stated, “I remember my first day working with her and how much pain she was in. I knew once she was able to go to full weight-bearing, she was going to walk out of this front door. She was so motivated. I could not be prouder, not just of her hard work and dedication but of the teams’ as well.”

Upon admission, Muriel required maximum assistance with all ADLs-(Activities of Daily Living), could not ambulate at all and was totally dependent on the staff for assistance. With consistent progress, she was able to reach all her goals! She was able to walk over 300 feet independently and is independent of her self-care tasks!

Our Director of Concierge Services visited Muriel nearing her discharge date. Muriel shared, “my goal was to get back to where I was; living independently and to carry on with my life. I think the physical therapy department at Chatham Hills is excellent! My physical therapist, Steve, and occupational therapist, Michelle, are both wonderful. I am so happy that my therapist Michelle chose me for the celebrity of the month this month! The nursing staff here too are all nice, kind people. I’m improving every day thanks to everyone here.” Team Chatham Hills is thrilled to congratulate Muriel on her amazing progress and we are so happy to have helped her in any way we could!