Patient’s Age: 60-years-old
Admission Date: 09/03/20
Admitted From: Stonecrest Medical Center
Discharge Date: 11/02/20
Length of Stay: 34 days
Reason for Stay: Shortness of breath, cough, generalized weakness
How did this patient hear about Quality Center for Rehabilitation and Healing? The social worker at the hospital reached out to our liaison at Bethany.

Details of Experience:
Ms. Law initially went to the ER for shortness of breath. While she was there, they diagnosed her with a severe case of pneumonia. While at the hospital, she explained to them that she had been feeling ill for several weeks prior to her arriving at the ER. She shared she had been experiencing a fever, chills, and shortness of breath, which had ultimately left her bedbound at home. Once admitted into the ER, she stayed at Stonecrest for 46 nights. While in the hospital, they tested all of her levels, checked vital signs, and even tested her for COVID; everything looked pretty normal. They kept her in the hospital to keep her oxygen under control and get her “back on track”, as Ms. Law says.

Upon admission to Bethany, she was welcomed by the Admission Team and Concierge. Once she settled into her room, the admission nurse completed her admission screening. The Concierge welcomed her to the community with a welcome gift and completed her initial evaluation. The following day she was greeted and evaluated by therapy.

When Ms. Law was admitted, she shared she could not ambulate and was using a wheelchair. She needed help transferring from bed to wheelchair and back. The therapists created a set of goals for her to achieve while she was here. The main aspect therapy wished to focus on was strengthening. From being bedbound Ms. Law was “very weak and somewhat stiff,” she explained.

Ms. Law was very motivated to begin her journey in therapy. She was excited to return home with her husband and perform activities on her own again. She participated in therapy five to six days a week. Her first goal was to be able to transfer from bed to wheelchair and back with minimal assistance. After several times of trying to transfer using the walker, she said “I cannot use this because I am not strong enough and do not feel comfortable”. The therapist then tried another way of transfer, the sliding board. This method worked much better for her, as she learned to do it herself within a week. While learning how to transfer, they incorporated weights and range of motion into her daily therapy.

Ms. Law started off with one pound weights, doing arm raises, bicep curls, and small arm circles and she worked her way up to using five-pound weights! She was ecstatic when she reached that goal. When it was time to start working on the stairs, she did not have any weights attached to her, but her goal was to be able to have three-pound weights. After about two weeks of using the stairs daily, she was up to using a three-pound weight on each leg. She was doing wonderfully and meeting all of her goals!

Once she met most of her goals, therapy continued to work with her keeping those strengths up and keeping her active in preparation to discharge home. When Ms. Law was ready to discharge she would be going home with her husband. There are no stairs in her house, but there are 4 steps that lead into her house.

Now, 34 days later she is ready to discharge home to her husband. She shares, “I am stronger and feeling better than I have in the last several months!”