Concierge Director: Yaakov Goldstein
Patient’s Age: 73
Admission Date: 1/7/22
Admitted From: Maimonides Medical Center
Discharge Date: 3/8/22
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 2 Months
Reason for Stay: Broken right knee
How did this patient hear about The Chateau at Brooklyn Rehabilitation & Nursing Center?
“I had a previous stay here a few years ago.”

Details of experience:

On January 6, 2022, Ms. Roberta Schmerz was admitted to Maimonides Medical Center. She woke up that morning and got out of bed like she did every morning. The only difference between that day and every other one is that she felt a lot of pain in her knee and almost fell. As she lived with her husband, they decided to go to the hospital to get it looked at. The Doctor recommended going to a rehabilitation center so Ms. Schmerz could get stronger and not risk falling. She agreed and knew right away where she was going to go. A few years earlier, Ms. Schmerz was at The Chateau at Brooklyn for a different reason but had such a good experience that she knew it was the best place to go for her current injury. A day later, she was admitted to her beautiful semi-private room.

When Ms. Schmerz came to the facility, she was amazed. Even though she had been there before, a lot of the staff was different, and the building was nicer. Nevertheless, the support and kindness from the team never changed. The administrator, Concierge, and social worker all met her upon arrival. Ms. Schmerz was ecstatic to see the smiles under everyone’s masks. She knew she was in the right place to get stronger and better than before. Later that day, the physical and occupational therapists did their evaluations on Ms. Schmerz. She was ready to push herself to limits she hadn’t had since she was 40 years old.

On the first day of therapy, Ms. Schmerz felt pain, however, she knew it would only get better. She kept pushing herself over the next few days and noticed the pain declining. She went from barely being able to get out of bed to walking almost ten feet in one week. During her non-therapy hours, Ms. Schmerz could be seen talking with the recreation team and finding fun things to do. As someone who loves crossword puzzles, Ms. Schmerz was given plenty to do and keep her mind going. After a few more weeks of therapy, she was able to walk almost 100 feet with no issues. Ms. Schmerz was thrilled but knew there was more work to do. Living in a house with a lot of steps and no chair lift meant she needed to be able to take stairs in order to go home. Ms. Schmerz was determined, as her goal was to go home, be with her husband, and live her life as a retired school aide. As the days and weeks went by, she was gradually doing more stairs, to the point that she was doing 25 steps with no pain or problem. With this being the case, Ms. Schmerz told the social worker that she was ready to go home and to work on a discharge plan.

The discharge date of March 8, 2022, was set. Ms. Schmerz was seen crying with happiness, knowing she had accomplished so much. She went on to say, “the physical and occupational therapy is absolutely amazing. They definitely know what they are doing, and they are magical! Parita and Nagwa are incredible. The rest of the staff, Isaac, Yaakov, Alan, Ms. Mckie, and Ms. Thompson, were integral to my recovery.”

The Chateau wishes her the best, and we are honored to have helped another incredible woman make her wishes come true of being able to be home, be with her husband, and live the best life she can.