I was REALLY impressed with the care my father received at this facility. He stayed for more than 10 weeks, so we provided a really good test of how they performed.
My father liked it immediately. He felt like he was making progress in his recovery, just by being in a place that was homier, and that encouraged him to dress in street clothes rather than a hospital gown. Bernadette was the person who enrolled him. A huge issue for us was that he needed transportation for treatments at RWJ Hospital in New Brunswick. Bernadette arranged it quickly and efficiently.
The culture of the whole facility was really positive, too. At one point, when my mom and I were looking in to her office to see if Bernadette was available, someone else asked if she could help. The woman explained that Bernadette was in a meeting, but that she could ask her to leave the meeting. We told her we'll wait. Her response was, "Are you sure? We don't mind interrupting meetings to address the concerns of our patients and their families." WOW, that left a fantastic impression!
That caring culture was also on display in all the little things that happened over the 10 weeks. For instance, any time the paper towel dispenser jammed, they fixed it within a few minutes. Any time my dad would ring the bell for a nurse, whoever was available (nurse or not) would come quickly to see what he needed. It might still take a little while to address his need, but he at least knew he was not being ignored.
Moreover, when my dad wanted to get out for an afternoon, the physician, Dr. Gandhi, allowed us to sign him out. They just wanted to know where he was so they could plan around the outing. The Director of Rehab, Joe, coordinated to make sure that any therapy he needed - occupational, speech or physical - would be flexibly coordinated around his occasional outings, so that his progress would not stop. Dr Gandhi also arranged to have his daily nutrition shipped to his home each month upon his release.
Amy, the dietician, originally had him on a 1700+ calorie diet, on which his weight plateaued. When we pointed out that he stopped gaining (even though 1700+ was the medically-approved standard), she agreed to allow him to increase to 2100+ to see how he tolerated it. We appreciated that she was open to increasing the caloric dosage, rather than doggedly adhering to what was no longer working.
My dad was also really impressed with the fact that everyone on the staff knew his case, whether they were assigned to him or not. Whenever he worked with a new therapist, she already knew his specific needs.
But he was most impressed with the compassion displayed by all his physical/occupational therapists, especially Dhiane. They all made sure he was doing his moves properly, but Dhiane was especially kind. He noticed that she was kind to every patients who came in after him, so he realized this is just who she is.
His speech therapist, Alex, could also not have been more helpful. She was organized, took notes and customized lessons to strengthen his weaknesses. Alex accepted his goal of eating real food (albeit liquefied) by Thanksgiving as her goal, and appreciated his level of motivation.
Lauren was also very helpful in getting him released permanently before Christmas. His daily treatments ended on Dec 13, but they wanted to observe him a little longer under medical supervision. Lauren arranged all the at-home things he needs to care for himself, as well as nutritional shakes to maintain his weight.
The experience at Care One has not been perfect. Over 10 weeks, he occasionally encountered a staff member who was not as flexible as others. The other negative was that the place consistently smelled like urine, even though they did everything humanly possible to keep the place clean. Apparently, the smell was coming from some of the other patients, which, I guess could not be helped. Even so, I recommend this facility wholeheartedly! read more
