My wife, who is 83 and has limited mobility due to advanced Alzheimer's, needed to go to a rehab…read morecenter after a four day hospital stay in order to regain her strength and mobility so that she would be safe for me to care for in our home.
I looked at available options in South Santa Cruz County, which would accept Medicare and provide physical and occupational therapy. Manresa Healthcare stood out to me initially because of it's smaller size, as it is easy for someone as nonverbal as she to get lost in a large institution., as it is easy for someone as nonverbal as she to get lost in a large institution.
I was somewhat concerned when I saw that a year previously it had transitioned from local ownership to a larger company. However, when I toured the facility, I made a point of asking multiple non-management employees who had been there before and after the transition what impact the sale of the facility had had on their workplace. The answers were consistently positive. Furthermore, when I toured the facility, I was impressed both by how bright and clean it was, and by the layout, which is coming off of a single straight corridor, as opposed to a maze of twisting confusing hallways. straight corridor, as opposed to a maze of twisting confusing hallways.
I am bringing her home today after four weeks at the facility, and I have zero regrets about my decision to place her there.
I was particularly impressed by the accessibility of senior management. Within her first few days there, and throughout the entire time, I would routinely see the medical , the director of therapy and the administrator on the floor, and whenever they saw me they would make a point to check in on how my wife was doing, and whether any changes were needed. to check in on how my wife was doing, and whether were needed.
The same was true of the dietitian, who met with me within a day of her admission to ask about my wife's food preferences. When my wife lost a few pounds in her first week there the dietitian met with me again to figure out what we could change to reverse that, which was successful. While institutional food generally has a bad rap, I was impressed by the menu, and I frequently checked on it by tasting my wife's food and it was definitely up to par., I was impressed by the menu, and I frequently checked on it by tasting my wife's food and it was definitely up to par.
Within a week of her admission all of the staff knew and her by name every time they saw her.
When she entered the facility, my wife was really unable to stand or use her walker due to the combination of her cognitive impairment, and the rapid loss of strength in the hospital. Due to the consistent therapy that she has received five days a week she's back to was before her hospitalization. Additionally, I have learned some new techniques that will help to keep both her and my back safe in the home. Communication with the director of therapy was constant and excellent
Finally, I cannot say enough about the CNA's responsible for much of the daily contact with her. They were uniformly helpful and cheerful, and if the one assigned to her on a given day was busy one of the others was always willing to pitch in and help with whatever was needed. I cannot count the times that I was asked what else they could do for us.
Of course, any elderly or impaired patient does better when they have someone in the family advocating for them, and I did that. However, in a facility with less accessible administration, I doubt that that would've had nearly the same impact..
