Well, we finally made our rehab decision for Mom's recovery. I spent Wednesday morning visiting several rehab centers to see their facilities and get a tour.
See the post "Caregivers - Choosing a Rehab Center for Your Elder" in the category Rehabilitation Centers for suggestions on selecting a rehab center. Be sure to check the comments as well for additional advice.
One facility my mother had been to before and it was totally unacceptable, from bathroom doorways too narrow for a wheelchair to aides that didn't speak English well enough to care for English-speaking patients. Two others I knew about from word of mouth but I checked them out anyway. One seemed overcrowded, short term rehab patients mixed with long term care, some patients were put in wheelchairs to get them out of bed, but they were just left along the hallway, either staring off into space or calling out for help and being ignored.
We quickly narrowed the choice to two facilities I'll call Elms and Oaks.
Both facilities are neat and clean, nice common areas, like dining halls and fully equipped nurses stations. Both had separate wings for short term rehab and long tern nursing care. Both had large two-bed rooms with large bathrooms and roll in shower.
The Elms is the newest in the area with really nice public and common areas. The whole atmosphere is light and bright. Not a hospital setting. Comfortable, with a phone at each bedside, a beautician that comes in once a week to wash hair and do nails. They have a fully equipped physical therapy room and activity room. I was pleased with the multiple menus at each meal with an attention to detail in nutrition therapy. There were a number of other amenities, though most would be things Mom wouldn't need for her short stay of 2 weeks or so.
The negatives: The physical therapist was real busy and I was unable to talk to him. I worried about security. Only one person was at the front desk and was not always there to control access. At night, a side entrance is used but there was no real security there either, not to prevent someone from coming in or for a patient from wandering out.
The Oaks is the oldest facility in town but was sold to a new owner, gutted and redone. The occupational therapist even has a sink and microwave that patients can practice with to help them be more independent when they go home. The staff was very friendly and I had received a recommendation from one person who knew the occupational therapist. I was able to meet with the staff and talk to them about the plan for knee replacement recovery so I would know what to expect. Security is very good. You have to be buzzed in and only the staff have the code to get out.
The negatives: Older building. Smaller facility. Two outside areas but very cramped with high fences. The therapy room is small, with less of the expensive equipment of the Elms but Mom wouldn't be using much of it anyway. No activities center or beautician which Mom could use. They can't order the ostomy supplies we need.
Decision: We decided to go with the Oaks. While the Elms was my first choice, and despite the lack of therapy equipment, we liked the more homey feel of the smaller facility and the nice therapists that would be working with Mom. I was certain that's where we were going to go. As with one of the comments on my related post, people are the key, and that seemed to be the correct choice. That was our decision until Friday afternoon when I called back to ask a few more questions.
Then the deal breaker. The Oaks did not have a phone in each room. Mom would be isolated with no way to reach me because the only available phone would be a portable phone at the nurses station with no volume control. Because of my own disabilities, I wouldn't be able to visit each day for long periods of time, so communication is very important. The director suggested I buy a cell phone with a one month plan with a volume she can hear, but that is not feasible for our situation.
Conclusion: I will be going back to the Elms on Monday to review the situation once more. I'll ask to spend a few minutes with the therapists, I'll talk about security, and ensure that her supplies can be ordered in the brand she uses. Once that is firm, we will give them the decision that we will be choosing them so that they will hold a bed for her for the date we expect her to leave the hospital. It's confusing, and exhausting, and a little strange to think that one small item, like the phone availability, would be the determining factor, but it was.
Everyone has different needs and requirements. We looked around until we found the rehab with what we needed and wanted. I wish you all the best in finding the one facility that meets your needs.
Take Care
Kathy
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