Healthy Living Newsletter
The road to recovery begins at Mercy Hospital
One patient’s success story after stroke
After a long and difficult journey, Pat Gerbig of Fort Gratiot will reflect upon a milestone of sorts. In late March, she’ll honor the one year anniversary of the stroke she experienced while at home watering plants in early spring 2006.
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| Pat Gerbig of Fort Gratiot takes a moment in the Mercy Hospital lobby to reflect on her long journey after a stroke nearly one year ago. |
Pat, who recently celebrated her 83rd birthday, recalls the experience she had with her stroke and the care she received from Mercy Hospital and its Inpatient Rehabilitation program, which she credits for her successful recovery.
“When I realized I was having a stroke,” Pat explains, “I requested EMS take me directly to Mercy Hospital’s Emergency Room. I knew I would receive the type of care I needed, and I also knew the experts were there.”
Pat experienced a hemorrhagic stroke on the right side of her brain, which affected the functioning of the left side of her body. “I was lucky,” says Pat. “The bleeding in my brain stopped on its own and the staff at Mercy Hospital was able to stabilize my condition.”
With the emergency effects of the stroke under control, doctors told Pat that inpatient rehabilitation was her best plan to regain the functions she had lost as a result of her stroke, including speech problems and difficulty using her left arm, hand and leg.
Pat’s admission into the Mercy Inpatient Rehabilitation program began with an assessment of her current functions as well as an assessment of her ability to undergo the intensive therapy provided for successful recovery.
“A patient can’t just get into this outstanding service,” explains Pat. “I know. I remember. When my husband Frank had a stroke he was assessed and admitted into the program. I knew I wanted this level of care as well.”
Pat’s stay in the Mercy Inpatient Rehabilitation program lasted 30 days. “I wanted to go home after my stroke,” explains Pat. “So I wanted to ensure I was able to do the things I could before. The staff is wonderful. Every victory was celebrated. When I was able to open my left hand and began to use it, the entire staff joined in to congratulate and encourage my success. It is a wonderful team of people, who often treated me more like a member of a family.”
After Pat’s inpatient stay, her care was continued through Mercy’s outpatient rehabilitation programs which provided her access to continued occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy.
“The program is designed in such as way that all your needs are met,” says Pat. “I even had access to a certified hand therapist. This type of therapist is rather rare, but was so important in helping me regain more of the use of my left hand.”
After returning home, Pat continued to receive therapeutic services through Mercy until late Fall 2006. “I’ve regained most of the use of my left side,” continues Pat. “I owe much of this to the help and support of the Mercy program.”
There are two courses of action patients, like Pat, can take when they are in need of rehabilitative services. Patients can be admitted into a hospital program, like Mercy’s; or they go to a skilled nursing home to obtain needed services.
“It’s important for patients who receive Medicare benefits to understand that rehabilitative treatment is available that will not require the use of valuable Nursing Home Days as defined by Medicare when making this decision,” explains Pete Dimmer, Director of Mercy Inpatient and Outpatient Rehabilitation.
“We’ve noticed a trend in the care of inpatient rehabilitation patients who suffer a stroke, an illness or injury, and require inpatient rehabilitation. These patients are using skilled nursing homes that are not defined by Medicare as clinically accepted inpatient hospital rehabilitation programs,” explains Pete. “This concerns us greatly because there is an important distinction between ‘Hospital Days’ and ‘Nursing Home Days’ as provided by Medicare.
“Nursing Home Days are valuable in that they are reimbursed on a limited basis by Medicare; possibly leaving patients vulnerable to paying out-of-pocket costs for continued care after their allotment of Nursing Home Days is exhausted,” continues Pete.
“At Mercy, we want area seniors to understand that an inpatient stay at Mercy after a stroke event or injury is defined differently through Medicare and is reimbursed as Hospital Days. This allows seniors the opportunity to save their valuable Nursing Home Days for the less intensive care they might need to continue rehabilitation after reaching a certain level of activity.
“Of course, every patient is different, and requires different health services. This is of the utmost importance,” concludes Pete. “At Mercy, we understand it’s necessary that the patient and his or her physician and family make these decisions.”
Pat believes that Mercy was the right decision for her. “The staff is clinically excellent, and their compassion and concern for me was very impressive,” says Pat. “I couldn’t have asked for better care.”
Pat has suffered other tragedy recently, her husband of 60 years, Frank, passed away in early January. “It’s been a hard year and my journey continues,” she says.
Pat and her husband were originally from the Detroit area and chose to retire in St. Clair County.
“For years, I had access to large hospitals in Detroit, and many think they have more advanced care; but I have to disagree,” concludes Pat. “In most areas, you’ll find equal technology administered with unbeatable compassion, close to home, at Mercy Hospital.”
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