My father spent the month of January at Good Shepherd Rehab Center in Ashland, Ohio.  I wrote previously about him breaking his leg and having surgery.  A few days after his surgery, the hospital let us know they would be releasing him.  They wanted him to go to a licensed rehabilitation center and they gave Mom a list of the centers within 25 miles of Mansfield.

Mom and I made a first pass through the list and then Tom and Mom headed out to look at the facilities.  We made a short list of about five places with some in Mansfield and some in Ashland.  Tom and Mom decided to head to Ashland first, because those facilities had much higher ratings than the ones in Mansfield.  We decided that surprise visits were the best way to go for a chance to really see what the patient care was like.

The first place Mom and Tom went to was pretty grim.  It was rated higher than anyplace in Mansfield, which meant that anyplace in Mansfield was going to be out.  When they reported back to me about this place, they said the only good thing was that no one was screaming.  Yikes!

The second place they went was Good Shepherd Rehab Center in Ashland.  Their visit to Good Shepherd was opposite that at the first place.  Lori, in Administration, took the time to show them around, even though they had not scheduled a visit.  They saw the dining room, the rehab therapy room, the shower room, and the private rooms on the rehab wing.  In addition, she explained pricing to them.  Basically, the first 21 days were covered by insurance but after that coverage varied.  Lori also explained how to make sure they were released from the hospital to Good Shepherd instead of another facility.

The next morning Good Shepherd called to tell us they had a room available for Dad and they were working on the insurance approval.  In fact, they took care of all the details for us from that point on.  Mom felt better about Dad being going to a rehab center when Good Shepherd proved so competent at the paperwork.

When Dad was released from the hospital on Thursday, Good Shepherd arranged to transport him.  The rest of us headed back to the condo to pack up what Dad might need over the next few weeks.  When we got up to Good Shepherd, Dad was already comfortable in a lift chair.  Over the next hour, several aides, nurses, and the social worker, Heidi stopped by to introduce themselves.  It was a very good start to what would turn out to be a good stay.

Over the next three weeks we settled in to a routine.  Dad had physical therapy in the mornings and then family would visit in the afternoons.  We had weekly family meetings with the management staff at Good Shepherd to let us know about progress.

There were two things that made Dad’s stay at Good Shepherd really outstanding.  The first was the aides.  They were wonderful – so patient and cheerful.  I really appreciated how responsive they were.  If Dad hit the help button, they were always there very promptly.  I can’t say enough about how lovely they all were.  I felt like they really cared about Dad and took his care personally.

The second thing is related to the first and that is a Sara Stedy.  In all my visits as a pastor to rehab centers and nursing homes, I had never seen one of these before.  It allowed one person to move Dad from bed to chair to bathroom to wheelchair.  He was able to pull himself up, stand on his good leg, and then sit while he was being moved. He felt more involved in his care and looked forward to using it.

After three weeks, the insurance company said his rehab had stalled until he was able to put weight on his leg.  We decided that we would take Dad home and continue his care there.  His cognitive issues were really apparent at Good Shepherd.  He often didn’t know why he was there and he wanted to walk, forgetting about his broken leg.  Mom decided to bring him home and see if he was more oriented in those familiar surroundings.  I will give you a report on that next month.

We are very thankful for the good care Dad received from the people who work at Good Shepherd.  There were several aides we would have liked to bring home with him.  They were so sweet.  Heidi, the social worker, walked us through everything and was always kind with the hundreds of questions we had.  We are glad to have Dad home and hope that his healing continues unimpeded.