The PT staff was great - I owe them for getting me walking again. Something I’ll spend the rest of my life being grateful for. Maybell was hard and never let me quit, but I needed her to push me when I wanted to give up. Devon was always encouraging and pushed me to go beyond my limits while making therapy fun. I owe them both for my recovery and will always be grateful for everything they did for me. I thank God for them, because their boss, the head of the PT department, was useless. He was no help and a weak man who cowered when confronted, and definitely not a patient advocate. Never pushed for what’s right with the insurance company, instead all too willing to accept their first answer and not open to correcting THEIR mistakes in the paperwork that contributed to me sitting in bed for 45 days without any rehab. We tried multiple times to work with him and the onsite patient care advocate that coordinates with insurance, to get corrections made to my patient records.
These errors contributed to my rehab being canceled as well as the delay in getting it reinstated. Same with the doctor on my case. I eventually requested a new primary doctor and she was a huge help in getting back on my feet. She actually took the time to evaluate me and saw that I was quickly progressing. I realize now that my body just needed more time to recover, but everyone was writing me off as never being able to walk again. The doctor overseeing my physical rehab recovery actually told me he didn't think I’d ever walk again. This from a man who only saw me once a week, and even then didn’t always come by. He never did more than stand at the foot of my bed and talk to me. Never asked me to stand, never checked my strength or the feeling in my feet. That day was the last time he came to my room, and the day I promised myself I would prove him wrong.
The wound care staff was terrible, randomly making their twice weekly visits to make sure my trachea, PEG and stitches were healing as they should. I was due for my first covid vaccine shot September 15th, and it wasn’t until the end of October that I got the first one. Only after me constantly asking them and hounding them for it did they finally give it to me. I had to do the same when it was time for my second shot, but as many times as I’ve asked I still haven’t gotten a reply about a copy of my vaccination record.
The nursing aides were more concerned with turning off the request button when I needed something, rather than actually getting what I needed. Many times I was told to turn my light off, and that they would come right back. However, it usually took at least 20 minutes, and often took over an hour or two to get meds or to change me. It’s humiliating enough to have to wear a diaper because I can’t walk, but they didn’t care about letting me sit in it.
There were a few aids and nurses that were amazing. Everyone seemed to be on a 3 day max 12-hour shift. The nurse on Sun - Tues from 6am to 6pm was amazing. She was the best and took amazing care of me. There were one or 2 aides that always went out of their way for me and I really appreciate that. Most of them were overworked, rude and it was obvious they didn’t want to be there, doing the bare minimum asked of them. Once 2 of the aides got into an argument in my room, 10 feet from my bed. And it lasted for at least 10 minutes! It’s embarrassing to say that while I was on the schedule for a bath twice a week, I was only given a shower ONCE the while I was there. I finally progressed enough to give myself a shower just before I was discharged on Thanksgiving Day. At the end of the day, I had more health conditions when I left than when I went in there.
To top it off, they have continued to bill me incorrectly for services that were never rendered. Therapy sessions I never had during the month of October, refused to correct things with insurance to get paid, and were supposed to have ordered a wheelchair for me that I’ve never received. The patient care advocate never has reached out to me about it either, so who knows what happened to it. They offered one of their used chairs for me to take home until mine arrived, which was supposed to be shipped to my apartment, but it never arrived. I suspect they had it shipped there, and they got to keep a brand new one in exchange for giving me their old one. But that’s not founded on anything more than suspicion based on how poorly the facility seems to be run.