The Phoenix was excited to host their in-house wine and whiskey soiree to thank local social workers and case managers who do so much for the Phoenix community. The notable evening featured a rustic saloon-themed design including that of scrumptious Southern cuisine, wine flights, a whiskey tasting and hand rolled cigars. Thank you to all the incredible healthcare professionals who joined The Phoenix community for this very special evening!
Patients Age: 48
Admission Date: 3/2/17
Admitted From: Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
Discharge Date: 4/17/17
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 45 Days
Reason for Stay: Sub-acute Osteomyelitis
Details of Experience:
Ms. Collazo was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center on March 2, 2017 from Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for rehabilitation due to weakness from an infection and inflammation of the bone and a wound VAC.
Ms. Collazo arrived late at night and was warmly greeted by the Nursing Supervisor and escorted to her room. After settling in, the assessment was completed right away as well as a shower being offered, and a late night snack provided. By the next morning, she was greeted by therapists, social service team members and a clinical dietitian; her goal was to make her body stronger.
She has just begun dialysis, causing her to become very tired easily. Sometimes she would get too tired from her rehabilitation programming. For our therapists, it was often a challenge to inspire and motivate Ms. Collazo to begin and pursue therapy.
The therapy team began with bed-side exercises. From time to time, the therapists would even convince her to travel down to the rehabilitation gym where she could utilize equipment and become even stronger as opposed to simply working in her room. Ms. Collazo finally agreed to try the gym once, completely changing her mindset, goals and motivation. She then began to realize what she could achieve and she cooperated everything her therapists asked of her.
Once she felt stronger, she even began to participate with most of the activities from our Recreation Department. With all the assistance and support from her therapists and fabulous care provided from the clinical team, she was discharged home on April 17, 2017 with the support of a Rollater.
Patients Age: 77
Admission Date: 2/10/17
Admitted From: Methodist Hospital
Discharge Date: 3/1/17
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 18 Days
Reason for Stay: Neck and Right Arm Fracture
Details of Experience:
Mr. Smalkowski was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center on February 10, 2017 from New York Methodist Hospital – Brooklyn for rehabilitation due to a broken neck and right arm from falling down 30 steps at home.
Mr. Smalkowski was warmly greeted by the Concierge Department and escorted to his room. By the next morning, he was greeted by therapists, social service team members and the community dietitian. His goal was to be independent like he used to.
Although he was very high functioning when arriving to The Phoenix, he was often very tired. The team at The Phoenix created a comprehensive individualized plan of care to best support Mr. Smalkowski in healing.
1. Begin on Platform Walker.
2. Upgrade to Hemi-Cane.
3. Upgrade to Quad-Cane.
4. Strive for stair training to accommodate 30 stairs walk up.
After the team discussed the program with him, he’s shared that he was very excited about beginning. He received physical and occupational therapy five days a week. Before he leaves, he mentioned that he really loved his physical therapist, Gabriel, and occupational therapist, Daisy. They really made him work hard, but at the same time, they made him very comfortable while laughing alongside him and enjoying eachother’s company.
The biggest challenge for Mr. Smalkowski was the stair exercise. Due to his neck brace, it was very hard for him to look down the stairs. We had two therapists assisting him at the same time, educated him and showed him the proper way of walking down the stairs when he was using the neck brace. He proved to be a quick learner and the improvement he made was incredibly noticeable.
On March 1st, 2017, Mr. Smalkowski was discharged home! Although it was a short stay, he participated a lot of recreational events, which further motivated him to recover and return to his wonderful life. Congratulations, Mr. Smalkowski!
Patients Age: 67
Admission Date: 12/13/16
Admitted From: Methodist Hospital
Discharge Date: 2/8/17
Discharged To: Home in Florida
Length of Stay: 56 days
Reason for Stay: Hip Fracture
Details of Experience:
Ms. Manfre was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center on December 13, 2016 from New York Methodist Hospital – Brooklyn for rehabilitation in result of a post-hospitalization for a hip fracture. As promised, she was offered a private room to accommodate an anticipated large volume of visitors, whom would assist in her recovery. She was pleased once she saw the beautifully renovated space at The Phoenix.
Ms. Manfre was warmly greeted by the nursing supervisor and escorted to her room upon admission. Within the first 24 hours, she was greeted by therapists, social services personnel, the community dietitian and concierge. Her goal was to walk 200 feet without any supervision. She was non-weight bearing and required assistance with all functional mobility and activities of daily living. She requested that she have the weekend off; therefore, she was subsequently assigned a rehabilitation schedule of Monday through Friday.
During her rehab journey, she began with lightly hopping with assistance. After three weeks, she followed her individualized plan of care that our therapy team had crafted for her patient-centered experience, which would facilitate weight-bearing movement. She worked very hard alongside her therapists with the motivation and intent of returning home to her loved ones.
On February 8th 2017, Ms. Manfre was discharged home. Upon discharging she shared, “Thank you to everyone at The Phoenix. I was able to move to Florida because of all your staff. I felt stronger and I am independent again.”
Ms. Manfre wa able to ambulate up to 300 feet and walk up two flights of stairs with supervision when returning home, which significantly exceeded her initial goals!
Patients Age: 76
Admission Date: 10/14/16
Admitted From: Methodist Hospital
Discharge Date: 1/17/17
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 96 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about the Phoenix?
Details of Experience:
Ms. Ellis was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center after an inpatient stay at The Methodist Hospital due to a right leg amputation. Upon hospital discharge, she was introduced to the Amputee Walking School program hosted nearby at The Phoenix as well as surrounding CareRite Centers nationwide. She was subsequently excited to meet Todd Schaffhauser and Dennis Oehler, two Paralympic gold medalists who lead the comprehensive program. As the world-class amputee support program was offered and explained to Ms. Ellis, she was very much excited to take advantage of the training, educational and mentor program facilitated through the Amputee Walking School.
Upon arrival, she noted to be very emotional, but she continues to build internal encouragement to return her functioning and ability to support her once daily routine. After positive motivation provided from her therapist, she began to emerge and experience great achievements through rehabilitation. Ms. Ellis has been care planned to participate in therapy, both physical and occupational, up to six times per week.
She later received her prosthesis to support ambulation and begin training. The therapists, who were clinical trained by Todd and Dennis to specialize in amputee care and rehabilitation, educated her on how to balance and utilize the prosthesis. She was also very excited to meet Todd and Dennis in person. They motivated her and opened a world of possibilities and goals as an individual undergoing an amputation.
Nearing the end of her therapeutic regiment, she is now able to ambulate with her prosthesis for more than 200 feet!
Ms. Ellis shared, “It was really nice to work with Todd and Dennis. My physical therapist, Casilda, is just as professional as Todd and Dennis. Working with all of them just made me feel much more confident than before!”
Patients Age: 63
Admission Date: 12/15/16
Admitted From: Methodist Hospital
Discharge Date: 12/31/16
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 16 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about the Phoenix?
Details of Experience:
Ms. Slater was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center after a post- inpatient hospitalization at The Methodist Hospital in result from a left knee replacement surgery.
She arrived to our community in a great deal of pain, which made it difficult for her therapeutic program away from her bedside. For the first two days of her journey, she refused to participate in therapy from the pain. After consistent and warm encouragement, she decided to begin her therapeutic programming and strive to regain her health. Once beginning her program, she fell in love!
Ms. Slater shared, “my therapist tells jokes to me and at the same time, she knows the perfect way to do the exercises with me. She made me very comfortable.”
The Phoenix team arranged for physical and occupational therapy six days a week. The rapport built between Ms. Slater and the team was magical!
Her progress exceeded all of our expectations. She graduated from our rehabilitation program after just two weeks where she rose from minimum assistance to a level of modified independence.
In addition to her her clinical and therapeutic participation, she also enjoyed a majority of the recreational programming at The Phoenix, which included bingo, karaoke, cooking club, and our spa days! We are thrilled with the achievements Ms. Slater achieved while with our community!
Patients Age: 61
Admission Date: 9/15/16
Admitted From: Methodist Hospital
Discharge Date: 11/23/16
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 70 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about the Phoenix?
Details of Experience:
Ms. Vazquez was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center after an in-patient stay at The Methodist Hospital. She decided to return to The Phoenix for the second time for skilled nursing care and rehabilitative services. Her first stay with our community was a short one, as she shared that she was ready to return home. With additional therapy needed, she rejoined our team to achieve her goals of independence and self-pride.
Ms. Vazquez’s diagnosis was that of a deep vein thrombosis in her lower extremity. She was confident that she would heal to a point at which she could return home.
The therapy team developed a lofty goal of preparing for her 53 stair walkup at home. The 53 stair threshold was one of the more high-level goals set ever by the therapy team at The Phoenix, with the second most being 48. With only being able to walk 50 feet prior to her admission, the team had expressed aspirations of raising her tolerance level in ambulating to 150 feet.
Physical and occupation therapy was established for six days a week and consistent therapy support through friendly faces were always provided. Ms. Vazquez began to build a rapport with her team, which excelled her healing. With the support from her family visiting every day and the interdisciplinary team at The Phoenix, she finally reached her goals. Breaking the rehabilitation record for our community, she was able to ambulate 150 feet and the incredible stair-level goal in her return home. Congratulations, Ms. Vazquez on your achievements. We all wish you well!
Patients Age: 54
Admission Date: 8/24/16
Admitted From: Methodist Hospital
Discharge Date: 10/28/16
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 66 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about the Phoenix?
Details of Experience:
Ms. Staton was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center an inpatient hospitalization at The Methodist Hospital.
Ms. Staton presented with a diagnosis of gout in the right knee. She was in significant pain at the time of admission and was unable to tolerate any extensive movement in her knee, causing her to maintain a stable position of her knee at all times. Upon arrival, she required the assistance of a Hoyer lift to transfer, largely due to her inability to bear weight on her injured lower extremity.
A positive attribute that assisted Ms. Staton in her healing was her ability to maintain a positive outlook. She always motivates herself to work hard and expect the best in herself during her therapy. After two months of therapy, she reached significant independence by attaining the ability to transfer without any assistance. Nearing the end of her rehabilitative journey at The Phoenix, she walked 300 feet with only a rollator with light supervision.
Due to her home including a 12 step walkup, the team strived to ensure preparation was in place prior to discharge. Her motivated outlook carried her forward once again as she successfully managed the goal of 12 steps, and was successfully noted to be clinical fit to transfer home. We wish Ms. Staton nothing but the best from our team.
Patients Age: 68
Admission Date: 7/27/16
Admitted From: Bellevue Hospital
Discharge Date: 9/15/16
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 50 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
Details of Experience:
Mr. Williams was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in result of a recent toe amputation at The Bellevue Hospital.
When he arrived to the Phoenix community, he presented as very weak. He also was noted to have lost a great deal of weight during his early stages of healing following his surgery. After Mr. Williams’ surgery, he was unable to stand independently as his balance was significantly off.
Upon admission, Mr. Williams was placed on five day rotation for physical and occupational therapy. The goal of the rehabilitation team here at The Phoenix revolved around building ample strength in Mr. Williams’ lower extremities to later facilitate the potential to walk. His journey began with the support of a rolling walker where it was anticipated that he could be upgraded to a quad cane to continue providing support for his ambulation.
As Mr. Williams neared the end of his therapeutic journey here at The Phoenix, he began floor exercises alongside the guidance of our therapy team. After much success and progress gained with our team, Mr. Williams is now able to independently walk up an incredible five flights of stairs! He truly enjoyed his stay with our community as he continued to heal each and every day. He was especially an advocate of the in-house entertainment, which included karaoke and bingo night on Friday! The team here at The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing center wish you well Mr. Williams as you continue to heal and grow.
Patients Age: 65
Admission Date: 7/7/16
Admitted From: Brooklyn Hospital
Discharge Date: 8/8/16
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 31 days
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about the Phoenix?
Details of Experience:
Mr. Roberts was admitted to The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Nursing Center after staying at Brooklyn Hospital. He had a stroke. Because of his condition, he couldn’t walk at the time.This is his second time in our facility. He had an amazing stay during his first time. After he arrived, our therapist went to evaluate him and gave him PT, OT 6 days a week.
He’s in 1 to 1 transfer, and our therapy worked on his left side slowly. Just trying to build up his strength. After a week, they all saw his big improvement on getting his strength back, so they upgraded him to practice on walker. Slowly and progressing. He already knew how professional our rehab department is from his first stay. From time to time, he did practice on street walking as well as the stairs exercise. They concentrated on his left leg and then he’s able to do the stairs exercise (6 steps).
Before he discharged, the therapist walked side by side with him with a Quad-Cane.
