Ms. C: An Amazing Recovery

Ms. C, 55, lives in New York State. While vacationing in Florida, she began experiencing shortness of breath and was diagnosed with congested liver, heart arrhythmias and a pulmonary embolism. She required placement of a pacemaker, an IVC filter, a tracheostomy tube, and a nasogastric tube. She was admitted to a short-term acute care hospital, and 15 days later she was transferred to Kindred Hospital South Florida - Ft. Lauderdale for continued care.

Upon admission, Ms. C was evaluated and placed on an aggressive rehabilitation program because she was very lethargic and weak as a result of being bed bound for more than 15 days. She required assistance for bed mobility, transfers and activities of daily living. She was unable to walk due to significant weakness in her lower extremities and she was also unable to speak due to mechanical ventilatory support. She was also unable to eat or drink by mouth, continuing to be fed through a nasogastric tube.

Ms. C required a lot of verbal encouragement and emotional support due to significant anxiety. After several days of aggressive therapy, she was able to perform transfers out of bed with minimal assistance and began walking with a roller walker while on a portable ventilator. She began to use a speaking valve and started to transition back to eating a regular diet with the help of the speech therapist.

Ms C. completed her rehabilitation program and was discharged from Kindred Hospital South Florida - Ft. Lauderdale on March 3, 2010. She was walking with a rolling walker and eating a regular diet, and she boarded a plane for home.

Kindred Hospital South Florida - Ft. Lauderdale's success is apparent in stories like these as well as in our quality scores - our patients and families rate our quality of care at 98.3 percent and 97 percent would recommend Kindred.