Patient’s Name: Betty
Patient’s Age: 89-years-old
Admission Date: 2/22/20
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: TBD
Reason for Stay: Right femur fracture
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Was given a list from the hospital, enjoyed the tour!

Details of Experience:
On a normal Saturday morning, a stray piece of newspaper led to a tragic fall for Betty. She was sent tumbling down the basement step and left on the cement floor for four hours. Fortunately, a guardian angel was there for her, and her friend arrived to find her and call 911 so she could receive the help she needed. After presenting to Morristown Medical Center with a right femur fracture, Betty was admitted to the hospital for 7 days as she underwent surgery and received postoperative acute therapy. It was at this time that Betty was informed she required subacute rehabilitation to further assist in her healing program. As her family had already toured the fabulous facility, Betty already knew she wanted to come to Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center.

Betty was admitted to Chatham Hills on February 22nd, 2020, where she was greeted by our receptionist and nursing supervisor to settle into the community. She had been completely independent prior to admission and was driving, shopping, and living alone. She knew if she wanted to return to her former independence she would have to stay motivated and work hard, but that she wasn’t doing it alone! The Chatham Hills team was there to help. When asked, “If there was one wish we could grant for you while you are here, what would it be?”, her enthusiastic response was, “That Chatham Hills will help me heal, move my leg, and get better!”

During her initial assessment, she complained of pain, inability to perform daily living tasks, and inability to walk more than five feet. The incredible Chatham therapy team knew that she would benefit best from a personalized physical and occupational therapy plan, and coordinated with her nurses to create the proper treatment plan for her needs.

With a routine in place, Betty was given the opportunity to strengthen her muscles in group therapy! This unique form of therapy combines therapy and recreation staff for a fun-filled treatment time that makes you forget you’re doing therapy! Group Therapy is also a perfect opportunity for social interactions, teamwork, cooking, and competitive games. Betty also participated in our Therapy Without Borders program, in which patients complete treatments in our dayrooms, their bedrooms, and all hallways with varying floor surfaces to promote comfort in various locations and surfaces during recovery.

Betty is a highly driven patient, who has therapy exercises six days a week, and in her time with Chatham Hills, has already made strides towards recovery. She is now able to ambulate over 100 feet, compared to the 5 feet she was admitted with, and is able to stand, transfer, bathe, dress, and more with only stand-by assistance.

Our Director of Concierge Services visited Betty to tell her that she was our chosen ‘Celebrity of the Month’! Betty shared, “the thing that got me through was you just have to work hard. Steve is such a good therapist. I would definitely recommend Chatham Hills; I do not see any complaints here. They really cover all the basic things to make you feel better. Besides Steve, my therapists Michelle, Sara, and Sue were great. They do all my arm exercises with me. Steve had a special walker for me and special leg exercises for me to do. I really feel that I am getting the full benefit from therapy here.” Team Chatham Hills is thrilled to congratulate Betty on her amazing progress thus far and we are so excited to see her at her full potential!

Patient’s Age: 85-years-old
Admission Date: 01/23/2020
Readmission Date: 02/12/2020
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: 02/29/2020
Discharged To: Home
Reason for Stay: Weakness, S/P pneumothorax
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Web search

Details of Experience:
Everything that Joan was used to was ripped away by a dangerous illness. Joan’s everyday life was simple, at best. She went to chair yoga on Wednesdays, listened to audiobooks at home, and had Sunday lunch at the Country Club with the girls. Everything was going good until one day the unexpected happened. She noticed she was having trouble breathing and standing up. Worried about her own safety, she went to Morristown Hospital. She was diagnosed with the flu and pneumothorax. After having breathing issues and stuck in bed, her team at Morristown knew she was going to need extensive subacute rehab before returning home to regain her strength.

Joan was admitted to Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center on January 23, 2020. Upon admission, she was greeted by our highly trained teammates who were expecting her. Joan’s goals upon admission were, “to return home being able to walk and breathe”. Joan met her incredible main therapists, Leslie and Sara, who were extra motivated to get her to those goals!

Joan was ready to put the flu behind her and return to her old self. Upon evaluation, Joan was only able to ambulate 10 feet and required contact assistance with all Activities of Daily Living. She participated in therapy six days a week, consistently practicing dressing and bathing techniques, walking up and down the hallway, and learning compensatory strategies for energy conservation.

Joan was excelling but sadly faced a bump in the road to recovery. By a tragic turn of events, Joan was transported to the emergency room where she was admitted for a respiratory infection. She was treated in the hospital with increased labored breathing. When she was readmitted to Chatham Hills, she came back looking better than ever, eager, and extremely motivated to get back to healing. Joan exceeded all therapy expectations to return to her prior level of function for a safe discharge home!

Joan did not just receive regular therapy while she was in our community. She was able to participate in our Group Therapy, which combines both therapy and recreation staff for a fun-filled treatment time, without noticing they are in treatment! Group Therapy is a perfect opportunity for social interactions, teamwork amongst Patients and Residents, cooking activities, and competitive games. She also participated in Therapy Without Borders. Therapy without Borders in Chatham Hills is a perfect opportunity for our Patients to not only be comfortable with being in the gym but throughout our whole community. Within this program, our patients can complete treatments in our dayrooms, their bedrooms, and all hallways with varying floor surfaces. Nursing gets to be involved and aware of their patients’ therapeutic status. It also promotes social interaction during treatment.

With her discharge date approaching, Joan has renewed strength and is able to return to her baseline. She is now able to walk 50 feet and was able to complete all activities of daily living. We are so proud of all the progress she has made thus far! Joan stated, “everybody at Chatham Hills was very nice. The therapy team here is a great help and they listened to what I wanted. I wanted to walk first then exercise and that is exactly what they did. I played bingo and tried to do some activities while I was here which were great too. I got to play twister during group therapy which was a fun way to do exercise!”

Team Chatham Hills would love to congratulate our Celebrity of the Month, Joan, on her accomplishments and hard work!

Patient’s Age: 95-years-old
Admission Date: 12/28/2019
Admitted From: Overlook Hospital
Discharge Date: 01/24/2020
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 29 Days
Reason for Stay: Pelvic fracture.
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Knew from living near location.

Details of Experience:
When you think of Christmas, what do you think of it? Christmas cheer, bright lights, kids laughing, fireplaces. Unfortunately for Muriel, all that she knew of Christmas was soon taken away because of an accident. What was supposed to be a special Christmas lunch turned into devastation when her walker got stuck on the sidewalk leading to a hard fall.

Muriel presented to Overlook Medical Center with two fractured pubic bones in her pelvis with shattered bones around it. She was admitted to the hospital for a total of two days. After getting many tests done, Muriel was informed she required subacute rehabilitation to further assist in her healing process. Muriel knew she wanted to come to the Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center since she was familiar with the location.

Muriel was admitted to Chatham Hills on December 28, 2019. She was greeted by our receptionist and nursing supervisor to get settled in her room. Muriel was completely independent prior to admission and knew she had to stay motivated if she wanted to get back there. Her goal upon admission was, “to get back to living independently and carry on with my life”. Our highly-trained therapy team knew she would benefit from a personalized PT/OT plan. During her initial assessment, she was presented with moderate pain upon movement and discomfort sitting up.

Muriel’s case was a little different. Her doctor said she was not yet ready for her to put weight on her legs until January 9th. Prior to that order, she had the opportunity to strengthen her upper body in Group Therapy, which combines both therapy and recreation staff for a fun-filled treatment time, without noticing they are in treatment! Group Therapy is a perfect opportunity for social interactions, teamwork amongst Patients and Residents, cooking activities and competitive games. She also participated in Therapy Without Borders. Therapy without Borders in Chatham Hills is a perfect opportunity for our Patients to not only be comfortable with being in the gym but throughout our whole community. Within this program, our Patients can complete treatments in our dayrooms, their bedrooms and all hallways with varying floor surfaces. Nursing gets to be involved and aware of their patients’ therapeutic status. It also promotes social interaction during treatment.

January 9th came faster than expected and Muriel was motivated and ready to fully heal. She was weight-bearing as tolerated, which meant she could start walking again! She was consistently making progress, getting therapy six days a week. She went to therapy in the morning and would continue to train herself in the afternoon, as much as she could do. Muriel’s therapist, Michelle, stated, “I remember my first day working with her and how much pain she was in. I knew once she was able to go to full weight-bearing, she was going to walk out of this front door. She was so motivated. I could not be prouder, not just of her hard work and dedication but of the teams’ as well.”

Upon admission, Muriel required maximum assistance with all ADLs-(Activities of Daily Living), could not ambulate at all and was totally dependent on the staff for assistance. With consistent progress, she was able to reach all her goals! She was able to walk over 300 feet independently and is independent of her self-care tasks!

Our Director of Concierge Services visited Muriel nearing her discharge date. Muriel shared, “my goal was to get back to where I was; living independently and to carry on with my life. I think the physical therapy department at Chatham Hills is excellent! My physical therapist, Steve, and occupational therapist, Michelle, are both wonderful. I am so happy that my therapist Michelle chose me for the celebrity of the month this month! The nursing staff here too are all nice, kind people. I’m improving every day thanks to everyone here.” Team Chatham Hills is thrilled to congratulate Muriel on her amazing progress and we are so happy to have helped her in any way we could!

Patient’s Age: 81-years-old
Admission Date: 12/17/19
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: 01/04/2020
Length of Stay: 18 Days
Reason for Stay: Back fracture
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Social worker referral. Been here before.

Details of Experience:
Imagine being completely active and independent and waking up to agonizing pain. For Judy, this was totally unexpected and left her immobile. She did not know what was happening. She thought she may have just slept in a weird position. She tried several solutions to help herself with the pain and her inability to get out of bed. The visiting nurse that was scheduled to help her at home knew something was seriously wrong. She called 911 and Judy was rushed to the emergency room. Judy presented to Morristown Medical Center for an evaluation and MRI. To her surprise, she was given the unsettling news that she had four fractures in her back. Knowing that she was going to have to return home with her husband, extensive subacute rehab was required for a proper recovery.

Judy knew there was only one place she wanted to go for rehab, one she had been to before, a place that she is familiar with… She was admitted to Chatham Hills on December 17th where she was greeted by our staff who were, under the circumstances, excited to see her and were passionate about helping her regain her strength. She was independent prior to admission and knew she had to stay motivated to get back there. Her goal was, “to be able to resume what I was doing before and get my pain under control”. Our highly-trained therapy team knew she would benefit from a personalized, well-thought-out plan for skilled PT/OT services. During her initial assessment, she presented with compromised general health, a decrease in mobility, and intolerable pain. Judy was motivated and ready to begin her healing process. She actively participated in therapy six days a week, consistently practicing getting in and out of bed, dynamic balance activities while standing, climbing stairs and practicing her self care tasks with assistance. The only setback Judy had was she was in excruciating pain. Our therapy, doctors and nursing staff all had to work together to get her pain under control before she had to go work out.

Judy was very active prior to this incident. She did not require any assistive devices and she was the President of several organizations in her community. She knew if she wanted to get back to performing these activities then she would need to stay extra motivated. Upon admission, Judy required assistance with all ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), could only ambulate 15 feet with contact guard assistance and could not ascend/descend any steps. With consistent progress, she was able to reach all her goals! She was able to walk over 200 feet, ascend/descend the steps, and was regaining independence with her self-care tasks!

Our Director of Concierge Services visited Judy nearing her discharge date. Judy shared, “it was nice to come back here to familiar surroundings. Everyone was kind and lovely and it was nice to see that the staff members remembered me. The therapy is the best here and they are the best with the patients. They do absolutely everything that they thought was impossible for me. It is really amazing and they lead you along a path of recovery. I also love Dr. Prager, the Medical Director here. He is so good and thorough that I made him my primary doctor. I’m so happy that he is here at Chatham Hills.”

Team Chatham Hills is thrilled to congratulate Judy on all her progress and we wish her the best of luck!

Patient’s Age: 83-years-old
Admission Date: 11/02/19
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: 12/01/19
Length of Stay: 29 Days
Discharged To: Home
Reason for Stay: Right Humeral Fracture
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Hospital referral.

Details of Experience:
You would never think a simple act of kindness of visiting a loved one in the hospital could lead to becoming a patient in that same hospital. Our Celebrity of the Month, Grace, experienced this sadly ironic situation on October 29, 2019, when she fell in the lobby of Morristown Medical Center, being saved by, as she stated, “a superhero security man swooping me off the floor”. Grace said the one positive thing about the situation was that she didn’t have to wait for an ambulance! She was admitted to the hospital and immediately taken to surgery for a right arm fracture. After being properly treated for, her team at Morristown knew she was going to need extensive subacute rehab before returning home.

Grace was admitted to Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center on November 2, 2019. Upon admission, she was greeted by our highly trained teammates who were expecting her. Grace’s goals upon admission were, “to walk around, be able to drive her own car again and be independent.” Grace met her incredible main therapists, Sara and Archie, who were extra motivated to get her to those goals!

Grace was finally ready to put an end to this chapter of her life. Upon evaluation, Grace was only able to ambulate 5 feet using a short based quad cane and required maximum assistance with all Activities of Daily Living. She participated in therapy six days a week, consistently practicing dressing and bathing techniques, walking up and down the stairs and training in our ADL Suite. Grace shared that she was a waitress for over 43 years, therefore she is used to being on her feet and multitasking. Years ago, she broke her wrist and still went to work that same day for a 10am-4pm shift with a full arm cast on! Grace continued to have that dedication and motivation throughout her stay at Chatham Hills.

Grace did not just receive regular therapy while she was in our community. She was able to participate in our Group Therapy, which combines both therapy and recreation staff for a fun-filled treatment time, without noticing they are in treatment! Group Therapy is a perfect opportunity for social interactions, teamwork amongst Patients and Residents, cooking activities and competitive games. She also participated in Therapy Without Borders. Therapy without Borders in Chatham Hills is a perfect opportunity for our Patients to not only be comfortable with being in the gym but throughout our whole community. Within this program, our Patients can complete treatments in our dayrooms, their bedrooms and all hallways with varying floor surfaces. Nursing gets to be involved and aware of their patients’ therapeutic status. It also promotes social interaction during treatment.

With her discharge date approaching, Grace has renewed strength and gained her independence back. She is now able to walk over 250 feet while maintaining a good, steady balance! We are so proud of all the progress she has made thus far! Grace stated, “I have a great, caring crew of people around me at Chatham Hills. The therapy team here is hands-on and gentle. The whole staff definitely have great patience, they’re pleasant, they talk to you instead of at you and are all very sweet. The people here have shared stories with me that brought so much comfort. They realize the situation you’re in and are there for you no matter what. Thank you to Chatham Hills for having my back… and shoulder… and legs!”

Team Chatham Hills would love to congratulate our Celebrity of the Month, Grace, on her accomplishments and hard work!

Patient’s Age: 85-years-old
Admission Date: 09/19/2019
Admitted From: Overlook Medical Center
Discharge Date: 10/11/19
Length of Stay: 22 Days
Discharged To: Home
Reason for Stay: CHF exacerbation
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? From New Providence Senior Center

Details of Experience:
Imagine living your life independently, able to do everything by yourself and suddenly have to be in and out of hospitals with complicated illnesses. Unfortunately, Rich experienced this while at home one day in the summer. On July 21st, 2019, he was hospitalized for congestive heart failure exacerbation. While in the hospital, he exhibited slight hypothermia, hypotension, and low oxygen. Rich also has a history of lung cancer and chronic respiratory failure. He returned home but as the fall season was approaching, he suffered a fall, which led to experiencing shortness of breath and weakness. Realizing something was seriously wrong, he was taken to Overlook Hospital for help. After testing and a short hospital stay, a recommendation was made by the team at Overlook that he was going to need extensive subacute rehab.

Rich was admitted to Chatham Hills on September 19, 2019. Upon admission, his goal was to ‘get out of bed and be able to go home’. Rich was evaluated by our highly-trained therapists, Leslie and Sara. During his initial assessment, he presented with weakness, shortness of breath and an overall decline in all ADLs and mobility tasks. Team Chatham Hills knew they had to put together the best plan of care for him to improve his strength.

Rich and his family were motivated for his healing process. He participated in therapy six days a week consistently practicing energy conservation techniques, bathing techniques and most importantly, they worked diligently with him on his tolerance with activities. His therapists’ goal upon his admission for him was to safely perform functional activities for 1-3 minutes without shortness of breath. On September 20th, he could only handle 30 seconds.

Before his hospital stay, Rich and his wife, Carol, were very active in the New Providence Senior Center. He is one of the famous bingo callers! Our Concierge Director, Kathleen Ferlise, has been volunteering at the New Providence Senior Center for many years with Rich and was thrilled to be there for him and his wife during his recovery. Team Chatham Hills was also so eager to help Carol set up transportation to visit Rich every day. With our new complimentary car service, our receptionist was able to make sure that her scheduled ride safely picked her up and dropped her off!

After working hard in therapy every day, Rich went from walking only 15 feet to over 100 feet, unable to climb steps to climbing 6 steps. He is still on oxygen daily but he can now tolerate up to 3 minutes of activity without shortness of breath! With the help from Team Chatham Hills, Rich succeeded in all of his therapy goals.

Rich and Carol wrote a lovely card after his discharge that stated, “Our compliments to you and your staff for the quality of care given to Rich during his stay at Chatham Hills. The staff was always present for him helping him achieve the goals set for him. He was sent home with more mobility and a brighter future. Thank you all!”

Team Chatham Hills is thrilled to congratulate Rich on his success in and out of our community! Happy Graduation, Rich!

Patient’s Age: 81-years-old
Admission Date: 09/03/19
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: 09/18/19
Length of Stay: 15 Days
Discharged To: Home
Reason for Stay: Heart attack, hypertension, muscle weakness.
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Hospital referral.

Details of Experience:
Robert Tew once said, “The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.” Carol came across a small struggle but used her strength to overcome it! She was home on a normal Friday when she had a fall and was not able to get up. She made the decision to not transport to the hospital. Thinking that everything was fine, she woke up the next morning with fear that something was seriously wrong. She was suffering from midsternal chest pain. She was admitted to Morristown Medical Center on August 31st, 2019. After undergoing tests and treatments at the hospital, she started to present with weakness, limitations in bed mobility, transfers, and ambulation. After her successful stay at Morristown Medical, a recommendation was made from her therapists that she was going to need extensive subacute rehab.

Carol was admitted to Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center on September 3, 2019. Upon admission, she was greeted by our highly-trained team who were expecting her. Carol’s goal upon admission was, ‘to walk around better and be independent again.’ Carol met her incredible therapists, Leslie, and Sara who knew exactly what they needed to do to get her to that point!

Carol was motivated and ready to begin her healing process. Upon evaluation, Carol was only able to ambulate 150 feet with contact guard assistance and constantly requiring assistance with her Activities of Daily Living. She participated in therapy six days a week consistently practicing safe ambulation tasks, using Theraputty to increase fine motor coordination, and using the Omnicycle to improve activity tolerance in her lower extremities, along with various other tasks. Carol was also lucky enough to participate in therapy in our brand new gym!!!

Carol did not just receive regular therapy while she was in our community. She was able to participate in our Group Therapy, which combines both therapy and recreation staff for a fun-filled treatment time without noticing they are in treatment!! Group Therapy is a perfect opportunity for social interaction, teamwork amongst Patients and Residents, cooking activities and competitive games. She also participated in Therapy Without Borders. Therapy without Borders in Chatham Hills is a perfect opportunity for our Patients to not only be comfortable with being in the gym but throughout our whole community. Within this program, our Patients are able to complete treatments in our dayrooms, their bedrooms and all hallways with varying floor surfaces. Nursing gets to be involved and aware of their patient’s therapeutic status. It also promotes social interaction during treatment.

On September 18th, Carol was discharged back home with renewed strength and independence. She is now able to walk over 300 feet with no assistive devices all while maintaining a good, steady balance! We are so proud of her.

Team Chatham Hills would like to congratulate Carol on her accomplishments and hard work!

Patient’s Age: 89-years-old
Admission Date: 08/16/19
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: 08/27/19
Length of Stay: 11 Days
Discharged To: Home
Reason for Stay: Altered mental status, coronary artery disease, small bowel obstruction.
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Hospital referral.

Details of Experience:
Can you imagine living your life in pain and feeling like there is no solution? For Richard, this is how he was living. He was experiencing recurrent severe pain in his stomach too often. The pain was happening once a month then started occurring every two weeks. He tried to figure out what was causing it by making various changes in his life, one was his diet. Nothing worked. He finally decided to see a doctor who sent him right to the Morristown emergency room on August 10th.

Richard was suffering from a small bowel obstruction, coronary artery disease and also altered mental status. He had persistent nausea/vomiting for a week and was not able to tolerate anything by mouth during that time period. Unfortunately for Richard, he was not a surgical candidate due to his cardiac history. He stated, “I was sitting in the hospital wondering if I will ever get back to how life was before.” The medical team at Morristown knew he was going to need extensive rehabilitation services to regain the strength that he once had.

Richard was admitted to Chatham Hills on August 16, 2019. He was greeted by Team Chatham Hills upon arrival. His goal upon admission was, “to get my legs feeling better and walk better so I can go back home with my wife.” Our highly-trained therapy team assessed him and discovered he was only able to ambulate 25 feet with assistance, not able to ascend/descend steps and needed assistance with all activities of daily living.

He participated in therapy six days a week consistently participating in self-care tasks like dressing, bathing, and toileting. Richard was also being educated on his cardiac precautions for his home management tasks, self-care tasks and how to safely outdoor garden. Richard was quickly healing and got stronger every day.

Nearing his discharge date, Richard was now able to ambulate over 300 feet with just someone there to supervise and able to ascend/descend 8 steps! He stated to our Concierge, “Therapy at Chatham Hills went very well. I’m so happy that I decided to go to the doctor in the first place, it was a good choice. Everyone was friendly and treated me really well. The food was also made good for me. I’m excited that I was able to return home to my wife, she takes good care of me!”

Team Chatham Hills is thrilled to congratulate Richard on all his progress and we wish and his wife nothing but the best!