Concierge: Luis Pontier Jr
Patient’s Age: 79 Years
Admission Date: 11/16/2023
Admitted From: Morristown Medical Center
Discharge Date: 01/17/2024
Length of Stay: 62 days
Reason for Stay: Parkinson’s with general weakness
How did this patient hear about Chatham Hills? Social Worker at Morristown Medical Center
Details of Experience:
Our resident, Lloyd, was well-known throughout Chatham Hills as a bundle of joy. Before being here, he used to be an Ophthalmologist. Upon his admission, he was greeted by our Director of Concierge Services, Luis, and his care team, who would be dedicated to making his stay great. When he first came in, he was not able to walk very well, let alone move around well on his own. As his therapy progressed, he would find himself able to sit up on his own, get himself dressed, and eventually bring himself to the bathroom and work on his activities of daily living.
Lloyd was asked what goals he wanted to set to go forward. His biggest goal was to be able to walk around with a cane like he used to. When asked what he liked to do in his free time, he said he would just sit around at home watching TV and nothing else. I told him we would change that so that he has something else to do if there isn’t anything on TV, he would enjoy watching. He was very adamant about wanting to go back home as soon as possible, and I told him we would have to strengthen him back up as much as possible beforehand because it was in his best interest to not potentially come back to us after leaving to early to stay for a more extended period of time.
During therapy, Lloyd started off in his wheelchair, walking and running around throughout the halls just to “stretch his legs,” as he would say. You could see him zoom through the halls, talking to his nurses, other residents, and anyone who would be open to a conversation. Most of the time, he would ask for a ginger ale as that was his weakness. We all saw Lloyd quickly and efficiently becoming more independent as he transitioned to a walker and, later, a cane.
During his stay here, Lloyd made friends with just about everyone, being the social butterfly we all loved whenever he was not bird-watching. Lloyd loved hanging in his room, watching the birds from his big window. Bird watching became his new hobby. Lloyd and I would sit back and watch all the different kinds of birds that would come by to visit, as we have bird feeders on the outside of every room. He would sit there for hours, just watching the birds and TV.
He was a great energy in our community, and everyone truly enjoyed his presence.