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He Couldn't Have Done It Alone
The first-rate, personalized rehabilitative care provided by Shore Rehabilitation
Institute was key to getting this Toms River man back in stride following his stroke.
It was strange — I wasn't feeling
so great; I didn't notice any physical
symptoms, but mentally, I just knew
something wasn't right. It was like my
brain was trying to tell me there was
a problem," remembers Roy Simonsen,
53, of Toms River. "It wasn't until a
colleague of mine noticed my left
hand shaking and suggested I go to
the Emergency Department at Ocean
Medical Center that I found out there
was a big problem."
The "big problem" Roy is referring
to is the stroke he had suffered, as
revealed by a CAT scan. His brain
was indeed trying to tell him that
something was wrong, for by his
second day in the hospital, the entire
left side of his body was motionless.
"The only thing I could move on
my left side was a couple of toes,"
Roy recalls.
Recovery Starts Now!
Despite Roy's limited functionality,
he was given hope that he could return
to his normal mobility with hard work,
determination, and the assistance of
an acute rehabilitation center. Not
wanting to waste any time in the
recovery process, Roy immediately
took advantage of Shore Rehabilitation
Institute (SRI), located right in the
East Wing of Ocean Medical Center.
"Our patients from Ocean Medical
Center don't even have to leave the
building for rehabilitative care, which
simplifies the process and contributes
to a quicker and easier recovery,"
explains Sandy Clemento, executive
director of SRI. "Being able to provide
a high level of professional,
individualized rehabilitative care
is what we strive for every day."
Allen M. Khademi, M.D., Roy's
doctor and the medical director
of SRI, elaborates: "Our team's goal
and passion is to restore
stroke survivors to a
productive, enjoyable
life with their families
and friends. With the
help and encouragement
of our stroke recovery
specialists and much
hard work, most stroke
survivors return to their
homes and resume many
or all of their previous
activities." According to
Dr. Khademi, intense,
targeted rehabilitation
led by experts in the first
days and weeks after a
stroke is crucial to the
process as the brain
heals and finds new
pathways to function.
Starting Over
Roy is happy to share
some details of his
cautious but steady
recovery, emphasizing his appreciation
of Deborah Murat, his physical
therapist at SRI. "I can't say enough
about the help and support I got from
Debbie. She was instrumental in my
recovery, and I couldn't have done it
without her." This recovery initially
involved a walking device called the
LiteGait, Debbie reports. Roy was
harnessed into the device, which uses
a mechanical lift to absorb part of the
body weight. This in turn allows less
stress on the joints, supports body
balance, and enables the patient to
use weakened leg muscles more
effectively when training to walk again.
"I weighed 300 pounds," Roy says,
"so I was afraid I was going to fall
on Debbie and crush her. But once
I learned to trust her and this 'space suit–like' device, my therapy really
took off." Sure enough, Roy started
off requiring both Debbie and two
staff members to help him walk 3 feet;
but when he was discharged after
approximately one month, he was
walking 300 feet alone with an
adaptive rolling walker.
Roy is feeling much better these
days, even returning to work in March.
Looking back on his inpatient rehab
experience, he focuses on looking
forward: "I'm so thankful to the SRI
team and the way each and every
member shared the same common goal
of returning me to my highest possible
level of function and a full recovery."
 – Chris Teasdale
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If you want to know just how
good Shore Rehabilitation Institute
is at fulfilling its mission for each
patient each day, take a look at
the 2006 Q4 survey results of Press
Ganey, the health care industry’s
leading supplier of performance
measurement and patient satisfaction
scores. On the basis of our patients’
direct feedback in this survey of
a total of 131 acute rehab centers
and 318 acute rehab units across
the country, SRI ranked in the
99th percentile in 14 separate areas:
- Overall care at hospital
- Likelihood of recommending hospital
- Availability of nurses
- Quality of day shift nursing care
- Nurses’ responsiveness to pain
- Physical therapy staff’s effectiveness in meeting patient goals
- Courtesy and responsiveness to patient needs by recreational therapy staff
- Courtesy of speech therapist
- Patient participation in setting speech goals
- Accommodations and comfort for visitors
- Availability of rehab doctor
- Feeling safe and secure
- Respectful treatment by staff
- Staff promptness in response to patient requests
Executive director of SRI
Sandy Clemento is extremely
proud to supervise a facility of
such high standing and says
that the Press Ganey survey
results reflect the staff’s "evident
professionalism and commendable
commitment to care."
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