Mrs. F: “One of Your Success Stories”
Mrs. F was admitted to a short-term acute care hospital on July 19, 2010 after complications from a radiology procedure. She aspirated large amounts of fluid, went into acute respiratory failure and was placed on the ventilator.
On August 3, she was transferred to Kindred Hospital Tarrant County – Fort Worth Southwest. She then had a tracheostomy tube placed in her throat and a feeding tube in her stomach for more permanent management of her feeding and breathing. Mrs. F was not following commands and had altered mental status, but upon admission, her husband said that she would be “one of your success stories I have read about.”
The respiratory therapy department began working aggressively with Mrs. F and soon she was weaned from the ventilator and had her trach removed. Upon evaluation by the therapy team, she required a maximum amount of assistance from two people to get her to sit and balance on the edge of the bed. She was unable to perform daily self-care activities. She was unable to eat or drink due to weak muscles in her throat to help her swallow safely.
Mrs. F was very motivated and was able to tolerate therapy sessions and our pulmonary rehab program, and she experienced a miraculous recovery. By the time of her discharge she was able to dress herself and put her hair up into a ponytail again. She was able to get to the edge of the bed and into a chair with no assistance. She was able to walk 90 feet with a walker with her husband at her side. She was able to eat and tolerate small amounts of thin liquids. Her husband was very supportive and helped with her exercises daily.
On September 21, Mrs. F was discharged from the hospital to her home in Abilene. She plans to return to work as a pharmacist. She wants to return to traveling and canoeing very soon.
Kindred Hospital Tarrant County – Fort Worth Southwest’s success is apparent in stories like this as well as in our quality scores – our patients and families rate our quality of care at 100 percent and 100 percent would recommend Kindred. Kindred Hospital Tarrant County – Fort Worth Southwest was named 2009 Hospital of the Year and Quality Excellence Hospital of the Year in 2009 and 2010 by Kindred’s Hospital Division Awards. Our hospital is also the four-time recipient of the quarterly Hospital Employee Performance Program Gold Award. The award, based on excellence in patient care, customer satisfaction, efficiency and employee satisfaction goes to the hospital in each region that had the best overall performance during the quarter.