Case Study: Recovery after a long illness or extended hospitalization

Submitted by: Amy LaCroix, RN

Patient Condition

My client had been admitted for an extended hospital stay because he experienced weakness and shortness of breath. Prior to being hospitalized, my client had been ambulating without assistive devices and was able to enter the bathtub with minimal assistance, but he returned home using a walker and was not able to enter the bathtub at all. His symptoms of dementia had worsened while he was in the hospital, and he was not able to simply lift a fork to his mouth to feed himself upon his return home.

Patient Treatment

We provided my client with skilled nursing and physical therapy services to improve his ambulation, and our home health aides were able to assist him with bathing and dressing as well as meal preparation and eating. Within a week of being home, my client was ambulating without assistive devices, he was entering the bathtub with supervision only (no physical assistance), he was able to feed himself, and his dementia symptoms had lessened. Overall, he became a very pleasant individual.

Patient Recovery

When my client entered the hospital, the change in environment and his symptoms made his recovery difficult. It was not until he was back in the familiar environment of his own home that his condition and overall health significantly improved. He was discharged from our services in less than 2 weeks, and the family was overjoyed that his condition had improved so quickly. They felt he was doing better after these two weeks of receiving our services than he had been doing prior to hospitalization.

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