Case Study: Water’s Edge Rehab & Nursing Center at Port Jefferson (November 2019)

Patient’s Name: Joan Kuehl
Patient’s Age: 88-years-old
Admission Date: 10/01/2019
Discharge Date: 11/12/2019
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 43 days
Reason for Stay: CHF Exacerbation, Acute Chronic Respiratory failure
How did this patient hear about Water’s Edge?: Social Worker at Mather Hospital


Details of Experience:
Joan Kuehl lives a life of simplicity. She enjoys getting her nails done, reading, and being outside; but overall, she enjoys spending time with her family. Joan has five children and seven grandchildren who fill her heart with so much joy. They are her biggest supporters and strength when she is feeling down. As Brad Henry once said, “Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.” And that is exactly what Joan’s family is to her!

Ms. Kuehl found herself struggling with chest pain, shortness of breath and a really bad cough which unexpectedly led her on a trip to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital. A quick trip through the ER, Joan was admitted for acute chronic respiratory failure. After spending some time in the hospital, Joan was recommended to go to a sub-acute rehabilitation center. After thoroughly searching for an appropriate place, Joan chose Water’s Edge Rehab & Nursing Center at Port Jefferson.

Upon arrival on October 1st, Ms. Kuehl was greeted by a number of our interdisciplinary staff, who was eager to assist her in getting settled in our community. Joan was ready to get started, as soon as possible, because she had plans to be home by the holidays!

Joan had a goal to gain strength and endurance. She demonstrated good rehabilitation potential because she was motivated to return home, and was actively willing to participate. Physical therapy worked with her daily using therapeutic resistance exercises, open-chain kinetic exercises and so much more. She quickly improved from using 3lb weights to 5lb weights and was excited to be on her way to independence once again.

Occupational therapy also worked with Joan as much as 5-6x per week. Due to her decrease in strength and functional mobility, Joan needed assistance in all of her daily living tasks. Her occupation therapist, Nichole, worked with her on gross motor coordination, fine motor coordination training, buttoning, zipping, and hooking clothing fasteners to improve fine motor coordination. They used these techniques, along with many others, to facilitate independence in functional skill performance.

Ms. Kuehl’s discharge day was quickly approaching just in time for all of the holidays! She leaves us with independence, ready to conquer the world. Joan used our employee appreciation program to thank so many of our team members! She stated, “everyone here was so great, I couldn’t have done it without them.”

We wish Joan the absolute best in all her future endeavors and a very Happy Holidays!