Case Study: San Souci Q1 2025
Concierge Name: Yosef Unger
Patient Name: Lourdes J
Patient Age: 58
Admission Date: 11/07/24
Admitted From: St. Joseph’s Medical Center
Discharge Date: 12/03/24
Discharge To: Home
Length Of Stay: 26 Days
Reason For Stay: Total Hip Replacement
How Did This Patient Hear About Sans Souci: Case Worker at St. Joseph’s Medical Center
Details of Experience:
Lourdes J was at St Joseph’s Medical Center after having hip replacement surgery. It was clear that she would require inpatient rehabilitation. A few years earlier, her grandmother was in a nursing home, and that had not been a pleasant experience. The idea that she would need to go through something similar was worrying for her, consuming her thoughts. Also, having a family and a job, she enjoyed taking care of herself and others, and the idea of relying on other people for her basic needs was not her comfort zone.
About two years prior to that day, Lourdes was diagnosed with a sprained ankle after tripping in the street. To hasten the recovery, she started doing some physical therapy, which led to some unbearable pain. After a long year-and-a-half process, which led to much discomfort. She was diagnosed with osteoarthritis (a condition in which cartilage that cushions the joint has worn down) in her right leg, for which the solution was a hip replacement. Knowing that she had 23 steps going up to her apartment and lived on the second floor, she decided that the right place at that point was to go to a rehab community to regain all her strength.
One stood out when Lourdes was given the options of various nursing homes. She realized Sans Souci was across the street from her doctor’s office. After looking into what people had to say online, she made up her mind. This was the place for her.
After being wheeled into the Sans Souci, she was put into bed after a short ride from the hospital. Many people began coming in to say hi and welcome her. However, she was tired and in pain. All the anxieties that she had about her independence, as well as the experiences with her grandmother, bubbled up to the surface. All she wanted was to be left alone.
The next day, after a good night’s sleep, Omar Garcia, the Assistant Director of Recreation, came in to introduce himself and set her up with some music. Lourdes recalls, “The nurses came in to say hi. I started to warm up to everyone. I got to know my roommate, and we had a great connection. I felt like I belonged here.”
Lourdes’s anxiety about her independence quickly dissipated. She said letting go of the pride she was raised with was a hard transition; she had to learn how to let others do for her. But everyone made it easier, and no one made her feel like a burden.
After a couple of weeks, Lourdes was ready to go home. The physical therapy team, especially Eric Moore and Nana Ofori-Asiedu, were fantastic. She never felt that they were pushy, but they always motivated her to do more and more.
When the big day arrived, she was all set. She learned how to go up steps, something that she needed to do to get to her apartment. She was trained in how to use the rollator that she was given and to do car transfers. As happy as she was to go home, it was still bittersweet. All the friends that she made wouldn’t be coming home with her. However, they will always stay with her in her memory.
She had so many wonderful experiences in Sans Souci that she never wants to forget. She shared, “I remember the dinner with our chef. It didn’t feel like we were in a nursing home. It felt like a high-class Fifth Avenue restaurant. Everyone was made comfortable, and the food was fantastic. As well as painting with the artist. It was so enjoyable, and I was able to do something that I had never done before.”
She recalls the staff fondly: “Everyone had that compassion for the patients. They would come over and say, “Have a blessed day.” This made everyone happy, regardless of the reason they were there. All that care and all that compassion was amazing, and I wish I had had this experience for my grandmother.”
After leaving Sans Souci, Lourdes has made rapid strides in her continued therapy, as set up by the Sans staff. She is now walking with a cane only outside.
We wish her all the best and continued success, and her many friends (residents and staff alike) will never forget the strength and courage she showed us daily.