|
Cruising Through Recovery, One Step at a Time
Meridian Health's extensive network of health care and rehabilitation facilities makes care
and recovery a seamless process for patients, helping them focus on what really matters —
getting better.
Having surgery is a big deal — and
people treat it as such, researching
and planning it much as they
might a European cruise or a road trip
across the U.S.
Usually that's about where the similarities
to a vacation end. Most people don't
walk away from surgery and the rehabilitation
that follows comparing the experience
to being on a cruise. But most people
aren't Robert Evertz of Point Pleasant.
"I keep telling my friends it was like
being on a cruise without leaving port. It
was hard and often painful work, but it was
also convenient and pleasant. And everyone's
in the same boat as you," he laughs.
Robert needed two knee replacement
surgeries in the same year, both of which
would be followed by inpatient and outpatient
therapy. He knew that each step
had to be carefully thought out.
First he selected board certified orthopedic
surgeon Joseph P. Bogdan, M.D., based
on the physician's stellar reputation among
family and friends. "Robert was in a great
deal of pain from years of wear and tear on his knees," notes Dr. Bogdan. "Knee replacement
surgery was the best way to get him
moving again and improve his quality of life."
Since Dr. Bogdan is affiliated with
Ocean Medical Center, planning where to
have the surgery was simple.
Robert thought the next step — choosing
an inpatient rehabilitation center
— would take more work. But then he
saw Meridian's new state-of-the art facility
in Wall and learned that Meridian Health
offers the region's most comprehensive
array of rehabilitation services. That made
the inpatient rehab decision just as easy.
"After about a week of intense rehabilitation,
I was mobile enough to go home,
start outpatient therapy, and get back to
my life," Robert says.
For that outpatient therapy, Robert again
stayed within the Meridian Health family,
choosing to visit Shore Rehabilitation
Institute in Brick.
By keeping it all in the family, Robert got
to enjoy the benefits of Meridian's integrated
network, which makes moving from hospital,
to rehabilitation center, and then back
home a seamless process. As a result, people
like Robert can focus more on getting well
— and less on planning the journey.
"The hardest part of the process was
getting back on my feet again," he adds.
"Everything else was so simple that I
repeated every step again for my second
knee replacement."
| With nearly a dozen short- and long-term rehabilitation facilities to choose from, Meridian Health
allows easy access to any level of care that's needed. You even have the option of receiving rehabilitative
services at home through Meridian At Home. To locate a facility near you, please call the
Meridian Health Line at 1-800-560-9990. |
|
