Mercy Retirement & Care Center has been working hard to promote our new T.R.U. Hope (Transitional Rehabilitation Unit) in the care center. One of our hopes is through the short term rehabilitation program at Mercy, patients will be able to get well and ultimately return home. So are our hopes a reality?
Phyllis Spanglett is a graduate of Mercy’s T.R.U. Hope program. Originally from the Bronx in New York, Phyllis moved to San Francisco nearly 40 years ago with her daughter and spent many years working for the County of San Francisco. Phyllis will never forget the first day she moved here. She recalls, “I left New York because I was tired of freezing all the time! I was looking forward to sunny California weather, but when my daughter and I got here it was raining, windy, and freezing! The weather in New York was better that day than it was in California!” Phyllis has since moved to Berkeley, where she’s working part-time in market research.
Phyllis prides herself on being a very independent woman, so when she had a fall in January resulting in a fracture of her right leg and subsequent hospitalization, she was devastated. When it was suggested that Phyllis go to a skilled nursing facility for short term rehabilitation, she was not happy about it. She wanted to go home and continue being independent. Thankfully, Phyllis listened to recommendations and chose Mercy’s T.R.U. Hope. Phyllis said of her experience, “Are you kidding me? I never imagined there were skilled nursing facilities like this out there!”
Mercy is focused on Person Centered Care. That means we tailor each patient’s experience based on their needs and what is comfortable for them. Our staff works hard to get to know each individual upon admission. All of us at Mercy knew Phyllis was going to be a good fit for T.R.U. Hope from the start. She’ll be the first to tell you, “I’m a character!” and she is. Phyllis had us laughing with her stories, and vise-versa. When she was in her room relaxing after therapy, reading the SF Chronicle or a romance novel (one of her favorite activities) Phyllis would quickly get the bookmark out and invite us in when we knocked on the door.
Phyllis got to know us as well as we got to know her. Phyllis worked very hard in her physical and occupational therapy sessions, and physical therapists and nurses encouraged her along the way. Being the independent, strong, hard working woman she is, Phyllis knew working towards getting strong would enable her to safely transition back home. Did Phyllis achieve her goal? On February 29th, after 7 weeks of physical and occupational therapy, Phyllis graduated from our T.R.U. Hope program with flying colors! Phyllis is back home in Berkeley, back to work, and still an independent woman.
After one of our friends graduate, all of us at Mercy follow up to see how they’re doing. One of the questions we ask is, “Would you choose Mercy and T.R.U. Hope again?” and “Would you recommend us?” When asked these questions, Phyllis replied “Mercy Retirement & Care Center has earned every single one of their five stars and then some! I would return to the “Hilton” anytime!”
Amy Wetzell
Admissions Coordinator
