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If you had asked Mattie Horton what she knew about Carle Eureka Hospital at the beginning of the year, she would have responded, “Very little,” even though the hospital is just a short, 15-minute car ride from her home in Metamora. However, ask her about Carle Eureka Hospital now, especially its swing bed program, and she could talk the legs off a chair.
In what turned out to be a stroke of good fortune, the swing bed unit at Carle Eureka Hospital was presented as an option for rehabilitative care after Horton underwent surgery at Carle BroMenn Medical Center. Horton remembers her initial response – "I said, Eureka Hospital?
“Initially, I was a little disappointed because I felt like I wouldn’t get the level of physical therapy I had hoped for. It seemed like a small hospital, and I figured they might have one physical therapist there. But that was NOT the case at all!”
Carle Health swing bed units are designed for those needing short-term, extra help recovering from surgery or an extended illness before transitioning home.
“When I got there, they quickly started me on PT and OT. I don’t think I could have taken anymore and was very thrilled with that part especially. I really had no idea.”
Patients receive daily skilled nursing or rehabilitation services, or both, to help them successfully return to their former living environment.
“Mattie is the kind of patient we are always so impressed by,” Karen Vance, RN, Carle Eureka Hospital, said. “She was eager to take the steps needed to get stronger. She always had a smile for everyone and a good word to speak. And, before we knew it, she was ambulating around the unit with physical therapy.”
Returning patients to their former living environment with their prior level of functioning is a key goal. “They immediately tried to duplicate the stairs I have at my house so that I could start working on getting in and out of my house,” Horton said. “They have fine nurses and technicians and were so nice to me on that floor. They have a small-town atmosphere and take the best care of you.”
Horton spent about a week in the Carle Eureka swing bed program. She was determined to get back home, and the team worked hard to get her there as quickly as possible.
“If we could, we would have kept her,” Vance said with a smile. “That’s the hard part for the staff when it’s time to say goodbye to the patients we’ve come to know. Once the goals we set together were met, Mattie was able to transition to home.”
“I can’t think of anything that could have been better about my time there,” Horton said. “Everyone made me feel at ease. A local service club brought flowers, and one of the church groups crochets prayer shawls. The prayer shawl I received was a real comfort – I cherish it.
“I’ll never forget … I walked into the room, and there on the tray table was a white Styrofoam cup. On it, they had written 'Welcome to Eureka.' It’s a small thing, but I remember it so clearly. It was like, this is the place I am supposed to be. These people are going to take care of me and help me get better. And I was right."
Swing bed programs are offered at Carle Eureka Hospital, Carle Hoopeston Regional Health Center and Carle Richland Memorial Hospital.
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