As we celebrate Vivage’s wonderful communities during this week’s 2018 National Nursing Home Week, please enjoy our “Celebration of Life’s Stories” that showcase our communities outstanding care and service to our guests and residents.

Today we showcase Clear Creek Care Center.

Clear Creek Care Center – A Leader in Rehabilitation SuccessDavid Carlson is a 69-year old man who had a massive stroke December 2017. Prior to his stroke, he was still working full time as a plumber in Bailey, CO. He spent nearly 2 months in the hospital before coming to Clear Creek Care Center in Westminster, CO for rehabilitation at the end of January 2018. Upon admission, David had a tracheotomy, was on four liters of oxygen, was not able to take food orally and had a continuous feed through a PEG tube, and had a dislocation of the right shoulder related to right hemiparesis. His initial therapy assessment MBI score was 23. He had a communication board and could answer yes/no questions but demonstrated severe/profound dysarthria with oral and verbal apraxia. David could walk 1-5 feet with the quad cane but had trouble with his right knee buckling at times. He required much assistance with bed mobility, dressing and had issues with his right upper extremity strength. He needed help sitting on the edge of the bed, and fatigued with sitting supported in his wheel chair after 30-40 minutes with very low scores on the Sitting Balance Assessment. He used a passey-muir valve for communication until the trach was pulled. We were very fortunate to have David at Clear Creek for 2 months. David was a very motivated, hard-working patient. He was able to wean of the supplemental oxygen and off the trach. He built strength in his legs and eventually could ambulate with a quad cane over 500’ on even and uneven terrain. At discharge he could negotiate 18 stairs with a single rail. He progressed to independent bed mobility, transfers, and toileting. He scored 44/56 on the Berg Balance assessment. Through the use of e-stim and a mirror box he regained significant function of his right arm and at discharge, no longer needed his sling. He continues to gain return of his right upper extremity function.David discharged on mechanical soft and thin liquids and was able to get 100% of his nutrition without needing the feeding tube. He had mild to moderate expressive aphasia, speaking in short sentences that were generally understood with extra time. Patients like David are why we love our rehabilitation programs and therapy services. David walked out of the building with his wife and family in tow with a whole bunch of smiles and proud tears from the staff at Clear Creek.