Rose Marie Dealbert: A Witherell Rehab Success Story
Witherell physical therapists Theo Guico (left) and Lorenzo Mastrangelo shown holding letters from Rose Marie Dealbert.
With all the pain she was experiencing, Greenwich resident Rose Marie Dealbert knew she was going to need a complete knee replacement.
“I was suffering every day. It was very hard to get around and walk up stairs,” she said. “And since I wanted to keep on going with my life — I have a grandson and a life to live — I decided to go ahead with the surgery.”
She also knew she would need to head post-operatively to a short-term rehabilitation facility because she lives by herself and would need help to perform her daily activities while recovering. Her son lives in Atlanta, GA and her daughter is in North Haven, Conn. with a young baby.
Dealbert, 63, had surgery at Stamford Hospital earlier this year and was referred to The Nathaniel Witherell for three weeks of short-term rehab by her insurance company. “I knew Witherell was a nursing home, but I had never heard about their rehab,” she says. She did not know what to expect. Yet, almost immediately, she said she was overwhelmingly impressed.
“The physical therapy was excellent and the environment was professional, caring, and happy,” she says. “I was very well cared for and felt like I was part of the family. I have only nice things to say about everybody.”
She described her physical therapist as “phenomenal.” “He took care of every issue and was on top of everything. He made sure to give me exercises to make my knee stronger, and gave me lots of encouragement − all with a smile.”
In addition to her physical therapist, Dealbert was so appreciative of the Witherell staff that she sent a thank you note (along with a lottery ticket) to each and every person who helped her. That’s over 25 people in total, including the cooks in Witherell’s Dining Services and the housekeeper who took care of her laundry.
“One nurse even put cream on my leg to make it feel softer and another brushed my hair,” says Dealbert. “I said to myself, I’m so lucky I ended up in the right place!”
Dealbert is now back at home. She can walk, cook, and drive, and is preparing to return this fall to her job working with special needs children in the Greenwich Pubic Schools.
“Everybody was amazing,” she says. “Now, if anyone asks me where to go for short-term rehab, I will definitely send them to Nathaniel Witherell.”
Nathaniel Witherell’s New Rehabilitation Center Witherell’s newly renovated short-term Rehabilitation Center offers individuals recovering from joint replacement surgery, cardiac events, stroke, or other serious illness the latest in physical and occupational therapy − as well as speech and language pathology services. Licensed therapists provide short-term rehab patients with therapy up to seven days a week. Witherell’s new 4,000-sqare-foot Rehabilitation Center features:
- Defined suites for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology services
- Training rooms for activities of daily living: kitchen, laundry, and bathroom
- State-of-the-art therapy equipment
- Modalities, electronic stimulation therapy (e-stim), ultrasound
- Fine and gross motor movement activities
- Cutting edge testing and intervention for cognitive, speech, and language impairment
- 42 private rooms adjacent to the Center available for comfortable and complete recuperation
