“Falling has not been a problem for me. But when I took one step out the door to pick up the paper on a cold morning in January, I didn’t realize I was stepping onto ice. In a matter of seconds, I was on the ground and couldn’t get up. I had broken my femur, which is the biggest bone in the human body.
My husband contacted emergency help through our Emergency Response System button that had been provided by Friendship at Home and help was here in a few minutes to take me to the hospital. I was there for four days and then ready to move to a nursing facility for rehab.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to try to figure out what to do because Nicole from Friendship at Home was there. She took care of so many things that could have been a challenge to me and then she worked with the social worker at the rehab center I chose. She arranged the transportation, and made sure that there was a room available for me and probably did some things that I wasn’t even aware of.
While I was in rehab, Nicole visited regularly to make sure that everything was going smoothly. I had both physical and occupational therapy daily and that continued even after I came home. She came to our house to help make sure that everything was ready for my return home.
The financial coverage that comes with our Friendship at Home membership was an important part of this experience. Rehab took almost 5 weeks and you know how expensive that could have been.
After 3 weeks in rehab, I was surprised to hear on Feb. 1 that Aetna insurance was ending my Medicare payments for the room and services at Friendship Village Health Center on Feb. 2. I heard this from the social worker at Friendship Village and she told me it was not unusual or unexpected. I would have panicked had it not been for her calm demeanor as she told me how to appeal this and told me that she had already talked to Nicole. When my appeal was refused, I knew that I wasn’t ready to go home and it was so good to have Nicole at my side to assure me that I didn’t need to worry. So I didn’t.
It was wonderful to get through all of this without having to make all the contacts and plans that a professional social worker knows how to do. My husband and I think that joining Friendship at Home was such a smart thing to do. I hope we never need this kind of service again, but if something happens it’s so good to have Friendship in our home.”
— Friendship at Home Member Since 2017