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Josephine Jackson-DeVore went to New Community Extended Care Facility for rehabilitation after a hospital stay. After less than four weeks, she was back home. Photo courtesy of Adrian DeVore.

Extended Care Rehab Helps Patients Recover and Return Home

In addition to providing quality long-term care for residents, New Community Extended Care Facility offers short-term rehabilitation for individuals in need of those services. These shorter stays allow for patients to recover and return home quickly.

Josephine Jackson-DeVore benefited from Extended Care’s rehabilitation services earlier this year. She had been a patient at University Hospital in Newark for a bladder infection when she fell. Hospital personnel suggested she participate in rehabilitation to help strengthen her and prevent future falls. She decided to become a patient at Extended Care because it was close to her home and her sister had a positive experience as a patient there for about nine months in 2016.

She is happy with her decision.

“The staff was absolutely wonderful. They were very supportive, encouraging and respectful,” Jackson-DeVore said. “The place was clean. They were very, very attentive to the COVID requirements. Every time I turned around, someone was sweeping or wiping down or checking to be sure that I had enough masks and things of that sort. It was just an overall very positive experience.”

New Community CEO Richard Rohrman isn’t surprised patients engaged in rehabilitation services at Extended Care are pleased with the care they receive. He said the facility supplies high-quality services in many areas.

“Our facility offers a wide variety of options for first-class care. There is the traditional long-term skilled care but we also have specialized care and activities for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other cognitive conditions,” he said. “Short-term rehabilitation care is a specialty that we take pride in and all of our services are delivered by an attentive and experienced staff.”

Jackson-DeVore was at Extended Care from Jan. 5 to 29. About a week after she returned home, her ex-husband, Jesse DeVore, who she described as her best friend who lives with her and their daughter, became ill.

“When the hospital suggested he go into rehab for strengthening, I immediately said he needs to go to New Community because of the experiences that I had,” Jackson-DeVore said.

DeVore went to Extended Care to work on his walking. He improved and was discharged home on Feb. 27.

Jackson-DeVore said the rehabilitation she received at Extended Care not only helped her improve her strength and balance while walking, but the therapists also provided exercises to help her with an old arm injury that she had sustained after a fall in the New York City subway.

“Before I knew it, my arm started responding. So I was very happy,” she said. “They’ll be continuing to work with me on both situations as an outpatient.”

New Community Chief Operating Officer Fred Hunter said Extended Care serves its patients well, crediting the efforts of the dedicated staff members at the facility.

“The Extended Care team provides a great service to our community, especially when it comes to skilled nursing care. The staff works tirelessly to provide our patients with the very best care,” he said. “We all have heard so many accounts told of bad nursing home experiences across the country, so to hear a wonderful story from several of our past residents just makes me feel so proud of the efforts of the Extended Care staff.”

Extended Care Administrator Veronica Onwunaka said Jackson-DeVore and DeVore were both model patients at the facility because they had positive attitudes and were willing to accept the treatment provided to them.

“That helped them allow us to give them services that resulted in them being able to recover quickly and them being able to go home to live their normal lives,” Onwunaka said. “We made sure the goals that they set were accomplished.”

Once their goals were met, Jackson-DeVore and DeVore were able to return home. Both are stronger now than they were before engaging in the rehabilitation services.

“Overall, I really appreciated the service that I received at New Community Extended Care Facility,” Jackson-DeVore said. “It was a blessing for me.”

New Community Extended Care Facility, 266 South Orange Ave., Newark, is a 180-bed skilled nursing facility that serves inner city seniors and disabled adults. The facility specializes in offering customized care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. For more information, visit newarknursinghome.org or call 973-624-2020.

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