WELLSVILLE, NY– If you are considering a total knee or hip
replacement, you don’t need to go to a large, out-of-town facility for high
quality, comprehensive orthopedic care! Just ask Steve Stout – he came to Jones
Memorial for surgery, recovery, and rehab and he wouldn’t have done it any
other way.
It all started seven years ago for the Wellsville resident
and retired business man. That’s when Steve had a heart attack and stroke,
followed by bi-pass surgery at UR Medicine and the Cardiac Rehab program at
Jones Memorial. “As part of the recovery, I started walking three to six miles
a day on the sidewalks and streets in Wellsville and I guess I wore out my
knee,” he said. The knee pain brought him to Dr. Paul Axtell and the
orthopaedic clinic at Jones Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Axtell ordered an x-ray, which didn’t reveal any obvious
cause of knee pain. So after a shot of cortisone for the pain, Steve picked up
where he left off. A few weeks later, Dr. Axtell called to see how he was
doing. When Steve told him the pain was still there, Dr. Axtell suggested an
MRI to take a closer look at what might be going on. A walk on the beach during
a trip to Florida convinced Steve and he had the MRI when he got back to
Wellsville. After looking at the results, Dr. Axtell recommended a total knee
replacement.
“I started talking to people about it and, of course,
everyone has a different opinion about where to go and who should do the
surgery,” Steve said. “But ultimately, it came down to this: Dr. Axtell treated
me very well, his office staff is wonderful, having the surgery in Wellsville
was convenient, and I knew how good the rehab staff was from my Cardiac Rehab.”
The plan after surgery was to rearrange the house to
accommodate his recovery, including moving a bed into the living room. “After
surgery, I heard about the Swing Bed Program and I liked the idea of staying in
the hospital instead of going home.” The Swing Bed program is for inpatients
who no longer need hospitalization, but are not physically ready to return
home. The actual room does not change
when patients are transitioned to a swing bed, but the focus of their care
does. Swing bed patients receive nursing support and physical therapy.
“I was getting out on Friday and on the weekends, nothing is
available as an outpatient,” he said. “By transitioning to a swing bed, I could
start rehab immediately and both I and my wife were more comfortable starting
my recovery in the hospital setting.” When Steve went home a week later, he had
a good start on his recovery and his rehab program. “My wife and I were both
happy that I stayed an extra couple of days for swing bed care,” he said.
When it came to rehab, “I got what I wanted: An aggressive
physical therapy program,” he said, noting that he has continued coming to
Jones for the Cardiac Rehab program since his heart attack. He now mixes in
some of the leg exercises that Physical Therapist Shanna Winters recommended
for him after his knee replacement. “I’m glad I got it done, and I’m glad I got
it done at Jones,” said Steve. “I could not have gotten better care – or a
better result – anywhere else.”
For more information about the comprehensive orthopaedic
services available at Jones Memorial, talk to your healthcare provider or call
the Orthopaedic Clinic at (585) 596-2054.