Self-motivation plus restorative care equals full recovery for resident
Long-term care improves resident’s mobility in only five months
Thursday January 21, 2010 -- Deron Hamel
Self-motivation and enthusiasm, coupled with the staff members running Parkview Manor’s restorative-care program, were the main factors that saw Harold Durrer, affectionately known as Harley, make a full recovery and move back into the condominium he shares with his wife after only five months.

Durrer had suffered a stroke and a bad fall prior to moving into the Chesley long-term care home last May. Encouraged by his own motivation and will to recover, Durrer was well enough by September that he could move back home.

“They did a good job (and) it was a nice place to stay,” Durrer tells the Morning Report. “I really liked it there.”

Durrer was provided with a comprehensive rehabilitation program that included restorative care during his stay.

Only a couple of months after moving into Parkview Manor, he was walking outdoors and participating in outings, including a weekly fishing trip on the Saugeen River.

Carole Woods, Parkview Manor’s executive director, says Durrer’s “eternally optimistic outlook” was a key factor that helped him make a full recovery in only five months.

“I think a lot of it was his own demeanour and his personality,” she says.

Add this factor to the diligent efforts of the Revera-owned long-term care home’s staff members and you have an “equation for success,” Woods adds.

“Our restorative walking program played a huge part,” she says. “That’s not unusual in this home.”

Woods notes that moving back home was a “bittersweet decision” for Durrer.

“Harley loved living at Parkview,” she says.

Although Durrer is no longer a resident at Parkview Manor, he has maintained his friendship with everyone at the home, notes Woods.

“He has been back to visit since and we call him, so we’re still in contact,” she says.

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