Better quality of life the goal

Over the past decade, the Horowhenua Masonic Village's rehabilitation unit has taken in 400 hospital patients bound for long-term care and helped 80 of them to go home to live independently.

And yesterday some of those patients came together to celebrate 10 years of the unit's "slow stream" rehabilitation.

Manager Sue Maney said most of the others had regained a better quality of life, with many moving into rest homes instead of hospital level care.

Double amputee Neil Whale was one of the successes. A stroke patient with diabetes, he lost his second leg in March this year, and with a prosthetic fitted, is now up and about.

"I was told by two experts I would never walk again," he said.

He now lives on his own in Feilding, able to fix his own meals and only needs a caregiver's help for showering.

Another grateful client was Mona Christensen, who was paralysed by a stroke two years ago. Since her 12-week stay at the Village, she's been on two cruises and is now about to go to the gym five days a week while living in her Feilding home.

Ms Maney said while the two graduates were inspirational success stories, the goal of going home wasn't realistic for others.

But smaller things, like being able to tie shoelaces or manage their clothing so they could go to the toilet independently, also made a huge difference for some people.

Ms Maney had noticed over 10 years that the clients coming through were becoming more fragile with more complex needs.

"It's about quality of life. When somebody is able to stand for the first time after a stroke, that's a celebration," she said.

The rehabilitation project was set up in 2000 through the Health Ministry, with the MidCentral District Health Board picking up the contract in 2004.

The extra 12 weeks of rehabilitation it provides for people discharged from the public hospital's rehab centre is more comprehensive than any other aged care-based service in New Zealand, Ms Maney said.

- © Fairfax NZ News