Helen Lamers has a zest for life and she keeps active with her family, friends and church community. It is hard to imagine that the energetic woman had lost the ability to walk in July of last year. After a fall in her home, Helen was diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome. As a result of the fall, she lost the ability to walk and needed emergency surgery to prevent permanent paralysis. The surgery went well and she was regaining complete movement in her legs when MRSA was discovered in her surgical site. A second surgery was performed and treatment with antibiotics began. Unfortunately for Helen the journey was still not over. Early in August a third surgery was needed to insert a wound vac. During that procedure doctors discovered that the MRSA had progressed significantly into her bones. The doctors placed a supportive cage in her back during the fourth surgery – a spinal fusion and corpectomy.

melbourne-terrace-rehabilitationEven though each surgery was necessary and successful, Helen had completely lost the ability to walk. She was moved to Melbourne Terrace Rehabilitation Center and began physical therapy within a few days. “My welcome to Melbourne Terrace was very memorable and emotional,” Helen said. “I was overwhelmed by the beauty and cleanliness of the facility, and the warm and friendly welcome from the nurses and administration.” 

Local skilled nursing facility, Melbourne Terrace Rehabilitation, couples a resort-style atmosphere with healing and recovery. The average stay is 28 days and patients, like Helen, optimally return home and get back to independence. 

“The melbourne terrace rehabilitation program is absolutely outstanding with the most incredible physical and occupational therapists and state of the art therapy equipment with over 5,000 square feet of therapy gyms.” – Helen Lamers

Helen’s ultimate goal was to walk again, although doctors were unsure what her prognosis would be and warned her family it would be at least six months to a year for her to walk again.

“The miracle is that I graduated from a wheel chair to a walker and walking with a cane in seven weeks!” said Helen. “I thank God for answered prayers.”  

Because of Melbourne Terrace’s reputation for patient triumphs like Helen’s, the facility has experienced a 90 plus percent occupancy. Additional beds were recently awarded based on the Certificate of Need program from the state of Florida. The Certificate of Need program is a regulatory process that requires certain health care providers to obtain state approval before offering certain new or expanded services.

With 132 beds and 68 private rooms, the facility relies on an inter-disciplinary approach. 

“We rely on an inter-disciplinary approach with our team of physical, occupational and speech therapists.” – Eric McKinney, NHA, Administrator at Melbourne Terrace

This inter-disciplinary approach also includes an advisory board of physicians who convene regularly to ensure more personalized care. This has resulted in a reduced return to hospital rate of 7.5 percent, a performance benchmark for rehabilitation facilities such as Melbourne Terrace. 

Melbourne Terrace Rehabilitation Center also earned a 5-star rating from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Five stars represent “excellent performance” in three categories – level of nurse staffing, quality of care, and history of inspection.

The earned survey results places them in the top 19.6 percent of nearly 16,000 health care centers in the nation, a distinction they’ve received for three consecutive years.

Besides the outstanding medical care, the facility offers amenities usually found in resorts like the fresh café and bistro, a surround sound entertainment center with a central fireplace along with numerous additional meeting spots, both indoor and outdoor gathering spots. 

“I will always remember with a thankful and grateful heart, the miracle and blessing of my healing journey at Melbourne Terrace Rehabilitation Center.”

Melbourne Terrace Rehabilitation Center offers comprehensive outpatient and inpatient therapy services for short or long term care. Call (321) 725-3990 to schedule a private tour. 


This article appears in the May 2015 issue of SpaceCoast Living HEALTH.
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