Ashlee: Love, Hope, Compassion and Healing
Every teenager looks forward to getting their driver’s license, and 15-year-old Ashlee was no different. But a terrible accident cut her driving experience short. Tragedy literally struck Ashlee on one of her first drives when a drunk driver hit her car. She suffered severe head injury as well as orthopedic injuries from the accident. Initially treated at the Level I Trauma Unit, she was referred and transferred to Tulane’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Ashlee’s situation was serious. She was on a ventilator and in a coma, a state in which she remained for nearly a month.
Once Ashlee stabilized, her insurance carrier wanted her transferred to an in-network facility, but she was denied admission to three different long-term acute care hospitals because none were equipped to handle the complexity of her care. Kindred Hospital New Orleans was the only LTAC hospital to accept Ashlee as a patient, and she was quickly moved to its ICU.
The Kindred team of physicians, nurses, specialists and therapists went out of their way to make Ashlee’s stay as comfortable as possible. The ICU room was transformed to accommodate the family for overnight stays, including computer access and the serving of occasional meals. The staff was prepared for psychosocial needs, and the respiratory and nursing departments were fully equipped to handle Ashlee before her arrival.
To further help out, Kindred donated paper supplies, and many of the staff at Kindred Hospital New Orleans purchased tickets to a spaghetti dinner in Ashlee’s honor. The hospital’s CEO attended the benefit in the family’s hometown.
Once Ashlee was settled, treatment began, consisting of intense physical therapy, nutritional support and respiratory therapy. Ashlee was able to come off her ventilator but had a tracheostomy in place. After two weeks of medical management, she was transferred to a rehab facility as originally planned.
Ashlee is home now and progressing well. Her parents are very pleased with the care and compassion Ashlee received at Kindred. They often return to Kindred Hospital New Orleans to update the staff that cared for their daughter. The family also hosts an online blog where they offer updates on Ashlee’s condition.
“We will never forget the love, hope, and compassion we felt during our stay at Kindred Hospital,” one family member wrote. “We certainly have made more friends for life.”
Kindred Hospital New Orleans’ success is apparent in stories like these as well as in our quality scores – our patients and families rate our quality of care at 98.8 percent and over 99 percent would recommend Kindred.