Print Friendly VersionSpotlight Archive
Spotlight March 2006
Sally’s Story
Sally is a young woman who lived in Florida with her parents. When her mother died, her dad could no longer take care of all of her needs. She moved in with a sister in the Midwest, and her sister could no longer take care of her because of her disability-related needs. She then entered a nursing home in Wisconsin. Shortly after she moved to a nursing home, she contacted IndependenceFirst for help getting back into the community, with services.
Staff in the nursing home transition program at IndependenceFirst assisted Sally in accessing county support and services, personal care and adaptive equipment. After three years in a nursing home, Sally was very happy to move into her own place and live independently in the community.
Sally now has the supports she needs to live fully in the community. She has lived in two apartments since she left the nursing home and has had a number of roommates. She attends programming at a Day Program two days a week and enjoys talking to other consumers there. She keeps herself busy other days by bowling, swimming, dancing, playing cards and scrabble. She bought a computer, and she loves to work on the computer. Staff at IndependenceFirst also assisted her with identifying technology to access the computer more smoothly.
When asked if she had anything she’d like to say about nursing home transition, Sally stated, "It’s worth getting out of a nursing home. It’s freedom."