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BrightStar Care Salt Lake City Caregiver Story

June 8, 2020

A Salt Lake City Client Story - Meet the “Posse” Care Team


Rehabbing from a spinal cord injury is a daunting process. It is not for the faint of heart and it cannot be done alone. Meet Forrest J Hess – Joe and Kim Aledo (names used with permission) from Yerington, Nevada. Joe was injured at work in the late summer of 2019 and transported to Salt Lake City where he spent several months at the University of Utah Hospital on the neuro-rehab unit. Wife Kim has been with him every step of the way. Post-hospital discharge is when BrightStar Care entered the picture.

Last fall we started providing 24/7 care at Legacy Sugarhouse mostly with nurses but also with CNAs trained in nursing delegations. Start-up was a bit rough. There were the hurdles of finding the right staff for this highly technical situation, getting supplies and equipment under control and coordinating care with worker’s comp, the rehab team from the U, and later (especially during the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic) Rehab Without Walls. Thanksgiving time brought a set back with a week-plus hospitalization for a heart problem. And then there came Covid-19 and the curtailment of clinic rehab and the advent of virtual medical appointments. During this entire time, the goal of Joe and Kim has been to return to Yerington and get back to friends and family and their home. Day by day and week by week the “Joe Team” or “Posse” as they have come to be called have been there for Joe and Kim, celebrating milestones, working out problems, giving emotional support, being with them at medical and therapy appointments and helping all involved with the goal of functional progress.

Most recently the team cut back on hours, helping Kim to take over some of the care responsibilities so that she will be more prepared when they return to Nevada. At this time Joe and Kim are waiting for the finalization of arrangements for and completion of the renovation of their new house in Yerington. And while they wait Joe is increasing in strength and function and Kim is fine-tuning her caregiving skills.

And our team? Below is a picture of the whole team in late April with Joe and Kim at Sugarhouse Park. Kim mounted the photo and presented it to Joe at his birthday party with some of The Posse and their families in attendance at a park pavilion in Sugarhouse on 5/28/20. Go Joe! Go Kim! We are behind you both and will be sad but also happy for you when you return to Nevada. And we promise you a grand send-off that you will not forget.

BrightStar Care of Salt Lake City provides 24/7 to Hourly Private Duty Home Health Care and Medical Staffing Services.

We offer support around the clock, providing a full continuum of private duty health care services and medical staffing services. We proudly serve Mountainside, Sandy Draper, Midvale, Salt Lake City, Park City, South Salt Lake, Millcreek, Holladay, Ogden, Orem/Provo, and Murray in UT.   

For more information on how BrightStar Care supports Salt Lake City’s essential businesses, and to learn more about our local team of caregivers, skilled healthcare professionals – please Click Here or Call us at 801-559-3999.