Who Says You Can't Go Home?
When this Red Bank local found herself in an unexpected medical crisis, her community hospital helped put her on the road to recovery, with a little help from Meridian At Home.

Nothing made Margaret Seuffert feel more at home after her emergency gallbladder surgery than being cared for by Meridian At Home, right where she most wanted to be.

Margaret Seuffert, 82, of Red Bank realized the need for a little extra help this past year when she had to undergo emergency medical surgery and needed assistance afterward in her home to help with daily activities. "It all began when I was at home one evening and began to experience excruciating pain," Margaret relates. "The sharp pain was above my navel and spread across my stomach. I knew something was terribly wrong, so I called 911 right away and was rushed to Riverview Medical Center." Upon arrival to the Emergency Department, Margaret was diagnosed with a ruptured gallbladder and scheduled for emergency surgery.

The Comforts of Home
After her successful surgery, Margaret spent a few days recovering at Riverview before she was discharged. "The care in the hospital was great, but I couldn’t wait to get back home and recover in the privacy and comfort of my own home," recalls Margaret. However, recovery at home can’t always be done alone. Luckily for Margaret, she was aware of Meridian At Home — a service designed with the patient’s wishes in mind.

Meridian At Home offers a complete range of innovative service options right in the client’s/family’s home. As varied as the available services are, they all share one common goal: to provide individualized solutions to health care needs in order to keep patients and their families living well at home and in charge of their lives, throughout their lives.

As Michelle Mendelson, director of Meridian At Home, explains: "Meridian At Home provides everything from traditional in-home nursing care to rehabilitative therapy, from part-time aid to live-in home assistance. Meridian At Home delivers the kind of care our clients want, when they want it and for as long as they need it. All in all, we offer New Jersey’s most comprehensive range of at-home services. With just one phone call, patients can keep living well and independently in the privacy of their own homes."

A Trusted Source for Care
"When I came home," Margaret notes, "I had both a nurse and an aide who visited me. They were both excellent, and the care felt personal and safe — I trusted them." Michelle was happy to hear about Margaret’s comfort level with her caregivers because Meridian At Home devotes special attention to ensuring that all clients feel safe and secure. In fact, as part of the Meridian Health family, home to the region’s premier hospitals and health care services, no one provides more trusted, compassionate, and professional assistance for living well at home than Meridian At Home.

By offering state-of-the-art in-home technologies, highly credentialed staff members, and unparalleled personalized service, Meridian At Home is committed to making clients feel utterly comfortable and confident in every service they receive.

Knowing You Have a Choice
After an illness or serious injury, it can be difficult for some people to accept that they now need to rely on others to do things they’ve always been able to do for themselves. But the reality is, you either have to accept help to continue enjoying your way of life — including things like shopping, making social visits, attending religious services, even living independently — or you have to go without these things for a while.

Meridian At Home understands this reality and is dedicated to making it as easy as possible for clients, minimizing personal sacrifices and loss of privacy and maximizing independence and freedom at home. Patients take great comfort in knowing that this service offers an array of choices that maintain the lifestyle they enjoy but provide the professional health care they need to recover and heal properly.

Just ask Margaret what kind of difference this option made for her: "Recovering where I was comfortable was very important to me, and I am grateful for the care I received from Meridian At Home," she says. "Everyone was so helpful and respectful, and when you are not feeling your best, those qualities really matter. I would recommend Meridian At Home to anyone who needed a little extra help, be it after surgery or just helping you maintain your way of life."

– Jennette MacLachlan