07/25/08

Return VIsit

by SuzanneHildebrand

We are now back at RIOSA. We were here previously when my husband suffered a brain hemorrhage in April. Due to the excellent care he received , he was almost back to normal when he fell as the result of negligence at a local hospital. The fall was devastating to him physically and neurologically. He is worse now than he was after the stroke. We knew he had to return to RIOSA for rehab as they have equipment other facilities don't have, they have a large facility and they are a dedicated rehab facility, not a nursing home or hospital whose primary focus is medical. Primarily is the quality of care from the therapists whose knowledge and dedication are critical to the success of the patient. RIOSA provides the best rehab and he is making progress, though it is slower this time due to the injuries. He feels safe here and I am confident enough in their care that I will leave him for a few hours. The one time I left him prior to this visit, is when he fell at the hospital. That taught me a lesson that I won't ever forget. The continuity of care, with the therapists who are knowledgeable about him and his comfort level with them benefits him greatly. He trusts them and they know him well enough to know if something is wrong. He responds to them more than he would a stranger. I am happy to report that RIOSA is still the best in my opinion.

• Pros: Care, compassion
• Cons: None

06/29/08

Objective rating from an insider....

by hnybmrb

As someone who has been employed at RIOSA, I can say that there are definate pro's and con's about RIOSA, but more pro's than cons. If you are willing, able, and need to have 3 hours of therapy every day, I definately recommend it.

The licensed therapists all have either master's or doctorates, so they really know what they're doing. It is true that there is unlicensed help, but they only strictly follow what the therapist tells them to do with the patients. They are called Techs. Most techs are already studying therapy or applying to therapy schools, which says alot for RIOSA because at most other facilities, techs are just anyone you could pull off the street. Everybody in our rehab department has a true love for making people well and work to their maximal potential each and every day to see that happen.

Therapy and nursing are slightly under staffed at this time, so things are kind of hectic, especially with all the renovations going on, but we are trying to resolve that as fast as possible. We do have a lot of contract nurses right now, which makes it difficult to get top notch nursing care, because most aren't around long enough to "learn the ropes" so to speak, and so patient care decreases subsequently.

As for the Doctor with a few seconds comment below... I have never seen more attentive doctors than the ones at RIOSA. These doctors even come down to the therapy gym to check on their patients! All the other hospitals I have worked at, the doc is in the room for 2 seconds, does a quick screen, asks 2-5 questions, and is out... no time for patient questions, leave those to the nurse. The food is bad, and the cafeteria's only open during lunch mon-fri. And case managers are awesome and on the ball with getting exactly what the patient needs. Our cognitive therapy is top notch.

If you need aggressive neuro rehab I wouldn't recommend anywhere else, but don't come if you just want pampered all day long. You will be here to work to get better.

• Pros: docs, therapy service/knowledge, parking, effectiveness of rehab
• Cons: food, nurse service

04/13/08

DO NOT GO THERE

by LRAVEN101

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE! THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER HOSPITALS YOU COULD GO TO, DO NOT PICK THIS ONE. EVERYTHING IS NOT RIGHT, I FEEL THAT THEY GET BY WITH UNLICENSED STAFF AS WELL. MY FAMILY MEMBER WAS TREATED HORRIBLE, AND THEY WERE OVER MEDICATED AT TIMES. IF YOU DOCTOR, OR FAMILY RECOMMEND THIS HOSPITAL DO NOT LISTEN.

• Pros: PARKING IS FREE
• Cons: STAFF, TV'S, AND FOOD

04/13/08

UNLICENSED STAFF

by 12God

I would not recommend this place to anybody!! Let me tell you why, first of all most of the CNA's(certified nurses assistants) are inmature, rude and ignore you. They are usually the first people you see, the nurses are all different every night, they are hired through agency, so they do not know what they are doing, hardly anyone reads your chart, when you are needing something. The LVN's(licensed vocational nurses), were giving me the wrong dosage of medicines at times, I had to point out to them, "should'nt I be taking half of the pill?", and the LVN would then say "oh yeah, let me cut it in half". The doctor does see you daily, but only gives you about 2 minutes of his time, and when you have questions, he looks at his watch, like hurry it up. When you suggest something, the doctor, looks at you like I am the one with the PHD, I KNOW BEST, your suggestions are not for me to take into consideration. I could have died, with massive edema. This is when your body swells up with water retention. The doctor kept saying it was weight gain. The therapists, some of them are students, that have not even went to school to be a therapist yet. So they are hiring student therapists that are not even in school yet, and not licensed. I do not think that my insurance should pay this place, because I was mostly with unlicensed therapists. Well I decided to leave on my own, since the doctor had too much pride to apologize for such rude comments. So far I have been gone for a couple of days and lost 13 pounds, due to the massive edema, and I am still losing weight. PLEASE DO NOT GO HERE, GOD LOVES YOU, YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER, MAYBE AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER THIS PLACE WAS A GOOD ONE, BUT NOW THIS PLACE IS BAD FOR ANY PATIENT. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYBODY!!!!!!LISTEN, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE!!!!DON'T LIVE PART OF IT IN RIOSA!!!!!!

• Pros: NOTHING
• Cons: EVERYTHING, FOOD IS HORRIBLE, TAKE A LESSON FROM NW CHRISTUS SANTA ROSA

04/03/08

Really cares about the patient and their family

by sldcpd

Our son had a head-on collision in Dec., 07 and suffered a brain injury among several other injuries. We took him to RIOSA , San Antonio on recomendation from a family member for re-hab. We have been so thankful that we made that decision because our son has improved by leaps and bounds and will hopefully be fully recovered soon. The staff at RIOSA really cared about my son and his family and did everything to help us mentally and physically to recover from this catastrophic event and we will be forever in their debt.

03/16/08

Tops in their field

by sanantonionurse

A good friend of mine was recently a patient at RIOSA and I would not recommend anyplace else if you have a loved one that has had a traumatic injury or illness such as a stroke. Several choices were given for rehab after the initial hospital stay. After touring RIOSA it was obvious these guys really knew what they were doing! They have state of the art equipment that wasn't found at any of the other facilities with a huge gym. They have neurologists there as well as doctors that specialize in rehab medicine. The nurses and therapists were excellent. They really made us feel at home and at ease and explained the rehab process. My friend was very fortunate to have had this place as an option. It took a lot of hard work and dedication on her part, but with the therapists encouraging her to work a little harder each time, she was able to return home. I don't think she would have been walking today without it. If I ever have to go for rehab this is definitely the place I want to be at. They are true experts in their field! Kudos to all of you!

• Pros: The parking is free. the facility is all one level. They have an outdoor garden area where patients can enjoy the outdoors

03/12/08

The best place in SA for REHAB!

by riosafan

I recently came across this website and found the comments regarding RIOSA completely unfounded. A close family friend of ours was recently admitted to RIOSA after suffering a stroke this past October. His family had wanted him to go to a rehabilitation hospital upon discharge, but they were directed to a skilled nursing rehab facility because his managed care provider did not feel he needed 3 hours of rehab. One month later, he was moved from the skilled rehab side of the nursing home to the residential side because of his depression and incontinence. As a case manager in a local hospital, I advised the family to get him back on Medicare so they would have a choice of where to go for inpatient rehabilitation services. It took several months but he finally became eligible for Medicare again and was transferred to RIOSA this past January. I visited him every week and was amazed at the transition I witnessed over a 3 week period. He went from sitting in a wheel chair all day, hunched over and withdrawn, to a smiling and positive person that is now walking with a cane and able to go back home with his family. He had received bowel and bladder training for his incontinence and benefited from the bioness technology that helped return function to his left hand. When I asked him what he liked best about rehab, he said it was being in an environment where everyone was focused on getting him well so he could go home. He said the therapists were amazing! He liked being in the gym because he saw other patients like himself working hard and getting stronger each day. He finished inpatient therapy in February and now goes to outpatient therapy there 3x a week. I ran into him and his wife the other day and they can?t say enough nice things about the staff and the difference RIOSA made in their lives. As a healthcare professional, I encourage you to check it out yourself before making a decision. I'm confident you will see what I have seen after you tour and speak with staff.

03/03/08

Please do not put a loved one here!!!

by mbrownhouse

My dad was put in there after a stroke. He was not there even 24 hours. The nurses were extremely rude when we called to check on him. They said they tried to serve him breakfast and he wouldn't wake up. He was there 5 hours unconscious before they called 911. He was transported and passed away 2 weeks later in ICU, never regaining consciousness. When asked about this we got mixed stories and the nurses claimed they never read his charts because they hadn't had time. Well, he suffered another stroke in RIOSA's care and they let him suffer until they decided that since the family was rushing over there they better call 911. If you can avoid this place. DO!!!! I don't know if what happened could have prevented, but maybe my dad would have gotten the help he needed quicker if they had paid any attention to him. I hope this never happens to another family. This was so heartbreaking!!

• Cons: Staff was horrible!! Very unfriendy and unattentive!!

02/26/08

Don't go there

by SchnitzelsMom

I called my husbands doctor and spoke with him after my husband was in this facility for less than two days. I checked my husband out of the facility after speaking with his surgeon. My husband had a massive back surgery and required rehabilitation. Here are just a couple of things that happened within the two days at RIOSA. My husband was taken outside to visit with me and our Chihuahua. About 3 hours later the occupational therapist comes outside and says in a disgusted voice. "So there you are, I've been looking for you all day." Wouldn't a medical professional have questioned a patient?s whereabouts if they were not able to be found? Also, when she brought my husband back to his room she placed him on a potty chair. (Took long to get one. The bathroom commode is to low to get off of. He used it once and had to really strain to get off of it; isn't good for his back. The woman left him in his room with no call button pulled the drape and closed his door. He sat on the commode for over 1/2 hour he banged on walls, was knocking on the floor with his walker and yelling. A person who just had back surgery shouldn't endure this type of movement. Then when someone finally came they put him in bed laying flat left no controls or call button and just left him there. The clincher is that the nurse was going to wipe the port to my husbands pick line with a paper towel until he told her to use an alcohol swab. Oh yeah another thing is the food. Our dog wouldn't even eat it. While there another patient died. My husband was afraid he would be the next to go while in their care. I wrote our insurance and said I don't think they should be paid since they didn't provide the care they are contracted to give.

• Pros: Check in nurse was nice.
• Cons: outdated equipment and not proper type for certain individuals, terrible care

10/25/07

Health South RIOSA

by tttsss

My dad was recently at Health South Riosa for rehab for hip replacement therapy for 2 1/2 wks, case manager was very nice, nurses seemed like they could care less if they were there or not, if you went to the nurses station they all just stood around, and wouldn't even acknowledge I was standing there to ask someone a question, also my dad got scabies from there, do not send your loved ones there to stay, outpatient therapy only is my recommendation.

• Pros: nice case manager, Mrs. Castillo
• Cons: unsanitary, scabies