Thank You, Roger!

"I like the activities we do here. Playing cards is my favorite, but we also do puzzles, games, etc. We even have a coffee hour to just plain talk and really get to know each other."

I was diagnosed with cancer back in June of this year. After being at two other treatment centers, I came to MediLodge of Gaylord to get my strength back. After six weeks, I’ve been able to go from hardly walking at all to walking over 1,000 feet at a time. They are just great people, from the therapists down to the aides. It’s just a great place to get treatment. They can help you with whatever you have going on.

I chose MediLodge of Gaylord for myself to receive physical therapy and I am happy that I did. I can’t say that there was a specific department or person that stood out amongst the rest because everybody is somebody. Everyone here is very important and wonderful. It doesn’t matter what job they held; Nurse, Kitchen staff, Housekeeping, Office staff or any other job in between. Everybody works hard to do such a great job. I was very well cared for here. Everyone treated me with respect and I would recommend MediLodge of Gaylord to anyone who may need care. I would also like to add that I am very appreciative to every staff member here and they deserve to be given respect, honor and dignity for all of their hard work.

Everyone – custodians, nurses, doctors, aides – are great at MediLodge of Gaylord! It was such an uplifting experience to have so many care for me like they did. MediLodge of Gaylord is a wonderful place to receive care.

I chose MediLodge of Gaylord because I had been there before and I really liked how they treated me. All of the staff members are extremely nice, caring and helpful. The Therapy department stands out to me the most. They really work with you and don’t rush you. They take your needs and limits into consideration and do not push you too hard past your limits.

On December 27th, 2019, my mother suffered a significant CVA on the right side of her brain while at home alone, leaving her with full left-sided deficits. She was at an in-patient rehab prior to coming to MediLodge of Gaylord. Although she made progress there, her significant improvement started at your facility.

The person in charge of intake, Della, worked very hard at getting her into MediLodge of Gaylord and kept our family updated on the status of her intake. When she arrived, she had little to no movement on her left arm, and on the day of her discharge (2/22/19), she was able to play cards, hold things with her left hand, and walk with assistance. More importantly, she has hope that she will lead an independent life again. Anyone who has ever had their independence removed from them goes through depression and a period where they wonder if their life will ever again be the same. Dealing with this frustration and keeping a positive attitude is not easy.

The staff at your MediLodge of Gaylord encouraged a positive attitude and made her feel comfortable. Every day that I visited, I would hear wonderful stories about the staff that was making an impact on her life at MediLodge. I would hear about how Ashley, her physical therapist had worked her so hard in therapy that she could barely move, but how much fun she was and how much more fun she made therapy. I heard how her CNA, Nicole, was always helping her with the little things like getting dressed and using the restroom with dignity and other daily things. Your nursing program made sure that she was taking her daily medication on-time and was always evaluating the need for more and/or less.

The weekly care meetings that family was included in were very well done, where my mother was asked what was working and what was not. She was asked if there was anything that MediLodge of Gaylord could do to make things better for her. She enjoyed the daily activities that aided her physical therapy, like the balloon game and bingo! I firmly believe that the environment created by staff and residents alike contributed greatly to her recovery and forward progress.

Although the road to complete recovery will be long, I believe that your facility and staff have laid a stable and firm path to build on and our family is very thankful that she [my mother] was at this facility. From the entire family of Diana Salyers, we thank all of you for creating a safe and nurturing environment that has allowed her to go home. Your staff should all be very proud!

Sincerely, Pete Nicholson and the rest of Diana Salyers family!

I didn't know what to expect of MediLodge and all its employees, but I was pleasantly surprised. My first day was busy meeting with silly Della, and then there was Dorothy, social service and the dietician, and the doctor. The days flew by. As I started to settle in, I started meeting some more fantastic people. The day nurses Alicia and Crystal, to name a couple than night time nurses Lauren and deb, to name a couple. Then there are the CNA'S and CENA'S Kelly, John, Damien, and Tyler. I haven't learned everyone's name, unfortunately. And I can't forget the ladies that give the showers, Sandy and Nicole. My goal to leave here was the fantastic therapy team, who don't like taking no for an answer. I worked with just about everyone on there, including Barb, Todd, Tim, Leo, and Ashley. I loved the different activities they offer here, such as Bingo, Bounce Ball, Activities Cart, to name a few. All in all, my stay here was a lot more than I expected. I can't thank you all enough.

This is a little late, but better late than never. Several months ago, the Herald Times printed a letter about the dedication of a MediLodge of Gaylord employee. I recently experienced a similar situation. My husband, Leonard, was at Munson Healthcare Otsego Memorial Hospital for five days before he passed away in December. Prior to his hospital stay, he had been at MediLodge of Gaylord for several years. Dan Peters, another dedicated MediLodge employee, visited by husband every day at OMH. In addition, he called me every night to make sure that I was alright. I was very appreciative because I have no family close by and I thank him for being such a caring person and friend. (Taken from Gaylord Herald Times | OPINION: https://www.petoskeynews.com/gaylord/news/opinion/opinion-letter-to-the-editor-medilodge-employee-went-above-and/article_932d1703-b331-5118-83bd-6c566ba6a55c.html)

To the staff and workers of MediLodge, The MacDonald family would like to thank you for the wonderful care of our mom; Carol MacDonald received while living there. She loved you all very much, and we loved it when we walked in and could hear her laugh because one of you would take the extra time to make her day and make her laugh. We also liked when we could come, and one or two of you would be comforting her. We are all going to miss her yaya's and again thank you very much.

Dear Staff + Friends Just a brief thank you for all of the love and care I received over the past six weeks here. Tomorrow I go home to Pellston. I will miss everyone. My favorite pastime was watching the fish and garden! I am planning on getting some fish when I get home as they are easy, fun companions! Keep up the wonderful work, and I will be back to visit soon.