Reliable, Local Care Offers Support for Ongoing Recovery [Roxie Corbett]

This video shares Roxanne Corbett’s experience with serious illness and the ongoing recovery support she received through Brookings Health System. It highlights how coordinated, local care—including swing bed services, therapy, and regular antibiotic infusions—helps patients transition from hospitalization to recovery while staying close to home.

  • Local, coordinated care supports long-term recovery: Ongoing treatment, therapy, and monitoring help patients regain independence after serious illness.
  • Swing bed care bridges hospital and home: Patients receive continued medical support and rehabilitation while preparing to return home safely.
  • Therapy plays a critical role in recovery: Physical and occupational therapy help rebuild strength and mobility after extended hospitalization.
  • Consistent, accessible treatment improves outcomes: Regular antibiotic infusions and follow-up care ensure steady progress and monitoring.
  • Compassionate staff enhance the recovery experience: Supportive nurses, therapists, and physicians make ongoing care more comfortable and encouraging.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ongoing recovery support is continued medical care and rehabilitation provided after a serious illness or hospitalization to help patients regain strength, manage treatment, and safely transition back to daily life, often including swing bed care, therapy services, medication management, and regular follow-up treatments.

Ongoing recovery support is recommended when a patient still requires medical monitoring, rehabilitation, or treatment after acute hospital care, and doctors evaluate mobility, strength, medication needs, and overall stability to determine if continued care is necessary.

Alternatives include returning home with home health services, transferring to a rehabilitation center, or receiving care at a larger regional hospital, with the best option depending on the patient’s medical needs, support system, and access to local care.

Without ongoing recovery support, patients may experience delayed healing, reduced mobility, medication complications, or hospital readmission, and structured follow-up care helps reduce these risks and supports a safer recovery.

Ongoing recovery support may include antibiotic infusions, physical therapy, occupational therapy, medication management, and regular medical monitoring to help patients continue healing while staying close to home and maintaining independence.

Video Transcript

I'm Roxanne Corbett. I have lived in Brookings for 52 years. I grew up in Watertown, South Dakota. I am a glass artist.

What brought you to the Brookings Health System ER?

I contracted Influenza A and got very sick, and so my doctor decided I should come to the hospital.

Why were you transferred to Sioux Falls?

They decided I needed to see a pulmonologist, and since there were none here, they transferred me to Avera. 

What was your diagnosis?

I was diagnosed with something called Nocardia infection, something quite rare. For me, it settled in my lungs, and I had bad pneumonia. And it also has... I have two abscesses in my brain that are...those are the ones that are having trouble going away.

Why were you transferred to swing bed care in Brookings?

I was in either here or Avera for three months, with as long as I was in the hospital to acclimate myself between home and hospital.

What was your impression of the doctors and staff?

I thought they were wonderful. They listened to you. I had questions about some of my medications. The doctors sat down with me and explained everything, and it was all good.

What benchmarks did you need to meet before leaving swing bed?

To be able to function on my own, and I didn't go home right away when I got there. It wasn't until closer to the end. I had to do physical therapy and occupational therapy, because after being in a bed all that time, I had trouble walking. So I had wonderful, wonderful people helping me, and eventually I could walk.

How did the staff treat you and your husband?

Oh, they treated us wonderfully. We had great, great staff. I can't say enough good about them. Keith and I would...I'd get out my walker, and Keith would be beside me, and we would walk around the circle. And there was a nurse sitting at one of the desks there, and she'd say, "One, two," counting our laps. Yeah, it was fun.

How are you today?

Well, I'm not coughing all the time. I do still have...sometimes I have to think to come up with an answer for something because of those abscesses in my brain. But they are shrinking also. But it's going to be a long road for me.

What is your ongoing treatment?

Lots of antibiotics. And right now, I go to the emergency department at the hospital here every 12 hours for a half-hour infusion of antibiotic.

What did you appreciate most about your care?

Oh, gosh. I appreciated everything. They were...the nurses and the caretakers were all wonderful.

Why do you recommend Brookings Health System?

It's close to home. The staff is wonderful. That's all I can say is wonderful. And like physical therapy, occupational therapy, they were great too. They worked with me as much as they could and got me back to walking and doing things. So, yeah, I appreciate being able to come here twice a day and get the care I need. And they're always cheerful and ready for me and cover me with a nice warm blanket.

Are you one of Brookings patients who would like to give back to us? Learn more about how you can give back at brookingshealth.org/MyThanks.

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