At 86 years old, Dorothy Hadley doesn’t whisper her age, she celebrates it. “None of my family made it this far. I’m proud of it,” she said with a smile. But just a few years ago, her life changed in many ways.
“I broke my hip dancing Zumba at 79,” Dorothy recalled. “I didn’t feel my age but after that I went from feeling 45 to 90 all at once.” What followed were multiple surgeries that cut her from hip to knee for rod placement, setbacks and two more devastating falls that broke the thigh bone in her already injured leg and displaced the patella on her opposite knee.
After months of hospitals and procedures, she needed more treatment, more strength, more safety and a team to care for her. “I like my independence you know,” Dorothy said. “But you can’t be totally independent and be safe in this instance. It felt more important to be safe.” She found everything she needed in the Extended Care program at Greene County Medical Center.
But coming to the medical center was not unfamiliar territory for Dorothy. For more than 25 years, she served as an activity director for the long-term care department. She planned programs, comforted families and advocated for residents, and now found herself on the other side of care.
Dorothy spent about three months in the program, and when asked what her experience was like, she replied, “Well, I thought it felt like I was in a spa. I got the whirlpool twice a week. The food is great; there is a lot that is fresh made.”
But it wasn’t just the amenities. It was the people. “Stay here,” she firmly stated. “They took really, really good care of me.”
After difficult experiences, numerous falls and a lot of pain, Dorothy said the difference in care at Greene County Medical Center was immediately evident. “Compared to the big city…there’s no comparison,” she said. For example, “If you want something to eat and it’s not mealtime, they’re good to you. It’s about you. They care about you here.”
Dorothy has lived her entire life in Greene County, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Throughout her life she lived in Paton, Grand Junction and Dana, marrying Lyle Hadley in 1961. The couple moved to Jefferson in 2009, sharing 56 years together before his passing in 2018. Dorothy and Lyle raised two children, Kurt, who lives in Jefferson, and Sheila who resides in Maryland.
The Greene County Medical Center Extended Care program offers 24-hour skilled nursing, rehabilitation therapies and personalized support in a compassionate, home-like setting. For more information, call 515-386-0638.