Colorful Bed Stuy Resident Thanks Concord Rehab Team

Former Concord Nursing resident Sam Ocasio may have had a tough spring in 2024, but his summer has been a lot more enjoyable ever since the rehabilitation department at the Bedford Stuyvesant 140-bed skilled nursing facility got him back on his feet again.

The very charismatic Mr. Ocasio, who is very energetic these days following a very positive experience with both physical and occupational therapy at Concord on Madison Avenue, has an amazing upbeat sense of humor, even though he deals with a number respiratory and cardiac issues, including COPD and heart failure. Early this past spring, Mr. Ocasio was found unconscious after he collapsed from pneumonia and was brought to Wycoff Heights Medical Center. He remained at that Brooklyn hospital for two months but doesn’t remember any of it.

The 63 year-old is very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage, everyday he thinks about his late mother who he misses everyday and he’s also proud of his framed large photograph of the late mob boss John Gotti hangs in his Brooklyn studio apartment.

Following his hospital recovery, Sam was then brought to Concord Nursing on May 3, 2024 where the staff brought him out of his bed ridden state and got him to start moving, from stretching to walking, thanks to the dedicated team of Concord therapists. What plays a big part of Sam’s therapy was at first his reluctancy of starting therapy, very common in the many who never went for rehabilitation. That psychological barrier can certainly delay progress, so Concord Nursing Occupational Therapist Permaul Mahase used a technique that has been successful in past patients and that had to do with mind – body therapy. Mahase decided that would be Mr. Ocasio’s best path to take.

“Sam’s case is common but the mind-body therapy road that I decided on may not be, and it only the proves that it is quite successful,” he says. “He was determined to return to his life where his mind needed to want the same thing. You treat the whole person, not only the physical issues.”

When that technique kicked into action, it became clear and visible that Sam was on the right road to recovery.

“At the beginning, I didn’t want it because I didn’t know what it was all about,” said Ocasio. “ And they helped me get back to where I am and I was so happy that I could go home. My legs are stronger. My outlook on life is definitely much stronger too.”

On June 14, 2024, Sam was discharged with a big smile on his face. Is apartment remained in tact with all of his red, white, and blue of the Puerto Rico flag, photos of his mom, and of course, his powerful photo of John Gotti. Most of all, Sam is better these days and he does get at home aid help to work with him at home a bit, but he is now highly self-sufficient.