West Islip, NY 11795 – Our Lady of Consolation Nursing & Rehabilitative Care Center is pleased to announce that is has successfully weaned the first two former ventilator-dependent patients from its ten-bed ventilator care unit, which opened in the Spring of 2003. Mrs. Rosemarie Guiliano and Mrs. Mary Nuccio, discharged within days of each other, each spent several months at Our Lady of Consolation being gradually weaned off ventilator dependency.

Our Lady of Consolation’s ventilator care team works in partnership with the respiratory team at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center to ensure that all patients taking part in the weaning process are monitored thoroughly and weaned according to established protocol.

“They [care team] are a constant pillar of support for the patients involved in this process and their families,” said Respiratory Therapist Eileen McCann. “The desire of these patients to succeed with the weaning program and be reunited with their families is the driving force behind their recovery.”

Our Lady of Consolation is a 450-bed nursing and rehabilitative care center conducted in the tradition of the Sisters of St. Dominic since 1894 and is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). As a member of Catholic Health Services of Long Island, Our Lady of Consolation plays an integral role in the health care delivery system of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and offers expertise in the field of long term care and sub-acute care. In addition to skilled nursing home care including geriatric care, rehabilitative care, respiratory therapy and medically complex care, Consolation offers specialized dementia disease care for individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s and related dementia diseases. In addition, Consolation’s Long Term Home Health Care Program provides nursing care and other services for patients residing in their own homes in the community.  For more information about the services Our Lady of Consolation offers, please call (631) 587-1600 or visit us on the web at http://olc.chsli.org.