Voices for Independence

Name:

Trina L. Simpson

VFI Spokesperson:

Lisa Shuffstall

Involvement:

Nursing home transition consumer

Impact:

Returned from near-death experience to be able to raise daughter again

Before Voices for Independence:

Trina L. Simpson developed a multitude of medical problems during her life. But at age 49, her life was unrecognizable from anything she’d ever imagined. A series of surgeries and complications left her in a nursing home. For 9 of the 15 months she was a patient, Simpson lay in a semi-conscience state. She was unable to move or communicate and was deemed incapable of making health decisions. Her prospects were so grim, her family sold her home, lost her belongings; and she lost control of her daughter and her life. At the most dire moment in nursing home, Simpson remarkably began to recover. She went from bed-bound and unresponsive to communicating and walking without the use of any devices.

After Voices for Independence:

Defying odds in a nursing home, Simpson’s guardian, her sister, gave her responsibility over her current state, and what was left of her assets. Motivation came from a hope to one day parent her 10-year-old daughter again. She sought to turn her life around. Lisa Shuffstall of VFI, came upon Simpson’s Office of Long-term Living’s minimum data set list’s file. Unknowing of her options, Shuffstall worked constantly with Simpson to find a way for her to live independently. Through Act 150, she was discharged on Feb. 9, 2009 to live on her own. Shuffstall credits Simpson with unbelievable determination. She hopes one day to regain custody of her daughter but believes her current situation is a ‘life-changing’ success as it is.

Name:

Trina L. Simpson

VFI Spokesperson:

Lisa Shuffstall

Involvement:

Nursing home transition consumer

Impact:

Returned from near-death experience to be able to raise daughter again

Before Voices for Independence:

Trina L. Simpson developed a multitude of medical problems during her life. But at age 49, her life was unrecognizable from anything she’d ever imagined. A series of surgeries and complications left her in a nursing home. For 9 of the 15 months she was a patient, Simpson lay in a semi-conscience state. She was unable to move or communicate and was deemed incapable of making health decisions. Her prospects were so grim, her family sold her home, lost her belongings; and she lost control of her daughter and her life. At the most dire moment in nursing home, Simpson remarkably began to recover. She went from bed-bound and unresponsive to communicating and walking without the use of any devices.

After Voices for Independence:

Defying odds in a nursing home, Simpson’s guardian, her sister, gave her responsibility over her current state, and what was left of her assets. Motivation came from a hope to one day parent her 10-year-old daughter again. She sought to turn her life around. Lisa Shuffstall of VFI, came upon Simpson’s Office of Long-term Living’s minimum data set list’s file. Unknowing of her options, Shuffstall worked constantly with Simpson to find a way for her to live independently. Through Act 150, she was discharged on Feb. 9, 2009 to live on her own. Shuffstall credits Simpson with unbelievable determination. She hopes one day to regain custody of her daughter but believes her current situation is a ‘life-changing’ success as it is.