Dance, Dedication, and Recovery: Choreographer Returns to Marion Palace Theatre After OhioHealth HMH Swing Bed Program

For Clare Cooke, dance is in her DNA. 

“When I was a child, that was the only thing for girls to do,” Cooke explained. “There were no sports. Nothing. So my parents took me to the dance studio. My mother loved to dance.” 

She started at age 3. Now, fast forward, she has been choreographing performances in Marion at the Palace Theatre for 48 years. 

“It’s near and dear to our hearts, my family’s heart,” Cooke shared. “The Palace Theatre is the crown jewel of Marion, Ohio. And I performed there when I was in high school and said to myself, ‘well I want to do this someday.’ And so here we are.” 

But this summer, her passion for bringing performances to life at the Palace was paused. She had a bad fall. 

“When I fell, it was the last rehearsal of our summer musical, Annie, and it just killed me not being able to go [see the show] after all that hard work.” 

She broke several bones and spent a week at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital. 

“My doctor, God love him, who operated on my arm was playing ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’ when I entered surgery.” 

After surgery, Cooke’s recovery plan would require rehab. That’s when she learned about the Swing Bed Program at OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital in Kenton. 

“Never heard of the Swing Bed Program, none of it,” she said. “It was phenomenal, the care I got. I wasn’t just a name. I was somebody.” 

“We have 18 beds here,” said Ryan Newland, Administrative Nurse Manager at Hardin Memorial Hospital. “We are a Critical Access Hospital which is what allows us to have a Swing Bed designation.” 

Newland explained you can think of the Swing Bed Program like a bridge – connecting a patient between a hospital stay and returning home. The goal is for a patient to return home as soon as possible. Sometimes it’s possible within a few days or a couple of weeks. And that can make all the difference when it comes to insurance coverage. 

“I’ve been a part of this program since the beginning, October of 2022,” explained Erica Wilcox, RN Care Manager at Hardin Memorial Hospital. “One of the big things that I have learned is the positive response from payers, insurance companies. We are getting the job done, getting their members healthy, in a short period of time and also really decreasing that readmission risk within 30 days that all major insurance companies look at.” 

The Swing Bed Program at Hardin Memorial Hospital provides a private room for patients to receive individualized attention and care by way of a low nurse to patient ratio and progressive therapy. On top of that, the nursing team goes above and beyond for each patient. 

“If they have a birthday or special occasion, we usually celebrate it,” said Jennifer Gresham, Registered Nurse. “Sometimes we celebrate on the last day they are here. We try to make it feel like they are part of the family.” 

“The patient has to do the hard work, deal with the pain, deal with the soreness. They are doing the hard work but it’s rewarding for us to see their success and ability to return home,” said Tim Plumley, Director of Rehab Services at Hardin Memorial Hospital. 

“What surprised me was the fact that it was so all encompassing. And they are such a family there, they are such a team,” said Clara Cooke. “I hate that [the fall] happened. I hate every ounce of it. But I couldn’t have been in better hands.” 

Clara Cooke will be back at the Palace Theatre in time for a beloved community tradition: The Christmas Show. 

“We knew that she really wanted to get back on that stage, and she came in with the right mindset. We’re happy to have helped her get there, Plumley said.” 

“It’s time for me to get back,” Cooke said. “It’s my legacy.”