Christmas has graced staff at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center’s Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit a few months early.
The new unit is called the Benjamin H. McGough, M.D. Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, and will move from the fourth floor of the Mother Joseph Building to the third floor starting Aug. 27. It will more than double the unit’s size, expand its rehab gym and offer 14 individual patient rooms, meaning patients won’t have to share rooms any more. It will serve patients recovering from strokes and other serious neurological deficits.
“We’re over the moon,” says Conny Miller, a manger of rehabilitation services at PeaceHealth. “We’re joking that this is like five Christmases compiled in one for all of us. That’s how much combined excitement we have over this unit. There will be extensive joy for a long time to come before we even get used to this space. It won’t just become the new norm soon.”
The unit is phase three of PeaceHealth’s neurosciences campaign — $6 million was contributed from public donors such as Todd and Maxine McClaskey, Margaret and Harry Progler, the late Ed and Dollie Lynch, JoMarie and Steve Hansen, Sylvia Karabay, Riverview Community Bank, Dick Hannah Dealerships, Progressive Rehabilitation Associates and an anonymous donor. PeaceHealth made a $3 million contribution.
This unit has improved natural lighting, more open space and an updated modern design. Previously, the cafeteria area in the rehab unit was closed off and far from happenings in the unit, Miller said, but the new cafeteria is more open and promotes socializing.
“We all know that enclosed spaces can be depressing, so the open space also does a lot for the mental outlook of the patient,” Miller explained.
A program with Soul
The gem of the unit is a Kia Soul donated by Dick Hannah Dealerships. The crossover vehicle needed a crane to be placed on a rooftop patio connected to the new unit. The Soul’s purpose is to help train patients how to enter and exit a car again.
Instead of having to take patients who are struggling with mobility down to the parking lot, and relying on their family members to provide a car, patients can more easily reach the patio area, and practice any time.
“It’s definitely a big learning curve,” Miller said of car rehab. “Let’s just say you had a stroke and half of your body is flaccid, and you had to rely on that one healthy side of your body, so to speak, to perform the functions. Just to keep the balance is far harder than people think.”
The new unit also has a mock apartment fitted with a cooking area, a shower and a Murphy bed. It will help patients relearn to safely perform everyday tasks.
There will also be an even greater emphasis on the mental health component of rehab. In addition to counseling offered as part of the rehab program, the new unit features the outdoor patio, which will have a wheelchair-accessible raised flower bed for patients to garden. Miller mentioned there should be more fun activities for patients in the new space, too.
“It’s a long journey for somebody who needs rehabilitation. It’s rather life-changing,” Miller said. “And with life changes comes loss of function, loss of control to a degree. You’re not in control of just going where you want, doing what you want. That is kind of a grieving process. You’re grieving a rather significant loss. That can be very devastating and partially depressing, and therefore there’s psychology services.”
Physical therapist Rachel Corey said she thinks the new unit will boost patient and staff morale. She mentioned how upgraded equipment will help the rehab process. There will be a large touchscreen to help with visual tracking and cognitive and balance training.
There will also be a track with a harness attached to the ceiling that will help patients with balance and re-learning to walk. That was present in the old gym, but it will have more space dedicated to it in the new unit. Even with fresh hardware, Corey’s relationship to the staff and aim for patients will remain the same.
“You get to work together as a team to meet a common goal of helping that patient get stronger, get better and get home,” she said.
