Rehabilitation Hospital

New Hanover Regional Medical Center's Rehabilitation Hospital is a 60-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility on the New Hanover Regional Medical Center campus.  It helps patients with debilitating injury or disease recover mobility and independence both through inpatient treatment. The hospital treats patients suffering from chronic conditions such as arthritis or multiple sclerosis as well as patients who have suffered a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.  The focus is on improving a patient's mobility, self care, communication, and social skills.

Facility

Opened in 1994, the Rehabilitation Hospital is a spacious, 66,000-square foot building designed to give patients every opportunity to practice the skills they need to become independent.  Included in facility is a 3,000-square foot therapy gym in which patients work to rebuild their strength.  The gym is also home to Easy Street®, a real-world environment that gives patients an opportunity to practice maneuvering on different surfaces, getting in and out of a car, shopping in a grocery store and managing at home.

Conditions Commonly Treated

• Stroke (CVA)
• Traumatic and nontraumatic brain injury
• Traumatic and nontraumatic spinal cord injury
• Neurological conditions such as Guillain Barre, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's
• Amputation
• Deconditioning and debility due to cardiac or pulmonary conditions
• Orthopedic conditions such as hip fracture and joint replacement
• Multiple trauma

Scope of Services

• NHRMC Rehabilitation Hospital is an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF).
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) physicians and physician's assistants direct the patient's plan of care on a daily basis.
• Skilled Rehabilitation Nursing is provided 24 hours a day.
• Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy is available 7 days a week.
• Each patient is assigned a Certified Case Manager who acts as a liaison between patient, family/caregiver, rehabilitation team, physicians, and third party payors.
• Other rehabilitation services that are available to the patient include Recreation Therapy, Social Work, and Psychology.
• Patients have access to medical services provided at NHRMC including but not limited to Diagnostic Imaging, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Spiritual Care, Nutrition, and Respiratory Therapy.
• Consulting physician services for medical management are provided by Hospitalists or other specialty as needed.

• Rehabilitation Hospital staff work closely with the Acute Care Rehab Services team and the outpatient teams at Oleander and Independence Rehab Centers to promote patient care across the continuum.

Certifications / Accreditations

NHRMC Rehabilitation Hospital is accredited by CARF, formerly known as Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities. NHRMC is also accredited by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

Patient Outcomes

NHRMC Rehabilitation Hospital measures patient outcomes and strives to continually improve services so that patients have the maximum benefit.

NHRMC Rehabilitation Hospital uses Functional Independence Measures (FIM) to determine the patient's level of physical and cognitive ability. FIM scores are reported to Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation? (UDS) to allow comparison to other rehabilitation hospitals in the United States.

Based on our 2008 UDS data,

• There were 716 patients admitted to NHRMC Rehab Hospital in 2008.
• The average patient was in an acute hospital 11 days before being admitted to the rehab facility.
• The average patient stayed at the Rehab Hospital of 14.7 days.
• 78% of the patients at the Rehab Hospital were discharged to home or other community setting.
• The average age of the patients at the Rehab Hospital was 64 years old.