As the only licensed inpatient rehabilitation facility in western North Carolina, CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital offers an intensive program of therapy and medical management at a hospital level of care. Here’s why CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital is the best option for your rehabilitation needs:
1. Hospital level of care.
“We are licensed as a hospital, so we have an exemption to provide acute rehabilitation as a hospital,” said Mitzi Holmes, executive director of CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital.
Other facilities that provide rehabilitation are typically licensed as skilled nursing facilities that provide rehab services. While CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital doesn’t have an emergency room or provide surgical services, they do meet all the requirements of a hospital, including having medical staff and licensed RNs available 24/7.
2. An intensive program of therapy.
Part of the admission criteria at CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital is that patients must need and receive a minimum of three hours of therapy five days a week or fifteen hours of therapy over a 7-day period, depending on the patient’s condition.
“The intensity of the therapy is very unique,” said Holmes. “It’s given throughout the day and has to be from at least two skilled therapy disciplines, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. And what you learn in therapy is carried over into your nursing care, provided by nursing staff with specialized training in rehabilitation.”
3. Each patient has an attending physician.
“Our physicians manage the rehab needs as well as the medical needs — they are board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation. They often consult with specialists in other areas if the patient’s needs are more complex,” said Holmes.
The attending physician, she said, typically sees the patient every day.
4. Balance between medical needs and therapy requirements.
“The medical needs have to require the hospital level of care, but also have to be stable enough that the patient can tolerate and benefit from the intensity of therapy,” said Holmes. “So it’s a balancing act that our medical staff and care team deal with every day.”
5. Staff who are experts in rehabilitation.
“Rehabilitation is our specialty and our focus, so we provide the level of expertise not seen elsewhere in this region,” said Holmes. “We work as a team, with the patient and family being the most critical members of the team. It takes everyone working together.”
Mitzi Holmes is the executive director of CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital.
