BOISE — Saint Alphonsus and Encompass Health’s new regional rehabilitation hospital is open and seeing patients.
“We have people that help you move through that time, and our therapists work with you on things as simple as shopping, how do I from a wheelchair level get to the fruit,” said CEO Renee Hinson.
The new 40-bed hospital has room for patients to practice crossing the street, doing their laundry, move across different types of flooring and lots of other activities.
“We’re basically trailing a whole new way of having people get back to life here,” said Hinson.
This space isn’t Saint Alphonsus’ first rehabilitation unit. Their previous location was on the third floor of their main hospital, so in essence, a hospital inside a hospital.
“Kind of the best-kept secret but we were completely separate, completely licensed differently, our rules and regulations are different.”
They’ve expanded to provide more space and technology for patients.
“We also added a full dietary staff which we didn’t have over there, we have a full pharmacy which we didn’t have over there,” said Hinson.
Almost 100 full-time employees work at the new location, including physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapists. The new space contains all new technology, including a harness device for patients to re-learn to walk with varying degrees of help.
“They work with them on walking skills, we have robotics that you’ll see in the gym that helps get our stroke patients up about five days sooner,” said Hinson.
The space is not a live-in center, so the end goal is to get patients checked out and back home.
The hospital is designed in a U-shape, and if needed that area can be closed off and an additional 20 more beds can be put in, expanding the space to accommodate 60 patients if needed. The rehabilitation is covered by medicare and medicaid and other private insurances.
