Hospital Management

Select Medical and UPMC to open satellite rehabilitation hospital in Pennsylvania

Expected to open next year, the hospital aims to meet the needs of patients in Central Pennsylvania's West Shore region.

Select Medical and UPMC are planning to open a satellite inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the West Shore region of Central Pennsylvania, US.

The Helen M Simpson Rehabilitation Hospital - West Shore is expected to open in the second quarter of next year.

It will serve as a satellite acute inpatient rehabilitation facility of the main hospital with the same name, catering to the expanding healthcare needs of patients in the West Shore region.

The specialised 'hospital-in-a-hospital' unit will have a total of 20 beds, as well as a separate therapy gym.

It will make use of a range of rehabilitation technologies for treating patients recovering from conditions such as amputations, spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke, orthopaedic issues and neurological disorders.

UPMC West Shore, UPMC Harrisburg and UPMC Community Osteopathic president Elizabeth Ritter said: “By partnering with Select Medical to provide inpatient rehabilitation, we can ensure the best possible transition care for UPMC West Shore patients when they are discharged from the hospital setting to rehabilitation.

“Providing inpatient rehabilitation negates the need for patients to be transferred to an off-site location and allows better continuity of care from their UPMC providers and increased collaboration with their rehabilitation care team from Select Medical.”

The hospital will occupy the newly renovated fifth floor of UPMC West Shore, a five-storey acute care hospital with a total of 166 beds.

UPMC West Shore offers nationally accredited comprehensive cancer care, thoracic and surgical care, orthopaedic and spine services, and multi-speciality outpatient services to patients in the region.

Select Medical currently manages two inpatient rehabilitation facilities and three critical illness recovery hospitals in Central Pennsylvania.

Select Medical president Tom Mullin said: “We continue to see an increasing demand for highly specialised inpatient rehabilitative care across Central Pennsylvania and are excited to partner with UPMC to meet the need and provide world-class care for West Shore communities.”