OMAHA, Neb. – A new, state-of-the-art Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit at Alegent Creighton Health will open to patients on Jan. 28. Located at Immanuel Medical Center, the facility has 35 private rooms, accommodations for families, a dining room, high-end therapeutic equipment and a healing garden.

"This new facility allows us to continue to offer our patients a full continuum of rehabilitation services along with high-quality hospital care," said Jill Powers, operational leader for Rehabilitation Services at Alegent Creighton Health.

"We designed it to meet and exceed the needs of patients who require the care of an integrated healthcare system in order to provide people with the best possible outcomes."

Technology is built into the new unit, including iPads in each patient room. They've been incorporated for patients to manage their schedules, allowing them to communicate with family and friends, video their rehab sessions and utilize applications for hand-eye and memory exercises. Patients will also benefit from other new technologies, including the region's only Bioness ZeroG system – a robotic cart and harness system with an overhead track that helps to create a zero gravity environment, allowing stroke and brain injury patients an opportunity to learn to walk again. Patients can improve balance and endurance with a wide-range of exercise therapies.

"Our team studied many different ways to help patients with their rehabilitation, recovery and then be able to go back to their lives before their accident or illness," said Angela Lampe, coordinator of Quality and Compliance for Rehabilitation Services at Alegent Creighton Health. "Every piece of equipment we chose will assist a number of patients to reach their goals. In the case of the iPads, our team believes they found a device that can be a life-changer for someone with a disability."

Location is everything. Rehabilitation patients currently being cared for at Immanuel Medical Center are located on the 8th floor of the hospital. The new unit places these patients on ground level adjacent to the newly renovated and upgraded inpatient therapy gym. A dining room and family gathering area give those visiting their loved ones a comfortable place to relax.

"We felt it was important to create a space that also worked for our patients' families," said Mike Masker, Alegent Creighton Health operations director of Rehabilitation Services. "An extended hospital stay can be stressful, so we planned to build an area where they could meet, find mutual support and share encouragement with each other."

Under construction since March, the 32,600 square-foot facility renovation and expansion project cost $11 million. Efforts by the Alegent Creighton Health Foundation and the Immanuel Medical Center Charitable Council are underway to raise the remaining $1.7 million.

Former rehabilitation patients who have toured the new facility say that future patients will benefit from the improvements that have been made.

"When I saw it, I was really impressed," said Kari Cleveland, who needed inpatient rehabilitation after a traumatic car accident last October. "It was amazing before, but now it is perfect. They really made it feel like home, not a hospital. Everything is where it needs to be for patients and they even thought of their families too. Every detail, from the private rooms to the healing garden – it makes a difference. If you need rehab, this is the place to come."

For more information on the Alegent Creighton Health Rehabilitation Center, go to AlegentCreighton.com/rehab or call 402-572-2295.

Alegent Creighton Health
With a commitment to providing high-quality care and an exceptional patient experience, Alegent Creighton Health physicians and employees are focused on caring for the body, mind and spirit of every person. Patients find a continuum of care at Alegent Creighton Health, from primary care through geriatrics. Sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Alegent Creighton Health is the largest not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare provider in Nebraska and southwest Iowa with 11 acute care hospitals, a specialty spine hospital, freestanding inpatient psychiatric and skilled nursing facilities and more than 100 Alegent Creighton Clinic locations. As the primary teaching partner of Creighton University's health sciences schools, Alegent Creighton Health and Alegent Creighton Clinic are committed to teaching the health professionals of the future. For more information about Alegent Creighton Health, visit AlegentCreighton.com.