A bridge to living independently
When UCI Health opens its seventh hospital this summer, the 52-bed facility in Irvine will nearly quadruple the academic health system’s capacity to provide critical rehabilitation care to trauma, stroke, burn, brain and spinal cord injury patients throughout Orange County and the region.
Dr. Jay Han, who will be its medical director, is practically counting the days until UCI Health — Irvine Rehabilitation Hospital opens its doors. The 68,000-square-foot structure, a joint-venture partnership with Lifepoint Rehabilitation, will have private patient rooms, a specialized brain and spinal cord injury unit, an independent living suite to practice daily home activities, as well as the latest therapeutic and robot-assisted technologies designed to help patients return to home life.
And in a first for the region, Orange County’s only academic rehabilitation hospital will have a dedicated wing for inpatient cancer rehabilitation, which will be led by a cancer rehabilitation physician and team specializing in supportive oncology therapies.
For Han and his highly skilled multidisciplinary team, it can’t come too soon. The medical director for UCI Health Acute Rehabilitation Services and chair of the UC Irvine School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation spoke of the urgent need with Live Well.
Why are more inpatient rehabilitation beds needed?
People are living longer and the incidence of chronic disease is rising. After severe illness or traumatic injury, inpatient rehabilitation helps set the stage for optimal recovery.
What is a rehabilitation hospital’s role?
Acute care hospitals stabilize patients and save lives. Sometimes when stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, burn or cancer patients are discharged, they struggle. A rehabilitation hospital offers coordinated inpatient care that is vital for recovery.
Why is inpatient rehabilitation important?
Closely coordinated inpatient rehabilitative care is the most effective way to improve people’s function, to get them back to their lives quickly. It bridges the gap between acute care and home.
What happens when patients don’t get this specialized care?
Typically, their recovery will be protracted and they won’t regain as much function to ensure a good quality of life.
What are some of the new hospital’s unique features?
Our goal is to help people recover as much function as possible. We’ll have a transitional apartment with a living room, a kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bathroom to help patients learn to navigate a home setting.
We’ll also have large interdisciplinary gyms equipped to meet with a wide variety of rehabilitation needs, including a simulated car to give patients practice getting in and out of a vehicle.
There will also be a working kitchen and therapeutic courtyard equipped for golfing, gardening and other outdoor activities.
What other features will help patients with basic functions?
We’ll have fall-prevention and balance training in our gyms, as well as a communications center providing augmented devices and techniques to help patients use computers, telephones and other means of communication.
Why is there a unit for cancer patient care?
Cancer treatment is far better than it was 10 or 20 years ago. People are cured or living longer with cancer, but they may face limitations. Working with the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, our multidisciplinary cancer rehabilitation program will be the first in Orange County and will help patients get back to their lives.
Will you use robotics and other technologies?
Yes! We’ll have the latest therapies and modalities, including electrical stimulation and exercise programs. As an academic institution, we’ll also be collaborating with UC Irvine scientists working on stem cell and gene therapies.
How do rehabilitation patients benefit from academic medical care?
Our team of doctors and healthcare professionals will not only provide leading-edge care, they’ll also be conducting research to advance rehabilitative care for patients in our region and beyond.
We’ll be able to test new technologies and therapies, and our cancer patients will receive rehabilitation therapy and still continue with their clinical trials.
Is this type of care unique to our region?
Yes, as a stand-alone, academic hospital, we will offer top-line, post-acute rehabilitation care right here in Orange County, serving our six acute care hospitals. We will become the premier center for the region, the destination for people in need of state-of-the-art rehabilitative care.
For more information about our Acute Rehabilitation Services, visit ucihealth.org/rehabilitation or call 714-456-5294.