FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 10, 2014
CONTACT: Gian Galassi
(608) 263-5561
ggalassi@uwhealth.org
MADISON – Officials of UW Health and its partner, Centerre Healthcare, broke ground today on a free-standing inpatient rehabilitation hospital in The American Center. The site, at 5115 N. Biltmore Lane, is across the street from UW Health at The American Center, currently under construction on the east side of Madison.
The UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital will provide services to patients with strokes, brain and spinal-cord injuries; amputations, complex orthopedic injuries; and other serious conditions. With 50 beds, the UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital will have roughly double the rehabilitation unit’s current capacity.
The American Center development will then include UW Health’s east campus: its current east clinic, UW Health at The American Center and the rehabilitation hospital.
Centerre Healthcare, a nationally renowned rehabilitation company based in suburban Nashville, is UW Health’s partner in this project. Centerre has established partnerships with multiple major acute-care hospitals in the East, Midwest and South. In 2008 Centerre joined with Pro Health in opening the Rehabilitation Hospital of Wisconsin in Waukesha.
The new rehabilitation hospital will feature all-private rooms, dedicated therapy space, outdoor courtyards, Activities of Daily Living (ADL) training suites, a special apartment to help family and patients practice daily living tasks and family-friendly sleeper chairs in all rooms. In addition, the facility will be equipped with the most advanced inpatient rehabilitation technologies available today.
“We feel privileged to have partnered with such a well-respected organization as UW Hospital and Clinics. We’re very excited about the opportunity to enhance the remarkable continuum of health care serves UW has been bringing to the community for many years,” said Pat Foster, president and CEO of Centerre Healthcare.
In addition to a variety of specialized equipment for rehabilitation patients, the new building will offer multiple gymnasiums; pet therapy; and an outdoor healing garden and walking trail.
Ron Sliwinski, chief executive officer of UW Hospital and Clinics, said the location of the building across the street from UW Health at The American Center will make it easier for both patients and caregivers to enjoy a smoother transition between settings.
“While the rehabilitation hospital will be open to patients from other hospitals, it will be particularly convenient for patients who receive treatment at The American Center and can continue their recovery literally right across the street,” he said.
The UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2015, shortly after the planned opening of UW Health at The American Center.
UW Health includes the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, UW Hospital and Clinics and UW Medical Foundation. As an academic medical center, it provides the full range of health care including the state’s only Level 1 trauma designation for both adults and children.
