Contact: Gian Galassi
608-263-5561
ggalassi@uwhealth.org
MADISON—Patients who need intensive rehabilitation services have a new and innovative destination for care. The UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital will open its doors to patients Sept. 29, becoming only the second facility of its kind in Wisconsin.
The freestanding 50-bed inpatient facility—located on 10 acres adjacent to UW Health at The American Center on the city’s east side—offers specialized programs for people who’ve had a stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations, complex orthopedic injuries and other conditions that require inpatient rehabilitation services. The hospital is designed to promote recovery outside the traditional hospital setting by offering patients an immersive rehabilitation experience that helps support their independence and reintegration into their homes and communities.
“Every interaction that our patients have throughout their day and night will be focused toward the goal of achieving independence and higher quality of life,” says Greg Banaszynski, president of UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital. “We know that where you recover plays a significant role in how you recover, and that philosophy forms the foundation of this entire facility and the team of providers who work here.”
The UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital is staffed with an interdisciplinary team of specially trained physicians, nurses and therapists who work with patients and their families to help them regain their abilities to perform daily tasks, cognitive processes, and physical function and restore basic life skills.
Among the unique features and services at the facility are a functional living apartment where patients and their families can practice independent living before going home; an adaptive kitchen for re-learning skills for daily living; a car module to train patients and family members in safe car-transfer techniques; two large therapy gymnasiums equipped with the latest equipment and therapy devices, and in-room dialysis provided by Wisconsin Dialysis.
The facility also offers two floors of private patient rooms, a secure brain-injury unit with monitored rooms, patient lifts and dining areas, and a dedicated stroke unit with specialized equipment. Outside, the facility features an outdoor healing garden, mobility courtyard, and a basketball court and golf area designed for more athlete-focused recovery.
Inpatient rehabilitation services are currently housed in the 21-bed acute inpatient unit at UW Hospital. That unit will ultimately be phased out as patients make the transition to the new facility.
A dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on Friday, September 18. Media are welcome to attend the event. Staff from the Rehabilitation Hospital will be available for interviews and tours of the facility.
The hospital is located at 5115 North Biltmore Lane, just south of UW Health at The American Center.
The UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital is a joint-venture partnership between UW Health and Kindred Healthcare, based in Louisville, Ky.
