Madonna Responds To Rehabilitation Need With Omaha Campus Opening
The finishing touches are being made to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ Omaha Campus (www.Madonna.org). Early next month the hospital opens its doors to patients, ushering in a new era of specialized inpatient rehabilitation care.
“The opening of the Omaha Campus allows Madonna to serve an increasing number of individuals who have sustained traumatic injuries or disabling conditions. The state-of-the-art facility and cutting-edge technology when combined with specialized clinical treatment teams will provide those served with the best chance of resuming activities that give their lives meaning,” said Paul Dongilli Jr., Ph.D., president and CEO of Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals.
Madonna provides world-class rehabilitation for adults and children who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, stroke, neurological diseases and pulmonary conditions. Trauma hospitals across the country refer patients and families to Madonna, which served the top 1% most medically complex cases in the country during fiscal year 2014-15. In the past five years, Madonna has served patients from 45 states and every county in Nebraska.
In 2012 an independent study highlighted the underserved need for specialized rehabilitation for the Omaha metro area. As part of Madonna’s strategic plan to build a comprehensive continuum of rehabilitation from the ground up, the $93 million project broke ground on Sept. 4, 2014. The hospital is located across from Village Pointe Shopping Center at 175th Plaza and Burke Street. Earlier that year Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital opened on the fourth floor of Nebraska Medicine-Bellevue to address the urgent need and to provide inpatient rehabilitation services for individuals with complex medical conditions. The 32-bed hospital will close and its patients will move to the new hospital.
The Omaha Campus features 260 square feet of warm, inviting space. The 110 private-room hospital includes three major areas—an acute rehabilitation hospital, a rehabilitation specialty hospital and a children’s rehabilitation hospital.
The Madonna Institute of Rehabilitation Science and Engineering will be onsite, providing opportunities for advancement in rehabilitation for patients. In addition, new and exciting technology enables patients with only limited movement ability (i.e. twitching a muscle) to control lighting, window shades and television, and even communicate with nurses. The hospital also has a main therapy gym, a warm-water pool, a chapel and Independence Square—a simulated community for patients to practice daily independent living skills, such as driving, laundry and grocery shopping. The campus includes landscaping, courtyards and wooded areas. In addition to providing opportunities for rehabilitation activities in a natural setting, these areas enable patients and their family members’ space for rest and peaceful interactions.
A partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and its primary clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, is providing physician support for patients. Samuel Bierner, M.D., is leading the effort with more than 25 years of experience in the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). In addition, Madonna and UNMC are establishing and supporting the PM&R program whereby medical students and residents will train at Madonna. The program is the first of its kind in the region.
The economic impact during the two-year construction of the Omaha Campus was $122 million. Once patient occupancy reaches full census, the Omaha Campus is expected to generate an estimated 700-800 full and part-time jobs.
“We are committed to our rehabilitation mission, innovation and research; it’s been our foundation since we first opened in Lincoln, Nebraska, nearly 60 years ago. We are excited to begin a new chapter for the benefit of patients in Omaha and the surrounding region,” said Dongilli.
For more information on Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ Omaha Campus visit www.Madonna.org.
Featured on Front Cover: Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ Omaha Campus leaders from left: Susan Ohnoutka, MD, Specialty Hospital staff hospitalist; Thomas Stalder, MD, Madonna vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer; Rachel Thompson, MSN, RN, Rehabilitation Hospital director of nursing; Paul Dongilli, Jr., PhD, Madonna president and CEO; Samuel Bierner, MD, chair of UNMC’s College of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and chief medical officer for the Omaha Campus; Marilyn Viehl, RN, BSN, MHA, Rehabilitation Hospital administrator; Eyad Kakish, MD, Specialty Hospital staff hospitalist; Jason Doll, Specialty Hospital administrator; and Jackie Anderson, RN, BS, CRRN, Specialty Hospital director of nursing.
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