CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Officials cut the ribbon Wednesday to the new physical therapy/rehabilitation center at WVU Medicine Thomas Orthopedic Hospital on the Saint Francis campus in Charleston.
The new space allows all orthopedic services for WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals to be under one roof in the Capital City.
“It’s very important that we were able to open this space inside the hospital,” said Jill Daniels, director of rehabilitation services for WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals. “The physicians who do surgeries are just down the hallway, so it enables us to collaborate with them and provide care that’s more wholistic. Nurses are here, physicians are here, therapists are here, and they’re just steps away.”
The facility, which opened to patients in late October, features brand new treadmills, bikes, weights and other essentials.
Dr. Joseph Prud’homme is the executive director of orthopedic surgery for WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals and is a hand specialist. He says the space being so close to surgeons is convenient for everyone.
“It’s right across the hall from the orthopedic clinic. We’re 20 steps away from my clinic,” he said. “It’s also easy for the patients. We have four handicap parking spaces right outside the door, so you only have to walk 15 feet from your car to get in here.”
“A few of our patients actually have difficulty with transportation. A lot of them have mobility issues, so each time they have to get out of their car and go somewhere on their walker or their wheelchair, it’s a struggle. Here, we coordinate their physical therapy visits together with the doctor visits, so if they’re coming in to see me for their post-op visit, we schedule their physical therapy visit an hour later and they just wheel right across the hall,” he continued.
Prud’homme says the facility fills a gap.
“Our goal on this campus is to make this a one-stop shop for everything orthopedic and you can’t have a one-stop shop for orthopedics without physical therapy and occupational therapy and hand therapy, so this fills in a hole,” he said.
Daniels told MetroNews this is a place where patients can feel comfortable and ease their minds.
“Our waiting room is an area where patients come and start to collaborate with each other. They’ll joke about how their therapists make them do all of these things, but you also will have somebody who just had surgery versus someone who is three weeks out. They can say, ‘You know what? I’ve been where you’ve been. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to better and this gets better.’ It’s out of support and people come early sometimes just to talk to the other patients,” Daniels said.
In the future, the hospital hopes to expand the space to add additional services. Daniels says additions will be done as volume dictates.