This spring, Parkview Huntington Hospital concluded an 18-month expansion project with the rededication of its new and improved Rehab and Wellness Center. The Holly D. Sale Rehabilitation and Wellness Center was named for the center’s late director, who passed away in 2017 after three decades of devoted service to the community.
Prior to the expansion project, the entire center occupied about 7,600 square feet, and pediatric therapy was located in a small space on the hospital’s lower level. The new, more than 24,000-square-foot center, accommodates all existing Rehab and Wellness services in airy, comfortable spaces and anticipates the addition of new services and equipment.
From an emphasis on privacy and individual attention, to specialized equipment for pediatric and adult patients, the thoughtfully designed facility realizes Holly Sale’s dream of a truly patient-centered home for an ever-broader range of therapies and wellness services to meet local residents’ needs.
Reception area
The reception area, like the rest of the center, offers a soft color palette, functional and comfortable furniture, and clean, modern finishes and textures. Friendly faces at the reception desk make patients feel welcome every time they visit.
Adult Rehab
The cardiopulmonary gym is one of four specialty gyms at the center. Ringed by offices, treatment rooms and consult rooms especially for cardiopulmonary education and nutrition/diabetes counseling, this area occupies roughly the same space as the old rehab center. The two-tone flooring serves a special purpose: the tan stripe encircling this gym area and the wellness gym beyond, serves as a walking track. Exercise specialists, the cardiopulmonary rehab coordinator, the dietitian, the diabetes educator, and other staff members share a common workspace just off the gym area.
An entire wall of windows gives the wellness gym plenty of natural light, which rehab patients and fitness center members really appreciate. A changing area with restrooms and lockers is located right across the hall. Like the cardiopulmonary gym, this gym offers cardio equipment as well as weight machines and other strength training equipment, parallel bars, and therapy tables. When they are not out on the floor or in treatment rooms assisting patients, physical and occupational therapy team members share a common workspace with windows that look out onto the gym.
Toward the back of the gym is an L-shaped area with a wall of mirrors and a ballet barre. This area is helpful for therapy situations in which a patient may have trouble visualizing their posture or the position of their limbs or body in the space or on a therapy table.
Privacy for patients was a driving force in the design of the new center, which offers 16 private treatment rooms on the adult rehab side and 6 private treatment rooms on the pediatric rehab side, as well as consult rooms in each area.
The Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Lab and the Splinting Room occupy an area between the adult and pediatric rehab sections. The ADL Lab is designed to provide an environment in which patients can re-learn – following a stroke, joint replacement, accident or other disabling event or condition – how to move and perform common tasks essential to daily routines around the house. Equipped with a full kitchen, a laundry room, a bedroom and a bathroom, this area is a workspace in which patients can practice tasks with guidance from occupational therapists.
The Splinting Room is a center of activity as well for occupational therapists, as they not only create custom splints, but also employ a variety of techniques and tools to guide patients through rehabilitation of the upper limbs to restore function and enhance participation in daily life.
Pediatric Rehab
A colorful rainbow wall opposite the entrance to the Sensory Gym and the Motor Gym lets young patients know they’re in pediatric rehab and it’s time for therapy – disguised as play thanks to the creativity of the physical, occupational and speech therapists on the pediatric rehab team. The giant rainbow is just one of several child-oriented graphics that brighten the walls of the pediatric spaces, including Sammie the helicopter, who greets youngsters as they stretch and climb and move around the Motor Gym.P
The Sensory Gym is home to swings, padded blocks and an array of other equipment that are used to address the needs of pediatric therapy patients who need to work on muscle strength or balance, or who have sensory processing issues. One special contraption, known as “the squeezer,” is a series of foam rollers a child can crawl through; for children who have trouble with overstimulation, it acts like a body hug, applying calming pressure and comforting jangling nerves. This gym has no windows, to reduce distraction.
Also to reduce distractions, pediatric treatment rooms open directly onto either the Sensory Gym or the Motor Gym. This arrangement enables therapists to lead their young patients between the exam room and the gym and back again, without having to travel hallways and encounter people or equipment that draw the child’s attention.
The Motor Gym is a large, brightly lit space for exploring big movements and coordination. Physical therapists configure giant bumpers and pads, plastic balls of all sizes, a mini-trampoline, mats and other props to create obstacle courses. The big space allows kids to work at activities requiring more room, such as learning to balance and ride on a bicycle, swinging a baseball bat, or running and jumping. In other words, it allows kids to be kids.
The centerpiece of the gym is a custom playset incorporating stairs, a slide, monkey bars, and other components that encourage kids to climb, crawl, pull, push, grip, hang and otherwise challenge their muscles, nerves, balance, coordination, dexterity and confidence. Pediatric therapy team members selected the specific components of the playset with the needs of their young patients in mind.
One favorite activity for youngsters is placing a toy in the fabric bucket and pulling the rope to hoist it up. Then the child climbs the stairs to the bridge, retrieves the toy from the bucket and slides down to the floor.
Just down the hall from the rainbow wall and the pediatric therapy waiting area is the pediatric kitchen. This fully equipped kitchen supports a feeding program for children who have swallowing issues or other difficulties taking nourishment. As in some of the pediatric treatment rooms, this kitchen has a kid-sized table and chairs to accommodate little ones, as well as a white board and table where therapists can discuss strategies with parents.
As in the adult rehab area, pediatric therapy team members share a common workspace adjoining the pediatric section of the Rehab and Wellness Center. This arrangement encourages the therapists to share ideas as they go about creating interdisciplinary treatment plans for young patients who may have several different types of needs.
A patient-centered experience
Details make the difference. And from the natural light to the warm feel of the flooring and other quiet touches, the details of the facility reflect the Parkview Huntington Hospital team’s desire to make people of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities feel at ease and welcome. Photographs of Huntington County scenes and landmarks, taken by local photographers, add splashes of color throughout the center and, like the large windows, bring the outside in.
Seating in the reception area includes wider benches as well as single chairs. Restrooms have grab bars, elevated toilets and room to maneuver. No-threshold showers in the dressing area have flip-down bench seats, grab bars and hand-held shower heads.
In the pediatric area, treatment rooms have kid-sized table-and-chair sets, and therapy tables are lower. Little ones also have their own, lower toilet in the restroom, which also offers a large, higher changing table. The waiting area has magnetic games anchored low on the wall where little hands can reach them.
Connecting to both the Rehab and Wellness Center and the hallway between the hospital lobby and the adjoining medical office building are two wellness classrooms. These functional meeting spaces were added with an eye toward expanding wellness classes and programming in the future.
.jpg)
For more information about the Holly D. Sale Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at Parkview Huntington Hospital, or the many therapies and services offered, call 260-355-3240.
