Jewish Home’s Center for Rehabilitation Excellence Applies Technological Innovations

When the Jewish Home Family designed its new Center for Rehabilitation Excellence there was a clear decision to implement the cutting edge of modern technologies to best serve those in need of rehabilitation therapies – from inpatient subacute therapy after a hospital stay to strengthening and restoring independence as an outpatient while living at home.

The crown jewel of the project are the warm water therapy pools, which include a full sized salt water pool as well as two Hydroworx pools that combine, cameras, sensors and hydraulics for an experience that allows movement and therapy impossible otherwise.

The entire rehab gym is outfitted with the latest in rehab equipment, from a ceiling-embedded track for safe practice walking, to an entire front end of a car to practice entering and exiting, to a fully functional kitchen and bathroom with step-in tub so that patients returning home are not faced with any challenges they haven’t prepared for thoroughly. An entire area is also outfitted with a virtual reality to stimulate movement through virtual sports and simulated situations.

The building is outfitted with high-speed fiber internet available wirelessly throughout, with CNAs and Nurses documenting and retrieving patient information via handheld mobile devices. The high speed internet supplements the large in-room monitors, Alexa voice technology and VOIP in-room courtesy phones – acknowledging the critical importance of remaining connected to loved ones throughout the healing process.

The in-room entertainment also includes a lineup of virtual therapy programs, including in-house subscription content like Rock Steady Boxing classes for those living with Parkinson’s Disease to stave off the advance with a combination of large-movement exercises and other modalities.

Certain technologies were added to the plans once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, such as negative pressure rooms – which expel air containing potentially infectious droplets, speeding recovery and stopping the spread of pathogens. Medical gases are also deployed throughout the building, accessible in the wall of every room rather than requiring tanks to be continuously deployed, refilled and replaced.

Bariatric rooms have been outfitted with in-ceiling tracks to assist patients in reaching the washroom faster than ever.

Outside the building, solar energy is harness via rooftop panels, charging stations are in place for electric vehicles and even the sign one sees from the road is powered by the sun. Motion sensors throughout ensure that power is not wasted when not in use.