KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — East Tennessee health leaders gathered in West Knoxville on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of a new inpatient hospital meant to help people recovering from debilitating illnesses and major injuries, such as strokes or neurological disorders.
They said the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Hospital West will have 51 beds for patients. The hospital is a joint venture between Covenant Health and Encompass Health that will serve patients recovering from major illnesses and injuries.
Patients in the hospital could be recovering from strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions.
They said it will also offer physical, occupational and speech therapies. The hospital will also have 24-hour nursing care.
"I think it meets a need within this community. It allows us to offer specialized services and advanced technologies to the patients who need us," CEO Jennifer Steely said. "They come to us in their weakest and most vulnerable moments, and it's a beautiful space that they can get their rehabilitation needs met."
As part of the venture between the two health companies, they said they also renovated the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center located inside the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.
They said it now has 22 beds and is operating as a hospital-in-hospital structure. They said they converted all semi-private rooms into private rooms and renamed the facility the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Sanders.
At each hospital, they said patients will receive a minimum of three hours of intensive therapy for five days each week, along with frequent physician visits.
