January 3, 2023 – St. Joseph Regional Medical Center recently announced it is beginning construction of a new rehabilitation unit which will be located on the sixth floor inside the hospital. The $6 million project is scheduled to be finished mid-June 2023. Once complete, the acute rehabilitation unit (ARU) will provide the area’s only inpatient rehabilitation and will help adults who have experienced a loss of function or disability due to injury or illness.
A wall-breaking ceremony took place today along with a blessing of the space. Father Mike St. Marie, from All Saints Catholic Church, conducted the blessing shortly before several Sisters started swinging sledgehammers to ceremoniously begin demolition. Sisters taking part in the event included Sr. Pat Rosholt, Sr. Mary Catherine Siminski, Sr. Christine Robertson and Sr. Margie Schmidt. Official construction will begin next week. Bouten Construction of Spokane, Wash. is the general contractor of the project.
The 10-bed ARU will include a gym with state-of-the-art equipment used in rehabilitative therapies and feature all private rooms for patients recovering from conditions that include stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, orthopedic injury, neurological conditions, amputation and trauma. The new unit will provide the intensive, interdisciplinary clinical and rehabilitation services necessary for improved function and independence, facilitating patients’ recovery so they can be discharged and return to their homes.
Patients will be able to receive needed therapy services under the direction of a doctor specialized in rehabilitation and physical medicine and also receive 24/7 nursing care. The rehabilitation unit will provide services to both St. Joe’s patients as well as patients from other healthcare providers in the region.