Kings Harbor proudly cut the ribbon on its new Tenenbaum Rehabilitation Center for orthopedic patients which should help younger patients make the transition from hospital to home smoother and safer.
The ribbon cutting for the 30-bed unit at 2000 E. Gun Hill Road was held on Thursday, March 1.
Morris Tenenbaum, CEO and owner of the 720-bed Kings Harbor Multi Care Center in Pelham Gardens, presided over a ribbon cutting ceremony where he said in his remarks that the reputation of the facility on a national, state and local level precedes it, and that the facility would not be a success without its dedicated staff.
Tenenbaum was presented with a citation from Congressman Joseph Crowley, and lauded for his investment in the borough by Bronx Chamber of Commerce CEO and president Lenny Caro.
The facility is geared toward orthopedic patients who are recovering from knee and hip surgery or replacement. This tends to be a younger population, often in their 50s or 60s, who many times feel more comfortable in a space with people their own age, said Maryellen Scanlan, community service coordinator for Kings Harbor.
Some younger orthopedic patients tend to walk out of treatment all together because there is still a stigma to being in a nursing home, said Kings Harbor director of rehabilitation Alice Massa.
“What happens is that they go home and they don’t get the treatment that they need,” Massa said. “An independent, alert population often would rather go home than to a nursing home. So, this is a short-term unit specifically addressing the needs of the orthopedic patient.”
There is short-term discharge planning for the patients, Massa said. It allows patients to go to a sub-acute rehab unit instead of an acute rehabilitation facility, Massa said.
Sub-acute rehabilitation is less costly than acute rehabilitation, and patients tend to do just as well in the sub-acute setting, Massa said.
“What we are looking to do is to give a very specific group of people services they need in an environment that is socially and emotionally supportive,” Massa said.
The new Tenenbaum rehabilitation center will be geared toward orthopedic patients whose typical stay is about two weeks, Massa said.
