Volume 17, No. 3, Summer 2009
Your Good Health Forum |
The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands (RHCI) will open a new outpatient center in Plymouth this fall. The RHCI-Plymouth Outpatient Rehabilitation Center will follow the model of RHCI’s other satellites and offer therapy as well as physician services.
The new center will be the fifth outpatient center and the first off-Cape for RHCI, the region’s only facility offering hospital-level rehabilitation care. Other outpatient centers are located in Sandwich, Yarmouth and Orleans, and RHCI’s pediatric center is located in Sandwich.
The newly constructed center is located at 1 Scobee Circle in the Plymouth Industrial Park off Exit 7 of Route 3. RHCI officials said they expect to open the doors in October. It will include two gyms featuring state-of-the-art therapy equipment and eight private treatment rooms. Physical therapists will specialize in treatment for sports injuries, back and neck pain, knee and shoulder injuries, arthritis, stroke and other neurological conditions, plus post-surgical rehabilitation. Dr. Jay E. Rosenfeld, an RHCI physician with board certifications in rehabilitation medicine and pain, will offer diagnostic, treatment and consultation services. His areas of expertise include non-operative management of spinal and orthopedic conditions, Baclofen pump management, and treatment of spasticity and pain.
RHCI’s Plymouth center is affiliated with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, as are all RHCI facilities. Together, RHCI’s current outpatient centers provide more than 75,000 visits annually.
Information about the new center’s services and employment opportunities is available at www.rhci.org (search: Plymouth site).
RHCI Names Admissions Director
Anne Walker has joined Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands as Director of Referral Development and Admissions. She has served as Director of Admissions for The Boston Center for Rehabilitation and Subacute Care, part of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, and as Community Relations Director for Ethos, a non-profit elder services company. She has also held various positions working for community health organizations. Ms. Walker received a Master’s degree in Public Health from University of South Carolina.
She assumes a position vacated by Myrna Ryan, LICSW, who retired after 30 years of service in the health care field, including 14 years at RHCI.
Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard (HMV) and Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod (H&PCCC) have formed an alliance, designed, in their words, “to enhance and expand end-of-life care services for the residents of Martha’s Vineyard.”
For over 27 years, Martha’s Vineyard residents have received hospice care at no cost from HMV thanks to the generosity and support of the island community. Now, as a result of this new alliance, eligible residents will have access to additional hospice services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare insurers.
Previously, Vineyard residents with Medicare coverage had to leave the Island in order to take advantage of their hospice healthcare benefit. HMV executives had explored the possibility of becoming a Medicare-certified hospice provider, but they chose not to do so in order to preserve their ability to serve residents without the constraints associated with health insurance eligibility criteria.
Through this new alignment, Martha’s Vineyard residents can start out by accessing the care provided by HMV from the date of their diagnosis of a life-limiting illness. Then, upon reaching eligibility under insurance criteria, they can access their hospice healthcare insurance benefit whether from Medicare, Medicaid or a commercial insurer.
As Terre Young, Executive Director of HMV explained, “The important thing to know is that this will not change the focus of our mission. This alliance ensures that island residents facing serious illness continue to receive our care to meet their physical, spiritual and emotional needs, independent of health insurance eligibility. Additionally, it provides access to the optimal insurance benefits from healthcare insurers upon determination of hospice eligibility.”
When eligible, HMV patients will now, for the first time, have the choice to access their insurance benefit, receiving care from H&PCCC on the Island. Another anticipated advantage of the alliance is the ability for HMV to use its resources to expand and enrich its service offering to the Island community. “We will be able to provide the broadest, most comprehensive care for Vineyard community members in need of quality end of life care, as well as sustain, advance and insure the future of HMV,” declares Terre Young.
H&PCCC will open an office on the Island that will be supported by its Hyannis-based administrative resources. When patients become eligible and choose H&PCCC as their hospice provider, the two organizations will collaborate at all levels to ensure continuity of care and seamless transitions for patients and families.
Each organization will maintain its independent status, identity, mission, and philanthropic pursuits.
“We are extremely pleased to enter into this innovative alliance with HMV” said David Rehm, President and CEO of H&PCCC. “This collaboration reinforces our commitment to increase access to care and to serve all who are eligible and entitled to the full range of hospice services.”
Unveiled this summer in Centerville was a strong example of how demographics can at times trump the economy.
Idle contractors and sagging real estate prices testify to weakness in the building industry these days.
But other statistics tell graphically how the aging of Cape Cod’s population continues to grow. And with it the increasing problems of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia that afflict the elderly.
That explains why the corporate managers of Cape Regency, Radius Management Services of Framingham, forged ahead over the last year with the addition of a $5.4 million addition to their 120-bed Centerville facility to deal with these conditions.
Brookside at Regency provides memory supported assisted living for elders suffering from various stages of mental impairment. It consists of 29 apartments in a secure three-story building. Apartments have microwaves and there are common kitchen areas for those who are able to cook for themselves…and who wish to do so.
All this in addition to the usual dining and recreation facilities and medical support.
With family members providing care at home for about 70 percent of the growing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the ripple effects of this condition can be felt throughout the entire family. That’s the reasoning behind the VNA of Cape Cod’s decision to institute its new Hospice Dementia Program.
This is a highly specialized program for people in the advanced stages of dementia and other neurological illnesses such as advanced Parkinson's disease or any disease causing cognitive impairments. The program uses a patient-centered approach to improve quality of life through meaningful sensory activities that stimulate the senses, promote relaxation, and offer comfort and serenity to those living with dementia as well as providing moments of peace and tranquility to families and caregivers.
This new program is provided by all members of the hospice interdisciplinary staff and volunteers. VNA hospice aides provide bathing, dressing, grooming and hydration as meaningful activities rather than task completion. Other disciplines and volunteers are involved with providing gentle hand massages, spiritual reading, music and reminiscence. For further information, call 508-957-7710.
There was good news for Massachusetts among the national bad news in the latest “Grading the States” report issued recently by the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI).
Since the first report was issued three years ago, 14 states have improved their grades, including Massachusetts, which advanced from a C to one of only six to rate as high as a B.
The bad news is that there were no A ratings, 12 states lost ground and the national average remained no better than a D. Six states drew an F. Considering the nation’s current economic crisis, NAMI officials expressed fear that states would be making further cuts in mental health budgets.
The ratings are based on 65 specific criteria such as access to medicine, housing, family education and support for National Guard members.