Transcription:
Breaking New Ground - The Future of Rehabilitation at Good Shepherd

Caitlin Whyte (Host): Good Shepherd is breaking ground on a new state of the art inpatient rehabilitation hospital that will revolutionize treatment and recovery options for people with complex medical conditions. Here to tell us more about the ambitious project is Cindy Buchman. She serves as Good Shepard Rehabilitation Network's Lead for Strategy and Growth Planning.

Cindy previously worked as Vice President of Physician and Clinical Services and joined Good Shepherd in 2013 as Division Good Shepherd Physician Group Administrator.

This is Transforming Lives and Inspiring Hope, a Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Now Cindy, to start off our show today, can you tell me a little bit about what your current role at Good Shepherd entails?

Cindy Buchman, MHA (Guest): Sure, thank you for having me. I have been with Good Shepherd about eight years and my primary role I am right now, I am steering and directing the new construction of our new inpatient rehab hospital, along with managing some other hospital departments in the rehabilitation hospital with strategic planning.

Host: Now what differentiates Good Shepherd for those in need of rehabilitation?

Cindy: That's such a great question. And you know, one that I really love to reflect on mostly by since I'm not a clinical provider, I love to have those opportunities to speak with our clinical teams. And they often remind me of why I came to Good Shepherd. And one of the first things that you feel about Good Shepherd and it's really, you know, first and foremost, the absolute passion that our teams have to treat each patient with an individualized care plan, that's really targeted at their goals of getting them home, and to the highest level of functioning that they can.

You know, I think we do this through our structured approach and treating, you know, many different catastrophic injuries, such as brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, stroke care, and amputee.

Host: Well, let's talk a bit more about that. What types of injuries and conditions are treated in the rehabilitation hospital and what type of services will then the new hospital provide?

Cindy: Great question. You know, so first and foremost, we at Good Shepherd have, our impact is really helping patients on our rehab hospital during those catastrophic events in their life. We know what the families are going through. We work with the families. We work with the patients that are coming to us when they've had this event, that's really changed their life. Whether it be a spinal cord injury of any, from a fall or accident, a brain injury, from the same, a fall or accident. Many times we have patients that come to us that have had really severe, or maybe not so severe strokes and amputees. So, it's really important for us to first and foremost, start out by understanding what has happened in their life and understanding our patients' needs and the family. That families are very important, they're caregivers, they're support systems. You know, we do a lot of work while they're here during their hospitalization on helping them reach that their highest functioning level when they return home. And that's all through our innovation and many of our care programs.

Host: So tell us about this new hospital. What led to the decision for Good Shepherd to build a new rehabilitation hospital in Center Valley?

Cindy: Such a great, it's an exciting time. For years we have had our rehab hospital here in downtown Allentown, and, you know, we talked a little bit earlier about the medical complexity of our patients. And one that we're finding is that we have needed a, you know, in a more updated facility. We have a very aging plant. And quite honestly, you know, with the complexity of our care delivery models, we thought it was really important that we create a newer environment for the inpatient rehab that really lended to updating our innovation, our technology, you know, our care. And we thought this was a great location for this portion of our business.

Host: So, much of the news about the new rehabilitation hospital has described it as a state of the art facility that will provide world-class rehabilitation. So, can you tell us about some of the features of the new hospital and how it will support those descriptions?

Cindy: Sure. Thank you. So, you know, what's really important to us is, again, like we talked about is we deal with very medically complex conditions. Not only, you know, we talked about patients that come to us with spinal cord injuries, with brain injuries, but they may also have complex other medical complex issues. Like needs for oncology or transplant. So, the whole design around the state of the art of our new hospital will be really be maximizing that workflow options that make sure that our care delivery is really on point and it's efficient. And really what we're going to love is utilizing some of these natural elements that the new hospital will bring in this location. You know, the whole idea of having a lot more light, being very connected to nature, will really improve the healing process, the recovery process. We're going to have a beautiful healing garden outside of our new hospital that will also serve not only as a meditation area, but areas that patients and their families can stroll.

It's going to be very therapeutic. So, really kind of focusing on, you know, what can we bring in from the outside, from our new environment and really the natural elements of it improving their healing.

Host: I love that. I love the idea of that garden and having a space to kind of get away and meditate. Like you said, that's so exciting.

Cindy: Take a walk. Like many of our patients love to garden, so we're going to have gardening areas so that they can feel like those things that were important to them maybe before their injury, you know, they will be able to work with their therapist or go out with their, with their loved one and, you know, look at the flowers, plant something, you know, maybe even hit it a little bit on the, on the putting green, if necessary. It is going to be water feature that they can take a walk and, and really find it relaxing for them to reflect.

Host: That just sounds so wonderful and kind of leads me into my next question. Let's talk about another new feature, the experience center. What is that space going to be used for?

Cindy: The experience center is really exciting for us. It really gives us an opportunity to showcase some of that interactive, a space for interactive demonstration, where it will provide access for both our patients and our, their, their family members and loved ones for education, for members of the community to come in and look at some cutting edge innovative technologies and services. So, what do we talk about when we're, what we're looking at, where, you know, we're really looking at some autonomous living devices, how can technology help our patients when they return home? How can it make that a little bit easier for their family members, whether it's a smart home hub or some adaptive gaming that maybe they would enjoy. Other technologies that just provide the family some peace of mind that their loved ones are going to have some similarities to their life maybe prior to an injury. We're looking at what are these wearables that they could have to really help them look at individual daily routines that alert caregivers to some changings of their habits. So really, kind of leveraging our research, leveraging our innovation and our want and desire to bring technology that's important to the healing process.

And when our patient's discharged home, it's even more important that we ensure that they have everything they need. You know, we also are very strong in our transition from our patients, from them leaving our hospital to going home, supporting them in that not only in their discharge planning, making sure their equipment has showed up at their home, helping support the family members, if there's any medical questions. So, our experience center will really be this opportunity to showcase some interactive technology for them to use at home. Technology for their families to say, hey, this would work great for us in our home.

And, and really giving them the opportunity to use it. To not be fearful of it, to experience it. You know, all of these items are really enriching what we do best. It's staying in our rehab, you know, staying in how we maximize our patients' functions, by understanding, you know, their current condition, working them through their hospitalization, and then really preparing them for a strong discharge, you know, with devices, with innovation, with education. But most importantly, with the support and knowing that they're not alone, you know, they're going to have us there every step of the way.

Host: Well, as we wrap up here, Cindy, of course, we'll still have the south Allentown campus. What services will remain down there?

Cindy: That's a great question. You know, everything that's on our Allentown campus will remain with the exception of what we just talked about. And that's a 76 bed, private rehab hospital, but our senior suite will be here. We have all of our supporting departments. We have our health and technology, which is now known as our Highland Center that will stay here on campus for all outpatient care. We have our long-term care that will stay here on our Allentown campus and many other supporting departments, such as human resources. We have our marketing, we have our development. We have many other services that are here to support all aspects of our post-acute care. So, you know, there's not much changing here at Allentown. Only one part of the business will be moving to this new location.

Host: Well, Cindy, this is all so exciting. Is there anything else you want to add before we end here?

Cindy: Thank you. No, I just want to say thank you. You know, we love what we're able to do and in assisting our community for well over a hundred years, and we hope to continue that and bring even more value to our patients and the community. So I thank you.

Host: Well Cindy, like I said, just some really exciting news. I cannot wait to see the final outcome. Thank you for your time and guidance in this project. Good Shepherd is a destination for Transforming Lives and Inspiring Hope. Call 1-888-44 REHAB or visit goodshepherdrehab.org. This is Transforming Lives and Inspiring Hope, a Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.