Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation recently began construction of a nine-bed transitional rehabilitation facility, Baylor Scott & White Neuro Transitional Rehabilitation Center. The center is expected to open this summer.
The center's clinical team will provide care in a residential setting for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke or other neurological disease. These patients need continued medical coordination, specialized therapies and supervision before safely reintegrating home under the care of a family member or caregiver.
"We created this program because of the need within our community to provide continued care within our system for our patients," said Jane Boutte, transitional program manager, Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. "We performed a year-long study to look at the needs of patients discharging from our facilities. We found that many patients discharging from our hospital and elsewhere in the community don't qualify for inpatient rehabilitation but still need additional therapy to live safely at home. Patients who come to us for their rehabilitation care can enter Baylor Scott & White Health as an acute care patient, and have access to all of our services in inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, home health care and now neuro transitional rehabilitation."
The facility will contain nine suites with access to a specially designed kitchen where patients can practice meal planning, shopping and preparation within their abilities. Patients will participate in five to six hours of intensive rehabilitation therapy five days a week and then will return to the facility to transfer their therapy goals into the residential rehabilitation setting, preparing for their transition home or to the next step in their care. The ultimate goal of the Neuro Transitional Rehabilitation Center is to provide patients with the structure, guidance and supervision needed to help with activities of day- to-day-living that will support their safe return home and to work or school.
"It's a fully integrated program," explained Randi Dubiel, DO, medical director of traumatic brain injury services, Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. "Our hospital treats patients with complex injuries who deal with great physical, cognitive, and behavioral impairments. Patients eventually become medically stable but have ongoing issues that make returning home a challenge. This facility will help give patients the skills they need to successfully transition back into their homes, communities and lives."
The Neuro Transitional Rehabilitation Center will provide a multidisciplinary team, including a licensed nurse to serve as residential manager; a registered nurse who will perform community evaluations of patients; a case manager; rehabilitation assistants; a chaplain; and a dietitian. The center will have a dedicated medical director and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician following the patient through his or her transitional course and life.
The location of the facility on the Baylor University Medical Center Dallas campus makes it convenient for patients to receive the medical coordination often required as part of their conditions. The facility also will offer a van for transportation to help patients participate in structured activities throughout the community.
The Neuro Transitional Rehabilitation Center will continue to support patients after they leave the facility. "We plan to follow patients throughout their recovery, knowing that injuries such as TBI and SCI can come with life-long challenges that require a health care system that wants to support them and is able to meet their needs," Boutte said. "We hope to follow up with patients at 30 and 90 days, at one year and annually for several years afterward, so that we have the data from a research perspective to see their outcomes over the long term. Our hope is that this facility will become a model of care that can be spread throughout North Texas."
Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation is part of the North Texas TBI Model System, a collaborative effort with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It is one of 16 rehabilitation centers recognized nationally as a TBI Model System of care, providing comprehensive care to those surviving moderate to severe TBI. The addition of the new Neuro Transitional Rehabilitation Center will make Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation the first among these other centers to provide this level of care to their patients.
# # #
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com
