LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary With Open House Event

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina will celebrate 10 years of providing intensive medical and therapeutic services for medically complex patients with a special open house event on November 3.

One of only seven specialty acute care hospitals in the state, the 50-bed facility serves as an extension of the region's community hospitals, caring for patients who require extended hospitalization due to catastrophic illness or injury. In addition to a five-bed special care unit, the facility offers aggressive ventilator weaning services as well as specialized care for traumatic brain injury and bariatric patients. The hospital, which opened in 1999, serves a 14,000 square mile service area that spans from Durham to Fayetteville.

"During the past 10 years, we have had the privilege of caring for thousands of patients and their families during some of life's most challenging moments," said Kevin Cooper, Administrator of LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina. "It is incredibly rewarding for our physicians and staff to help these individuals - many of whom were admitted with little hope for survival - reach their fullest recovery potential. It is especially gratifying to see patients who have returned to their lives walk back through our doors as visitors."

Typically, patients are transferred to LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina after a stay in an intensive care unit in a general acute care hospital. Patients often have experienced multiple system failures or a slow response to traditional medical treatments and require extended acute care management with intensive therapies and round-the-clock attention.

Upon admission to LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina, each patient is provided with a treatment team that includes physicians, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists and therapists across a range of disciplines, including physical, speech, occupational, respiratory and psychological therapy.

According to Chief Clinical Officer Robyn Raynor Perkerson, RN, this transdisciplinary approach brings together caregivers across a range of disciplines to help speed the physical, emotional and spiritual recovery of each patient.

"At LifeCare, we truly believe the healing process must incorporate body, mind and soul," she said. "So we embrace each of our patients as individuals and try to understand not only their physical needs but also as what motivates them. This allows us to provide emotional and spiritual support while treating the underlying physical condition."

In addition to filling a unique need in the continuum of care offered by the local medical community, specialty acute care hospitals such as LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina play an important role in curbing the staggering costs associated with hospital readmissions.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that one-third of all Medicare patients are readmitted to an acute care hospital within 90 days of discharge. These unplanned readmissions cost more than $17 billion dollars annually.

"By providing extensive rehabilitative services in a critical care setting, facilities like ours help ensure patients receive the care they need in an appropriate and cost-effective setting," said Cooper. "More importantly, they provide each patient with the chance to achieve his or her fullest recovery potential."

Located at 1051 Noell Drive, LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina is part of the LifeCare family of hospitals. The LifeCare Hospitals network includes 19 specialty acute care hospitals in nine states. To learn more about LifeCare Hospitals of North Carolina, please call (252) 451-2300 or visit us at www.lifecare-hospitals.com.