Phoenixville Hospital Opens $4M Rehab Center

Phoenixville Hospital is opening a new $4 million rehab center with the first patients arriving as early as next week.

Hospital officials, joined by Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA6) and business leaders from the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce cut the ceremonial ribbon during an event Thursday evening on the hospital's second floor.

Hospital Chief Executive Officer Steve Tullman says the new center is opening in the nick of time, beating a Medicare deadline that would have required the facility to wait another year if it had not been ready by the end of June. "It's really exciting to be able to offer this service in our community and people don't have to travel outside our community to get this care now," Tullman says.

"The one thing we offer here in this unit as opposed to any other rehab facility is that if patients need acute medical care on top of their rehab care, we are here to provide it," explains Hospital Board Director Dr. Ray Kovalski. Kovalski is also head of the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

"I think that's what makes this a very unique opportunity for us.  When they come to us for rehab they're reasonably healthy, but sometimes people get sick," Kovalski explains. "And if they are sick enough they don't have to be transported from the area. So I think that's one, nice unique feature about this."

"It's hard to tell you what this hospital means to the community," says Phoenixville Mayor Leo Scoda. "Being the largest employer in the community the taxes they pay besides real estate taxes. The people that live and work here, they pay here. And that is probably enough to support us having two policeman on our police force,"  the mayor joked.

But on a serious note the hospital is a major financial cornerstone of the Phoenixville community and the new rehabilitation unit is expected to be another big part of the hospital which only a few years ago was considered at risk for closing.

The mayor says "I am meeting a lot of young families buying houses in the downtown area they rave about. One of the things they're always going to mention is that they have the medical center right here close to them."

Gerlach also pointed out the importance of the hospital in strengthening the Phoenixville economy. "Around here for many, many years if anyone had to go rehab, you'd go to Bryn Mawr Rehab outside of West Chester.  Now you've established this facility which is going to make it a lot easier for people in this part of Chester County and Western Montgomery County to get great services and not have to travel as far."

Program Director Holly Sanborn tells Patch that the rehab center will be able to serve up to 14 patients at a time in private rooms. In order to be admitted Sanborn says patients must have a reasonable prognosis for recover and return to independent living.  She says the cost of the center's services are usually covered by insurance as with any non-hospital rehab center.