WRH Article for APHA
Westmead Rehabilitation Hospital has been in operation for over 5 years. It’s great to be young and vibrant and even greater that has brought the many years of health care experience of our staff and management to this wonderful establishment.
Our professionalism and skills in Rehabilitation and our loyalty and commitment to our patients are our strength. These are the qualities that differentiate us from other Rehabilitation Hospitals.
Because we are a hospital built for the specific purpose of rehabilitation, we are able to nurture these qualities with our facilities and services.
Over the last 5 years we have rehabilitated and reconditioned over 5500 people.
We have a great Multidisciplinary team who include: 9 very experienced Rehabilitation Specialists with differing sub-specialties within the rehabilitation field, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Exercise Physiologists, Nurses, Doctors, Speech Pathologists and dieticians.
Our team extends to work together with our Assertive General Manager, the diligent Administration staff, and ward clerks, Hotel Services staff and the creative members of our Activity department. There are so many other staff members of various titles that work behind the scenes (like our Maintenance department) that keep our hospital functioning to its full potential.
We provide our patients with first class care and accommodation.
Our facilities include: a well equip Gymnasium for physiotherapy and exercise supported by one on one personal therapy, and a fantastic Hydrotherapy Pool. Accommodation has private and shared rooms, lounge and dining facilities, Internet facilities, TVs and games, a courtyard and other outdoor sitting areas.
Westmead Rehabilitation Centre (as it was known) began with a dream of the KGL Board to create the first independent rehabilitation Facility in this area.
Consented for construction as a 60 bed private rehabilitation centre in 2003, Westmead Rehabilitation Centre was officially opened on October 17th 2005 and received its first patient into care on October 19th 2005.
By early 2006 room occupancy had increased to 30-40 beds and we were proud to open the 2nd wing of the hospital. Staff numbers had grown and our open courtyard developed further. Great customer service became our virtue and was recognised by all referring surgeons and doctors.
Over the middle years we flourished and grew. General management changed hands, and our reputation as the finest Rehabilitation Hospital in Western Sydney was apparent. New office space was created turning the original downstairs garage into our current finance section.
Pulsehealth purchased the business in 2008 with Peter Mangles as CEO.
The current CEO is Justin Matthews.
The establishment was renamed Westmead Rehabilitation Hospital.
A full reconstruction of documentation, computer services, administration and policies became necessary.
Led by our new General manager Julie Mitchell who was appointed in April 2009, Westmead Rehabilitation hospital continues to flourish. In establishing a vibrant and knowledgeable Liaison team and investing in the marketing our facilities and services to the community, we have regularly a 90-100% patient occupancy in any given month. We also run a very successful Day program which enables the patient with referral to keep using our services and remain covered by their funds. PulseHealth has also has a community nursing section of the business, which is a wonderful asset to our patients.
Accredited again by the ISO accreditation surveyors in early 2010 and 2011, we passed with flying colours in all areas of the hospital. We continue to educate our staff and abide by all OH&S issues, fire safety and medical compliances and surgeon protocols. We have a strict and successful infection control protocol and management plan that is constantly reviewed.
Our equipment and structure is regularly checked for safety.
We purchase new equipment when necessary for the direct benefit of our patients, for example. The Jumbuk Hoist was recently purchased to aid in the management of a stroke patient, it proved very successful and with the continued aid of his physiotherapy team, the patient has re-learned moderate walking skills from the direct benefit of the Jumbuk. He now walks with a quad stick. A great achievement... This is just one of the many success stories of this rehabilitation team here on Coleman Street Merrylands.
As a Hospital we share a good morale of friendship and team spirit.
We partake in many events. Occupational Therapy days that display equipment to benefit the patients during their stay and at home, National nurses day with bed making competitions, and guest speakers from various suppliers often join us on a regular basis. We organise events that encourage charity collections or involvement. Special days are organised to celebrate events such as Breast Cancer – Pink ribbon day, Diabetes Day Stroke Awareness Week, and days such as Remembrance Day and Anzac day and Private Hospitals Week.
Westmead Rehabilitation hospital is deeply associated with the Department of Veteran Affairs and caters for many DVA patients within our wider community. The members of the organisation regularly visit our patients here. They are a wonderful support.
We were nominated as a Champion Hospital for Valuing Private Hospitals Week.
To celebrate we held an Open Day here at the Hospital on the 6th April. It was extremely successful. Many guests participated in the event. Companies such as: OAPL, Cincotta Chemist, Aidacare, SuperScan, Brightskys, Diabetes Australia and Hesta Super Fund all held information stands.
The most prominent event of the day was the launch of our new website.
As a hospital and Health care facility, we have only just begun. With so many success stories, our horizons are unlimited. We continue to discuss new ideas and strategies for improvement of our hospital in terms of care and infrastructure and continue to educate the staff in up to date treatments, protocols and health care requirements.
We wish to thank the many referring Surgeons, Doctors and Hospital staff that continue to support our fine establishment.