Just three months after a windstorm blew the roof off the Hill Country Memorial Outpatient Rehab Center, the Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy departments are moving back into their original location at 402 West Windcrest in Fredericksburg. The staff will begin seeing patients there on Monday, October 17.
“We are excited to be back in our home location and are ready to start caring for and treating patients in our new and updated environment,” said Mindy Eckert, Manager of Therapy Services for HCM.
In addition to a complete roof replacement and repairing extensive damage to the interior, teams took the opportunity to make improvements to the building. These include all new paint and flooring, increased number of private treatment rooms, and improved floor plan.
During the interim, therapy services have been offered in the Brune Building, and Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehab services have been offered in the Avery Gym. While outpatient therapy services will return to their original location, cardiac and pulmonary rehab will remain at and expand into the Avery Gym, located on the second floor inside the main hospital.
Separating therapy from rehab will provide both departments more space to better serve their patients, according to Eckert.
Avery Gym was originally designed as a therapeutic area for HCM’s Restore joint replacement program, so this was a way to restore it to its original purpose, according to Greta Hartmann, Director of Wound Care, Infusion, and Cardiac Rehab. She noted making this the permanent home for cardiac and pulmonary rehab will have a significant impact on patient safety.
“As we are taking care of patients immediately postcare, having immediate access to physician oversight is very important,” Hartmann said. “Being inside the hospital walls will allow us to be nearer to those services at all times.”
Dedicated space will also allow them to add more specialized rehab equipment, to be closer to HCM’s new interventional cardiology services, and to remain open for more hours, thereby serving more patients. Currently, access to the Avery Gym is through the Registration Entrance.
Information on these and all of HCM’s patient services can be found at <www.hillcountrymemorial. org>.