The Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation-Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Health Network's (LVHN) new inpatient rehabilitation facility for adults 18 years and older, will open July 1 on the sixth and seventh floors of the Kasych Family Pavilion South Tower on the campus of Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, Salisbury Township.

The new facility has resulted in the creation of more than 125 new jobs at the health network.

The new facility will provide a full continuum of services for LVHN patients. For the first time, adults will have the opportunity to receive short-term rehabilitation without having to leave Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest.

"This facility allows us to continue to address the needs of our community," said Brian Nester, DO, MBA, FACOEP, LVHN president and chief executive officer. "By providing short-term intensive rehabilitation, we're ensuring a seamless continuum of care for patients without leaving our health network. In addition, having these units at our hospital allows patients access to our specialists should any additional medical problems arise."

The Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation-Cedar Crest includes:

34 private patient rooms, six of which will include telemetry beds for the monitoring of cardiac and respiratory patients;

A therapy gym on each floor featuring cardio equipment, resistance bands and weights;

A kitchen where patients can work on activities of daily living, such as loading a dishwasher or cooking on the stove;

State-of-the-art technical equipment such as the Bioness Vector Gait, a harness that people who are learning to stand or walk again can use to move around the gym and kitchen, and

An activities-of-daily-living suite, which is essentially a one-room apartment where patients can test their ability to live independently prior to discharge.

"Each member of our inpatient rehabilitation team has one goal: to help each patient who enters this center regain complete function and return to the highest level of personal independence," Nester said.

Patients with conditions that would necessitate care at the Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation - Cedar Crest can expect a minimum of three hours of intensive, specialized rehabilitation therapy almost every day for an average of two weeks. People recovering from conditions such as stroke, neurological disorders, orthopedic injuries, amputations, post-surgical conditions or other debilitations are most likely to use the center.

The new unit is a key component in LVHN's role as a Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Being an ACO means LVHN is held accountable for coordinating care provided to more than 32,000 Medicare beneficiaries. LVHN estimates indicate that 75 percent of the recipients of its inpatient rehabilitation services will be Medicare patients. LVHN's ability to provide these services extends its continuum of care for Medicare patients in the spirit of the ACO.

LVHN's multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation care includes specialized rehabilitation physicians, rehabilitation nurses and physical, occupational and speech therapists.