It just got easier for Knoxville and East Tennessee residents to get inpatient rehabilitation following a stroke or a brain or spinal cord injury. Through a joint venture, Covenant Health and Encompass Health have opened a new facility at Fort Sanders West and renovated the Patricia Neal rehab center at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.
Artist’s rendering of the new Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Hospital West
On Feb. 15, officials celebrated both:
- Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center at Fort Sanders underwent renovation to become a 22-bed hospital-in-hospital structure. All semi-private rooms were converted to private rooms.
- Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Hospital West is a new 51-bed free-standing inpatient rehab hospital at 101 Fort Sanders West Blvd. It will begin caring for patients in early March.
Jennifer Steely is chief executive officer of both facilities. In an interview Feb. 17 with Knox TN Today, she called the new facilities “beautiful spaces conducive to healing.”
Patients, she said, will have easier access to inpatient facilities. The West Knox center is one-story, making it easier to get patients to different treatment areas. The spacious parking lot provides convenient access for families and visitors.
Both facilities are inpatient only. Outpatient follow up for discharged patients will be done at other Covenant Health entities or at free-standing physical therapy clinics.
Steely, who lives in Powell, has worked almost 30 years at Covenant Health, starting as an occupational therapist. She was trained at Eastern Kentucky University and got a master’s degree in health care management from the University of St. Frances.
She said several jobs have been filled, but she is still hiring. Both facilities will be staffed 24/7. Both locations will offer comprehensive physical rehabilitation services and higher medical management for patients recovering from stroke and other neurological disorders, hip fractures, brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation and complex orthopedic conditions.
The hospitals continue to carry the name of Patricia Neal, an Oscar-winning actor and Knoxville native who successfully resumed her acting career after surviving and recovering from three devastating strokes.
“Since its opening in 1978, the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center at Fort Sanders Regional has served and inspired thousands of patients, and received awards and recognition for providing expert, compassionate care,” said Jim VanderSteeg, Covenant Health president and CEO. Find more information about the hospital’s services here.
Info about the hospitals’ services here.