Letter Writer Urges Community to Act to Save Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit

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It has come to light that Providence is halting construction on the new inpatient rehabilitation unit (IRU), planned as an addition at Redwood Memorial Hospital, in Fortuna. Old General Hospital, the location of the current facility, has been deemed unsafe per California’s current seismic standards and requires vacancy by the end of 2024 (Burns, 2024). While there is no publicized decision regarding the fate of inpatient rehabilitation, I am afraid that without other motivation it will be easiest to shut down the department. There must a third option between either building an entire new wing or closing the department. I implore you to send letters in support of the IRU to the CEO of Providence, in hopes of motivating him to find another way to keep inpatient rehabilitation open.

If the residents of Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte Counties understood the enormous loss they face with the closure of this facility, there would be an uproar. It is notoriously difficult to get quality healthcare in our area. IRU is perhaps the most comprehensive care facility on the North Coast, and I should know because I work there. But ultimately the call for action is not because of possible job loss, but instead because the North Coast community will no longer have access to one of the best inpatient rehabilitation units (Bullwinkel, 2019).

An inpatient rehabilitation unit accepts patients who have been discharged from the hospital yet require 24-hour nursing and intensive therapy so they can safely return home. Candidates for this service must be able to participate in 3 hours of therapy daily. Think of stroke survivors, people who have been sick for an extended amount of time and therefore deconditioned, and folks who broke a major bone and now need to learn to live their daily lives with a huge cast or only using one leg. Inpatient rehabilitation units are places where the actual daily demands that patients face when going home are addressed by trained professionals. The North Coast is especially lucky because the group of individuals that work at our IRU (physical, occupation, and speech therapists, social worker, nurses, and physician) are so dedicated, knowledgeable, and truly spend the time to understand the demands of the whole person. I’m familiar with concierge medical services where you pay large sums to have a personal physician – this is like the treatment every patient gets when they are in our IRU. The exception is that the services we provide are even more comprehensive. There isn’t an extra fee for the treatment our patients receive; holistic excellence is the standard of care. What a tremendous loss for our community if this is not available.

But that brings me to something the IRU cannot provide – family support. Research shows that social interaction is of great benefit for our health. What would you do if your family had to spend upwards of two weeks in a rehabilitation unit? Most folks would want to come by daily to provide support, love, and companionship. When that facility is out of the area, providing an ill loved one with the support they deserve will be challenging. For many, it is not feasible for families to leave work or other commitments for long periods of time. Yet when their family members are at our local IRU, people don’t have to make sacrifices to show up for their loved ones. Family is welcomed and included in as many treatment sessions needed to make patients and families confident when going back home. Ultimately, we as professionals understand that patients and families need to be the experts in providing care.

It is for these reasons that I am writing this letter to request that the community write your own letters. Don’t let this amazing resource disappear without a fight. Since IRU opened in 1987, almost 10,000 patients have received care there (Bullwinkel, 2019). If you or your loved one was guided through the healing process with us, please send a letter in support of finding an alternative to keep IRU open. I hope to never have to see you there, but if you need us, I hope we can be there for you.

Send letters to:

Rodney Hochman, MD and CEO

1801 Lind Ave SW

Renton, WA

98057

Mollie Watson, MS, CCC-SLP