The
Fudge Family Acute Rehabilitation Center includes 18 rooms, workout equipment, a garden, a putting green and a
virtual reality system.
Hoag
Dr. Keyvan Esmaeili said the center will serve as a transition area where patients relearn
basic tasks lost to injury or illness.
The patients are recovering from amputations, brain, spinal cord and orthopedic
injuries, strokes and pulmonary disorders, brain tumor surgery and similar
challenges.
The rehab center has a variety of methods to aid patients with regaining
motor function, ranging from the traditional — like using overhead
harnesses — to the unique.
Glavinic said the virtual reality system is a novel way for patients to
sharpen hand-eye skills; they can, for example, use virtual swords to
pop on-screen balloons. The system stores patients’ data so medical
personnel can track their progress.
With an average stay of 12 to 15 days, each patient gets his or her own
bedroom and bathroom.
An electronic lift is available to lead patients to the bathroom from bed
if they can’t support themselves. Esmaeili said this prevents injuries
that can occur when nurses lift patients.
The
rehab team is composed of physicians, nurses and therapists from stroke centers,
neurological institutes and other specialized areas.
The facility also includes a room built to mirror an apartment. It is meant
to be a transition room — with associated “obstacles”
to navigate — before a patient is released to go home. Patients
can practice washing dishes, using a stove and opening cabinets.
When patients need a break from the indoors, recreational therapists will
guide them to the garden and putting green.
There’s also an engine-less Smart car so patients can relearn how
to get in and out of a vehicle.
The facility, in the making for about 10 years, is one of only a few acute
rehabilitation centers at Orange County hospitals.
Hoag doesn’t publicize the full cost of its projects, though $4 million
was donated for the center by Gary Fudge of Newport Beach.
Fudge, 74, who suffered a stroke in 2010 and underwent treatment at Hoag,
said he wanted to help others who are going through the same psychologically
draining rehabilitation.
“I came face to face with my mortality,” Fudge said. “It
wasn’t pleasant.”
Fudge had to regain the ability to perform even the most basic tasks, like
deleting an email. He said he has virtually no limitations now.
Fudge said he would have benefited from the new center had it been around
when he had his stroke. In particular, he said, he shouldn’t have
been going home after rehab sessions.
“I would have preferred staying here,” Fudge said. “This
could have helped me … and it will undoubtedly help others.”
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