Rehabilitation for the Region

New medical office building brings new services and facilities to Hopkins county

Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among both men and women, but the second most lethal cancer after lung cancer.

"The quality physical rehabilitation facilities that Memorial Hospital provides to the East Texas region continue to improve with the groundbreaking for a new three-story, 32,000-square-foot medical office building," says Sam Sevier, Memorial Hospital physical therapy director.

The building, which will be located on the hospital's southeast lawn, will house a new, modern outpatient physical rehabilitation center on the first floor and provide-or expand-the following services:

Existing orthopaedic and sports rehabilitation services will be enhanced by the addition of a heated therapeutic pool, which will be available for medical needs, and a new line of rehabilitation equipment. Aquatic therapy provides "unloading" of the body through the buoyant effects of water. Therapeutic exercise equipment and medical fitness facilities will be available for former patients as well as patients with special medical needs. A limited number of memberships for this facility may be available to the public.

Industrial rehabilitation services, including requested therapy services, functional capacity evaluation, work hardening programs and education programs for job safety will be available for local industry.

Occupational therapy services for skilled hand and upper-extremity rehabilitation, as well as functional training following disease, will be an integral part of the facility.

Pediatric services also will be a central focus of this facility. Children will be treated in a therapy room designed exclusively for them, and a separate pediatric waiting room will be designed with these special patients in mind.

Speech pathology services will be offered to meet the needs of both pediatric and adult patients who experience language disorders such as stuttering, swallowing, aphasia, developmental speech problems and articulation.

The building, designed by Polkinghorn Group Associates from Austin and constructed by contractor FJW Company from Arlington, will feature a 60- to 75-person conference room for hospital and public use. Expanded parking facilities for patients and employees are also part of the plan.