Rooks County Health Center Begins Phase II of Rehab Center

By Roxanne Squires

PLAINVILLE, Kan. – Construction of the Rooks County Health Center (RCH) officially broke ground on Phase II, marking near completion of its locally accessible and state-of-the-art rehabilitation center on July 17.

With the help of Oklahoma City-based, Okla. Miller Architects and Commercial Builders of Hays, Kan. – RCH successfully completed Phase I of the hospital expansion in February 2017, marking the opening of the 2800-square-foot MRI/Nuclear Medicine addition.

The roughly 11,000-square-foot expansion will be home to the entirety of RCH’s rehabilitation services including Physical, Occupational, Speech Therapies, and Cardiac Rehab.

AJ Thomas, CEO of RCH, as well as the former Director of Rehabilitation Services at RCH, stated that the new facility will provide patients and the community access to advanced care with unique features. These features include a zero-entry therapy pool equipped with an adjustable floor with variable water depth and an indoor walking tracking. Thomas added that with this expansion, they will be able improve their ability to serve the growing demand for therapy services, allowing patients to save time and money on travel and lodging expenses.

Furthermore, the new MRI and Nuclear Medicine suite, RCH formed Doctors Without Delay, introducing the first regional walk-in clinic in addition to various proactive and preventative health screening initiatives offered monthly, including discounted lab screenings on the first Friday of every month and after hours mammogram screenings on the second Tuesday of each month.

RCH has been previously recognized by the state and country for their work, ranging from heightened positive outcomes for stroke and heart attack events, low readmission rates among discharged patients and sepsis education and treatment protocols. This fall, RCH will be honored in New York for its work in preventing sepsis and promoting sepsis awareness in the region, being the first critical access hospital in the nation to be given said honor.

The new rehabilitation center is being financially supported through private donations, area community foundations and charitable trusts including the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, William H. Andreson Charitable Trust, Pat Berkley Taylor Community Fund, Heartland Community Foundation and the Rooks County Health Center Auxiliary.

Full completion of the rehabilitation center is expected toward the end of 2019.