*Photo by Sid Johnston
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Last updated: Monday September 14, 2009, 8:15 AM
Suburban Trends
LINCOLN PARK — The Jerry & Dolores Turco (JDT) Center, an "East meets West" medical rehabilitation center designed to take care of sub-acute and out-patient therapy, received its first patients after officially opening on June 23, but how is this facility coping with its first patients' needs three months later?
Jim Parker, a resident of the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock, is very satisfied so far with the overall treatment he has been receiving at the JDT Center.
Parker, who is suffering from adult onset diabetes, previously had his left leg amputated and is currently in the JDT center recovering from an arterial bypass in his right leg.
"The JDT center is like a vacation for me," Parker said. "It's like being on a cruise ship, with the friendly atmosphere and people who give you anything you want to make you happy."
After his surgery at Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains, Parker said a social worker at the hospital recommended the JDT center for his sub-acute therapy.
"I previously was at the Renaissance Rehab & Nursing Center next door for sub-acute therapy in the past, so I was familiar with the campus," Parker said.
With the help from the Assistant Director of Rehabilitation, Jerome Lesaca, Parker said his therapy has been helping him regain his strength and gaining mobility again. Parker was confined to a wheelchair before his arrival at the JDT center, and through Lesaca's regimented program of step exercises, treadmill, and balance exercises, Parker has gained the ability to stand and walk around on his own.
"This is the first place I've been at that succeeded in helping me walk again," Parker said.
Grace Beardsmore of Clifton has also been satisfied with her therapy at the JDT center. Beardsmore, who was one of the first patients to arrive in the facility, is anticipating leaving on Sept. 12 after a hip and foot surgery at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville.
"The service has been terrific, and I couldn't ask for anything more," Beardsmore said.
One of the things Beardsmore highlighted was the fact that in her private room, which is one of the main features of the JDT Center, she was able to bring in little things to make her life easier at the center, like her cinnamon to add to her cereal. In addition, she is able to walk around the facility freely to receive some exercise, and is able to congregate in the living room with other patients.
She said she found out about the JDT center from her daughter, who was passing by the area and saw that it was open. Beardsmore said that since her admission to the JDT center, it has been catering to healing her "mind, body and soul," and secretly laments that her therapy would be longer so she could stay at the facility a bit more.
The future of JDT
In an interview with Mimi Feliciano, the owner of the Lincoln Park HealthCare Experience organization, which the JDT center is a part of, she said that the JDT Center currently has around 35 of the 60 rooms occupied, with 15 discharges from a successful stays.
"Several patients left earlier than expected," Feliciano said. "That is our ultimate goal in the JDT Center: to get the patients healthier as soon as possible."
In the future, Feliciano said the facility would be encompassing educational classes on various conditions like Arthritis, where a doctor would come in and explain to the community how to cope with these conditions, and various ways to prevent these conditions.
Feliciano also said that talks with several prominent health care centers in New York City are paying off, with a referral from Mount Sinai in Manhattan to attending the JDT Center for sub-acute therapy.
"Our operational awareness campaign is creating a bit of a buzz in the medical community," Feliciano said.
One looming concern is the current health care reform debate going on in the federal government, and how this could affect her business. Currently, the JDT center is generating a portion of its revenue through both Medicare and Medicaid.
"I don't know which way the government will go with the health care debate, but I noticed there was a 0 percent increase on Medicaid costs, and I'm unsure if that would be applied to Medicare soon," Feliciano said. "But I'm confident that if you make a product that is highly desirable, then people will come to find you."
Feliciano said that because the Lincoln Park Healthcare Experience is a very large and well known facility in the region, it becomes a matter of "economy of scale," and anticipates the business will run efficiently regardless of what decisions the government makes, even if it has an adverse effect on her business or not.
And her strategy at the moment is based on expansion. The JDT Center is still in the process of hiring employees, and is currently looking for nurses, including certified nurses aides, specialists, and any nurses with previous hospital or sub-acute experience. In addition, the JDT Center is looking for customer service representatives that would act as concierges or non-medical caretakers, and a few managerial positions. In all, Feliciano said there are around 30 positions still available.
"I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to undergo projects like this," Feliciano said.
With the completion of the JDT Center, the Lincoln Park Healthcare Experience complex, which includes the Lincoln Park Care Center, Renaissance Rehab & Nursing Center, and Hospice, has around 706 beds, making it one of the largest healthcare complexes in New Jersey.
E-mail: johnston@northjersey.com
Retrieved on September 14, 2009 from http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/Checking_in_with_the_new_health_facility.html?c=y&page=2
* The image shows Jim Parker of the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock receives his physical therapy with Assistant Director of Rehabilitation, Jerome Lesaca at the Jerry & Dolores Turco (JDT) Center in Lincoln Park. Parker's left leg is amputated, and is in the center after receiving surgery in his right leg due to adult onset diabetes
