UCHealth and Boulder Community Health (BCH) have opened a new 18-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit at UCHealth Broomfield Hospital offering comprehensive, individualized services for patients recovering from such conditions as stroke, neurological disorders, brain or spinal cord injuries, amputation, trauma injuries and complex orthopedic cases.

“BCH’s vision is to thoughtfully develop partnerships that help us create and care for the healthiest community in the nation. Combining resources with UCHealth at this state-of-the-art facility is an important step in that direction. Rehabilitation care is extremely important to our patients, helping them regain their health and independence after serious medical conditions,” said Dr. Robert Vissers, BCH president and CEO. “We look forward to working with providers and hospitals across the north metro area to care for their patients.”

The partnership between UCHealth and BCH, announced last August, expands access to vital inpatient rehabilitation services and builds on the care BCH has been providing for many years.

“Our new rehab unit combines the expertise of staff and specialists from both BCH and UCHealth, providing advanced therapy services to help restore strength, function and independence for patients recovering from serious injuries or illness,” said Dr. Kelly Bookman, interim president of UCHealth Broomfield Hospital. “Broomfield Hospital’s expansion of services we provide to the community now will include comprehensive and individualized rehabilitation treatment of neurological, orthopedic and other medical conditions.”

 Broomfield Hospital opened almost three years ago and has continued to expand the services it provides by adding numerous specialists such as orthopedic surgeons to provide advanced care, close to home, for patients in this community.

 “Our nurses, therapists, staff and providers are looking forward to the official opening of this unit,” said Dr. Jackie Arends, medical director of the new rehabilitation unit. “We will be caring for patients who suffer life-changing medical events with the goal of helping them get back to living their extraordinary lives as quickly as possible.”

Therapists in the new unit are senior-level clinicians specializing in neurology, and nursing staff are trained with specialty rehab certifications. The rehabilitation unit in the newly equipped space features:

• Private single-patient rooms and bathrooms.
• ZeroG body weight support system.
• Ceiling-mounted patient lifts.
• Rehabilitation gym with car transfer simulator.
• Full residential-style kitchen, bathroom and laundry for therapy activities of daily living.The rehabilitation team combines expertise from a variety of specialties to address the individualized physical, cognitive and emotional needs of each patient. Patients will have access to physical therapy to help relearn mobility, occupational therapy to help regain skills for daily living, speech therapy to help restore communication skills and improve swallowing ability, and music therapy to help improve all aspects of well-being.The partnership with UCHealth is the final step in a sweeping reorganization of BCH’s extensive rehabilitation programs, creating a regional network of services offering expanded access and upgraded facilities. BCH had been operating a 14-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit in northwest Boulder. That facility has now closed. For more information about the BCH rehabilitation network, please visit https://www.bch.org/Our-Services/Rehabilitation.aspx. 

For more information about inpatient rehabilitation and therapy at UCHealth, please visit https://www.uchealth.org/services/rehabilitation/inpatient-rehabilitation/.