The Valentine’s Day surprise for patients at Sheltering Arms’ Hanover County inpatient hospital was named a “Mech Moment” by the Mechanicsville Local this week!  For more details on the surprise, read this post.  A scan of the image in the Mechanicsville Local is below!

Mechanicsville Local, February 17, 2010

Valentine’s Day may be two days away, but the celebration was well under way at Sheltering Arms’ inpatient hospital at Memorial Regional Medical Center today.  A former patient arranged for a quartet to perform for our current patients in honor of Valentine’s Day!  Some pictures are below.  Click the images to see larger versions.

As announced earlier on this blog, The Sheltering Arms Hospital recently received a huge honor — a Disease-Specific Care Certification in Stroke Rehabilitation through The Joint Commission with no requirements for improvement!

The video below celebrates this achievement

On Thursday, January 21st, The Sheltering Arms Hospital accomplished something that few healthcare organizations are able to do – a Disease-Specific Care Certification in Stroke Rehabilitation through The Joint Commission with no requirements for improvement!

This certification and Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission means that Sheltering Arms’ Stroke Rehab program complies with the highest national standards for safety and quality of care.

We are very proud to share news of this designation, which signifies our organization’s dedication to clinical excellence and reinforces that Sheltering Arms continues to be the #1 choice for physical rehabilitation in Central Virginia.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs throughout the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.

Sheltering Arms recently unveiled a newly remodeled outpatient clinic on the campus of the Memorial Regional Medical Center in Hanover County. The administrative departments vacated this space over the summer, when they moved to the new headquarters in Henrico County. Shortly following the move, demolition and construction began to convert the space into an optimally planned therapy and physician clinic.

The new Hanover Rehabilitation Center offers expanded physician clinic space, where four Sheltering Arms Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physicians see patients by appointment. Additionally, outpatient orthopaedic physical therapy services moved from another medical office building on this campus into this freshly remodeled space. The physical therapy area includes private treatment rooms and a spacious therapy gym with the latest equipment. The new clinic not only allows for smooth and efficient communication among clinicians, but also convenient and easily accessible services for Sheltering Arms patients.

There were quite a few media stories last week about Sheltering Arms’ decision to make webcams available to patients whose visitors are unable to enter patient areas due to new restrictions.  The restrictions were put into place to slow the spread of H1N1.  To continue allowing patients the all-important face-to-face support from all loved ones, Sheltering Arms set up webcams connected to Skype, and are making them available for restricted visitors.  More information is in Jason Myers’ story below!

Be sure to tune your TV to the local news tonight, to hear all about Sheltering Arms’ new webcam initiative.  The webcams were purchased and set up to be used by residents of Sheltering Arms’ inpatient facilities at Memorial Regional Medical Center and St. Francis Medical Center whose loved ones are unable to visit with them due to new restrictions.  The visitation rules, which went into effect today at all area hospitals and are designed to stem the spread of the H1N1 virus, restrict visitors from entering patient areas if they are under 18 years old or are exhibiting flu-like symptoms. These restrictions are expected to continue until spring, 2010.

The new webcams allow patients all important contact with their loved ones, even if those loved ones are unable to actually visit face-to-face.  TV stations WTVR-6 and WRIC-8, as well as the Richmond Times-Dispatch, sent journalists to Memorial Regional today for stories on the webcams.  Be sure to tune in your TV tonight at 6pm and 11pm, or set your DVRs!  Also, check out the Richmond Times-Dispatch tomorrow for the story!

Pictured: Sheltering Arms Director of Public Relations Stephanie Sulmer is interviewed by the media today about the organization’s new webcam initiative.

Starting today, restrictions on patient visitation go into effect place in hospitals across the Central Virginia area, including Sheltering Arms’ inpatient hospitals at Memorial Regional Medical Center and St. Francis Medical Center. The new rules, put into place due to the H1N1 influenza outbreak, restrict visitors under 18 years old or who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms from entering patient care areas. These restrictions are expected to continue until spring, 2010. More details on who is covered under the restrictions can be found in this Richmond Times-Dispatch article.

Sheltering Arms understands that family support is critical to patient recovery, so we’ve developed a way for restricted visitors to continue to provide support to their loved ones. Starting Monday, webcams will be available to any patient who wishes to visit with family or friends.

Sheltering Arms patients work hard every day to overcome disability from illness or injury, and we want to ensure they receive the love and support they need. These webcams will allow a level of contact that would otherwise be impossible.