As Ephraim McDowell Health begins to open its facilities for services and procedures that had been put on hold due to COVID-19, other changes are also coming to the group’s regional medical center in Danville.

Select Specialty Hospital-Central Kentucky is now operating on the fourth floor of Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. It was previously located in Lexington’s Good Samaritan Hospital.

According to Select CEO Kim Pennington, the long-term acute-care hospital arrived in Danville on May 5 and started serving patients from day one.

“We actually transferred 17 patients from our previous location to Danville, and we began full operations immediately as we arrived,” Pennington said.

The move was a result of space issues in the Lexington location, according to Pennington.

“Obviously we take up a fairly large footprint as an acute care hospital. Because there is still an incredible need in central Kentucky for our services, Ephraim had the availability and opportunity to work with us. So far, our experience with Ephraim has been absolutely amazing; very friendly, and they have been on top of everything,” she said.

Pennington said benefits of being inside a hospital like Ephraim McDowell include being in close proximity to any ancillary services, tests or procedures patients need.

“We are operating independently to provide their extended care. It really is a win-win to have a host hospital that will work so closely with you to have the patients’ best interest, safety and quality in mind.”

Patients treated by Select will come primarily from central Kentucky. Pennington said patients will be referred to Select from their physician or other hospitals where they were being treated.

“Our patients come to us through referrals. They can come through our host hospital, which is Ephraim McDowell now, or they can come from any hospital anywhere,” she said. “We mostly serve central Kentucky, but we do have patients who, for example, have traveled out of state to vacation and they were in a traumatic accident, and they just want to get back closer to home. So a physician can refer to our hospital, and we happily take them.”

Before being treated by Select, Pennington said patients would have to meet the necessary criteria. She said they typically treat patients who are critically ill and require an extended hospital stay after they have been stabilized and transferred from an intensive care unit.

“It can range from post-trauma conditions, to any type of respiratory condition, heart failure or stroke, just to name a few conditions,” she added.

Select Specialty Hospital – Central Kentucky is one of just two hospitals of its kind in central Kentucky, Pennington said.

“There was a need for 100 of these types of beds, and we are nowhere near that. We currently have 30 beds,” she said of Select, adding that she is not certain how many beds the other hospital in the region offers. “It’s very much a need for the community, and being that our patients do come from the central Kentucky region, several from the Harrodsburg and Danville area, keeping those patients closer to home is always a benefit.”

Not only will the company provide care for patients, but it also has jobs available. Pennington said about 100 employees made the move to the Danville location, and she said Select still needs more workers.

“If people are interested they can go to the selectmedical.com careers website and apply for open positions,” she said.

Mary Leddy, senior director of communications and branding for Select Medical, said the company is more than 20 years old and was started by a father-and-son duo, Rocco Ortenzio and Robert Ortenzio, in 1996.

Select Medical began as a regional provider of outpatient physical rehabilitation. The company continued to grow, and today it encompasses four areas of expertise, including critical illness recovery, inpatient medical rehabilitation, outpatient physical therapy and occupational medicine. Those services are delivered and supported by more than 46,000 healthcare professionals across the nation. Despite its growth, Select Medical remains true to its founding principles of clinical quality and operational excellence, which have been priorities sine day one.

For more on the company, visit www.selectmedical.com.

 

SO YOU KNOW

Select Specialty Hospital – Central Kentucky is located on the fourth floor of Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center at 217 S Third Street in Danville.

(859) 712-7072

www.selectmedical.com