AMY SZPARA

LAPLACE – LaPlace Rehabilitation Hospital, located next to Twin Oaks Nursing Home, is scheduled to open its doors for business in February. A hospital that will cater to patients who have functional limitations due to illness or injury, LaPlace Rehabilitation Hospital will employ a multi-disciplinary team approach to treating its patients. The hospital will contain 22 beds and is staffed with nearly 40 professionals. According to Stuart Archer, chief executive officer, the hospital plans to begin accepting patients next month. It will be working in conjunction with River Parishes Hospital to provide services to the community. Patients will have to have certain diagnoses to be admitted. The hospital will primarily treat patients who have had severe stroke, amputation, polyarthritis, brain injury, major multiple trauma, spinal cord injury, burns and certain neurological disorders. The patient must have impairment in two are more areas, including mobility, perception, self-care activities, cognition, communication, continence and pain management. The rehabilitation program is designed to help patients redevelop functions that have been lost or to learn to adapt to life with permanent loss of particular functions. According to Archer, a prospective patient will be assessed by nurses and will then meet with the medical director of the program, Dr. Fred R. DeFrancesch. He then decides if the patient is appropriate for the program, which allows for a one- to two-week stay at the facility. “We are staffed so they see specialists and therapists. They receive the highest level of care,” said Archer. “We have LPNs and RNs staffed around the clock. There is a CNA for every five to seven patients.” Marianna Artigues, director of community education for the hospital, said that within 48 hours of admission the patient is evaluated by speech therapists, physical therapists and other medical professionals. Then goals are set for the patient, and a team meets periodically to discuss the care of the patient and the progress being made. “What sets us apart,” said Artigues, “is that if the patient does not qualify for our program, social workers work with the family to find a more appropriate place. The patient is not seen, then dropped.” Patients can be referred by their physicians. LaPlace Rehabilitation staff can even go to the home of the patient to assess them, which is free of charge to the patient. DeFrancesch said it is nice to have the facility in St. John Parish. There is no other facility of its kind in the area. “It’s nice for families to be close, to be able to come by,” he said. “For a while people in the area had to travel to get these resources. Now they won’t have to go far.” DeFrancesch stressed the importance of the facility being a place to retrain patients in daily living. “The things we take for granted, sitting in a chair, bathing, eating, walking and even toileting are things that we retrain patients to do,” he said. The facility has a room that is equipped like a bedroom at home would be, and patients can stay the last couple of nights there with a spouse. It helps them make the transition from hospital to home. There is also a fully functional kitchen, a washer and dryer and a group dining area so that patients can practice daily chores and interactions. DeFrancesch, who has worked in other medical capacities, including as an associate clinical professor at LSU School of Medicine, also has a private office, 2840 W. Airline Highway, Suite A. He will be accepting patients at that location by referral only. To receive additional information or to request patient guidelines or admission, contact the nurse liaison at (504) 653-8447.