Dedicated
to care, dedicated
to safety

We are committed to keeping you safe

Encompass Health hospitals are a safe place to be and an important part of regaining your health. We have experience and expertise in caring for patients with all types of infectious diseases and have been doing so on a daily basis, following infection control protocols consistent with CDC guidelines and developing protocols that set the standard for infection control in the rehabilitation hospital setting. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, infection control preventionists at each hospital are elevating our existing practices.

A COVID Task Force was enacted early during the pandemic to evaluate recommendations from the CDC and other regulatory bodies and provide guidance to the organization to best comply with these recommendations. The task force, made up of physician, nursing, operational, risk, and legal leadership works to inform the company of the frequently changing guidance available.

Safety is top priority

We are assessing the situation daily to protect our patients, employees and visitors and making sure our clinicians are kept up-to-date on the current recommendations. We are taking the following actions in our hospitals as safety precautions.

For our patients and caregivers:

• All equipment in our therapy gym will continue to be cleaned thoroughly between each patient and at the end of each day
• During therapy hours in the gym, social distancing recommendations will be followed with our patients and staff. Patient communal dining will be restricted with the exception of therapeutic feeding groups which may continue with appropriate social distancing between patients.
• Until further notice, we have closed self-service areas in our cafeterias.
• All staff and visitors are screened for exposure, signs, and symptoms prior to being allowed to enter the hospital and we have instituted universal masking.
• Our patients are evaluated before and again at admission for exposure and the presence of COVID – 19. Appropriate measures are immediately implemented to keep the patient and staff safe.
• Evaluations throughout the day work to identify potential signs and symptoms of changes in condition that could be COVID - 19 or any infectious process related.

For employees:

• All non-emergency or non-essential company travel has been halted.
• Education on the CDC’s recommendations for signs/symptoms, prevention and treatment is ongoing.
• Refresher training on use of personal protective equipment, proper hand washing hygiene and sterilization of equipment for use between patients has been implemented.
• Proper PPE is provided for staff to utilize, including calculations of rates of use, sharing among hospitals and offices, sourcing new vendors from which to purchase PPE, and following CDC guidance on conserving PPE.
• Clinical leadership communicates with regions and hospitals via calls to share information and answer any specific questions regarding clinical practice and any concerns.

Continuing your recovery at a rehabilitation hospital

Patients who are recovering from strokes, other debilitating conditions or injuries, or COVID-19 should receive therapy at a rehabilitation hospital. Our clinicians and support staff are knowledgeable in preventing the spread of the infection, while also allowing a patient to continue to receive the care, nutrition and therapy crucial to recovery.

Modifications have been made to therapy sessions in order to ensure the safety of our patients, such as developing customized treatment plans that limit the number of patients and employees in our therapy gyms to allow for proper social distancing and providing PPE to patients.

As a rehabilitation hospital, we have the unique ability to plan for the arrival of our patients in advance to prepare for your individual needs and create a successful and safe plan of care based on your treatment goals. We strive to provide a positive experience preparing you and your caregiver for a return home and to independence

Setting the standard in infection control

At Encompass Health, we believe that ensuring the safety of our patients while maximizing their access to effective rehabilitation services best supports our mission of achieving excellent clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Historically, infection prevention and control practices were developed and intended for acute care hospitals, where a patient is typically confined to their room or other sterile environment, with little interaction with other patients. Such practices in a rehabilitation hospital could derail a patient’s recovery, causing them to miss therapy. A setting-specific infection control model that is specifically intended for implementation in rehabilitation hospitals didn’t exist.

We set out to change that. An interdisciplinary task force of Encompass Health clinicians developed a white paper. Through an evidence-based, highly effective and setting-specific infection prevention and control model, the white paper provides guidelines for addressing infectious disease issues in our inpatient rehabilitation hospitals.