Heritage Snapshot: Part 252

LOMA LINDA>> After considerable study, Loma Linda University Medical Center Administration determined that the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation needed additional outpatient facilities to address its increasing patient load, and determined that the most feasible solution was to develop the Loma Linda Manor, gradually using more space as needed. On Feb. 14, 1994, LLUMC officials broke ground for a $4 million, 34,000-square-foot addition to its Ambulatory Services that would provide a gymnasium and more than doubled the size of its Rehabilitation Institute. In doing so, administrators designed the project to bring together all the components of outpatient rehabilitation on one site in order to make the program more efficient and patient friendly. The facility accommodates orthopedic, physical therapy, industrial rehabilitation, workers evaluation rehabilitation, hand rehabilitation, a special kids intervention program, neurophysical adult program, performing arts program, and rehabilitation physician’s clinic. The arts program treats performers who develop problems from the repeated performance of their art. The children’s program treats patients with birth defects, spinal cord injuries, near drowning and brain injuries. On Jan. 8, 2002, the nearby Loma Linda Branch of CAL FED Bank donated a $380,000, 1.1-acre parcel of land to the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Institute. By providing space for a new entrance from Loma Linda Drive, this land eliminates hazards caused by slowing or turning vehicles on heavily traveled Barton Road. The new entrance bisects the East Campus, providing better access to offices, clinics, and parking areas. Part of the land allowed for the addition of a multi-use park. The area adjacent to the bank is equipped with benches, picnic tables and special access provisions for parking and trails for disabled persons. A “boundless playground” was incorporated into the park, where 70 percent or more of the activities are accessible from a wheelchair. On Feb. 11, 2005, as part of the institution’s centennial celebration, Loma Linda University Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $12.5 million expansion of its East Campus. The Tom and Vi Zapara Rehabilitation Pavilion provides facilities to better treat amputation, spinal cord and brain damage patients, including private gardens, as well as extra clinical office space for all specialties. The Loma Linda University Rehabilitation, Orthopedic, & Neurosciences Institute ("RONI") is dedicated to providing accessible and integrated care in the areas of Rehabilitation, Orthopedic, Neurosurgery, and Neurology across the LLU continuum, including University, Children's, and East Campus hospitals. For patient and family convenience, outpatient programs and services are provided in a centralized location on the LLUMC East Campus, with a satellite location in Beaumont. The East Campus is now a 23-acre site comprised of a 134 bed hospital, outpatient rehabilitation center, clinical practice offices, and a park for disabled children. The goal of the Institute is for patients to experience hope, healing, and transformation, and achieve a return to optimal functionality, independence, and improved quality of life. The RONI institute provides coordinated, multi-disciplinary care to provide patients with the best that health care can offer. For those who experience life-changing injuries or illnesses, the healing process is life-long. No continuum of care is complete unless it helps patients and their family members return to their lives with support and resources. Possibilities, a community outreach program, helps to complete the circle of care, providing social, physical, emotional and peer support to the disabled. All of the RONI inpatient rehabilitation programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). The stroke program received additional accreditation by the CARF organization as a Stroke Specialty Program for its focus on prevention, on minimizing impairment, on reducing activity limitation, and on maximizing the participation and quality of life for patients who receive stroke care. The acute Stroke Program has recently been accredited by the Joint Commission, making LLUMC the only provider in the Inland Empire with both CARF certification and Joint Commission accreditation. In addition, RONI has earned recognition as a Blue Distinction Center for Total Joint Replacement among Blue Cross and Blue Shield providers. The vision over the next decade is to complete the final phases of unifying services in a single location. Over the next few years, plans are underway to bring the clinical offices of the Department of Orthopedics and the Department of Neurology to the East Campus where they will join the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.