Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute thrives in its rookie year

When the Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute opened its doors at 653 52nd Ave., Moline, to patients, there were high expectations. The new medical facility –  a joint venture of UnityPoint Health-Trinity and Encompass Health, the nation’s largest owner and operator of rehab hospitals – brought together more than 100 community and business leaders on Aug. […]

When the Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute opened its doors at 653 52nd Ave., Moline, to patients, there were high expectations. The new medical facility –  a joint venture of UnityPoint Health-Trinity and Encompass Health, the nation’s largest owner and operator of rehab hospitals – brought together more than 100 community and business leaders on Aug. 18, 2022, during opening ceremonies. Those ceremonies were centered on the new $33 million, 40-bed rehabilitation hospital.  The rehab hospital provides essential services to help patients regain function and independence as they recover from major injuries and illnesses, such as strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. “When you go through this place, it really sells itself. It’s just beautiful,” said Troy DeDecker, president of the Central Region of Encompass Health, as he looked over the new facility and its state-of-the-art equipment during the 2022 ceremony. Robert Erickson, then president and CEO of UnityPoint-Trinity, added during the ceremony: “This is a great day for the communities we serve. … This (facility) will make a difference. It will help people get back to living. This is what this is all about.” Other medical officials said that they were especially happy to introduce a new hospital to serve the community. A new hospital, they added, goes against many of the recent trends of hospital mergers and even a few hospital closings in the region. Today, one year later, those expectations for the new hospital are still high. Since it opened, the Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute has helped some 590 patients get back on their feet (with an average stay of 11 to 14 days per patient). In addition, it has hired about 120 employees and hospital officials look forward to doing more good work in the future. Recently, the QCBJ interviewed hospital officials about the facility’s first year in business, the challenges they have been faced and hopes for the future including: Angela Zaremba, the hospital’s CEO; Alison Beardsley, business development director; Alyssa VanMelkebeke, chief nursing officer; and Ryan Heuer, director of therapy operations.

One of the top lessons, hospital officials said, they have learned from the first year in business is – expect the unexpected. “You have to plan for the unexpected. …. You have to be very adaptive,” said Ms. VanMelkebeke. That adaptive thinking includes planning for supply chain delays and challenges that have hit most sectors of the economy in the post-pandemic era, and planning for the challenges of attracting employees. Ms. Beardsley said the hospital is looking for more employees – especially for nursing and therapist positions. While it is attracting new and talented workers, it faces the same challenges of recruiting medical field employees that most other health facilities in the nation face. A recent look at the Encompass Health hiring site shows numerous openings for the Moline hospital. “Every day there are new challenges,” Ms. Beardsley said. In addition to finding employees and supply chain issues shaped by this post-pandemic era, many of the other challenges center on providing the best care for patients. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is that “post-COVID patients are sicker,” said Ms. VanMelkebeke. The reason they are often sicker is because many of those patients delayed medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic, she added. But despite the many challenges, the first year has been a thriving time for the hospital, the medical officials said. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response we have received from patients and family members,” Ms. Beardsley said. Part of the new hospital’s success in treating patients is the fact that the facility has state-of-the-art equipment that can’t be found in many other area facilities, said Mr. Heuer. Ms. Zaremba added that another big part of the hospital’s success is making sure to include the patients’ families as part of the care process. In the past year, she added, there have been many success stories of patients making great recoveries after quality care. That is evident when many patients come back to the Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute as visitors. They make occasional visits to share stories of their recovery progress and tell staff members about the events of their lives. “This group is phenomenal. It is truly a family feel. They have been incredibly kind to me in a short time,” said Ms. Zaremba, who has been the hospital CEO for about two months. The new leader predicts the facility will continue to grow and serve the community in the coming years. And the credit for that growth and success falls on the shoulders of the medical and support workers at the Quad Cities Rehabilitation Institute. “It’s the people here. And that is what really makes this hospital,” Ms. Zaremba added.