Allegheny Health Network (AHN) recently announced that Allegheny Valley Hospital (AVH) has achieved The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification in brain injury rehabilitation, signifying that AVH can deliver the highest quality of rehabilitative care for brain injury patients.
AVH received The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care (DSC) Certification for Brain Injury Rehabilitation following a rigorous onsite review, which provided evidence of the hospital’s sustained commitment to care excellence for individuals who have experienced a brain injury.
Allegheny Valley is the only full-service hospital in Western Pennsylvania to achieve The Joint Commission’s brain-injury rehabilitation seal. The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.
AVH’s 17-bed inpatient brain injury rehabilitation unit opened in 2021 and cares for almost 300 patients each year. The unit’s dedicated staff of hospitalists, rehabilitation physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, dietitians, nurses, and aides provides one-on-one therapies for the duration of a patient’s course of care.
Brain injury is a complex condition, unique to each patient, and requires a personalized, multi-pronged approach to recovery. The course of the rehabilitation therapy is often dependent on the nature of the brain injury – a non-traumatic brain injury (NTBI) is caused by an internal issue such as stroke or brain tumor, while a traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to damage caused by an external physical force to the head, such as a car accident or fall.
A brain injury can impact a survivor’s physical skills, cognitive skills, communication skills, and emotional state.
“This certification affirms the exceptionally high quality of care we provide for our brain injury patients, and everything we do to help them return to their family, work, hobbies, and the life they enjoyed before their injury,” said Mark Rubino, MD, president, AVH. “Our brain injury rehab program is an important health care resource for the Pittsburgh region.”
The hospital’s brain injury treatment capabilities have been enhanced in recent years through the acquisition of new therapeutic tools such as DriveAble, a computer-based tool that assesses a patient’s ability to continue driving safely, and a Bioness Integrative Therapy System (BITS) designed to improve hand-eye coordination, reaction time, and depth perception.
AVH has also recently added a low-stimulation therapy space, private rooms, and dedicated occupational and physical therapy treatment areas. The hospital is able to provide both inpatient and outpatient care for brain injury rehab patients.
“Our goal is to give our patients the highest quality care and the therapy they need, close to home, in an environment that best promotes healing,” said Justin Emerick, Institute Vice-President for Allegheny Health Network. “Our brain injury rehab program also considers the needs of patients’ families, since they are a critical part of the care and recovery process.”
Allegheny Valley, a 166-bed acute-care hospital, has served Natrona Heights, Tarentum, and surrounding communities for over a century.
About the Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org) is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of 14 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, multiple employed physician organizations, home and community-based health services, a research institute, and a group purchasing organization. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, trauma care, cardiovascular disease, organ transplantation, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s health, diabetes, autoimmune disease and more. AHN employs approximately 22,000 people, has more than 2,600 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
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