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It's no joke. On April 1, 2007, acute-care Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-Orange will open its doors at 5579 South Orange Avenue in Edgewood, approximately eight miles from Select Specialty Hospital Orlando-North.

Why locate two Select Specialty hospitals in such close proximity?

According to John Heffner, CEO of the new 40-bed hospital, there is a demand for service. The existing 35-bed facility, which opened its doors in 2003, is running near capacity. In 2006, 389 patients were admitted and treated there. "At times, they have a waiting list," Heffner pointed out.

Offering a variety of programs and services to match patients' individual needs, Select Specialty Hospitals such as the current and soon to be opened one in south Orlando specialize in treating the most critical and complex medical and surgical conditions.

The need for specialty hospitals stems from the fact that "traditional" hospitals are increasingly filled to capacity with patients requiring less intensive care than those admitted to acute-care facilities who require extended specialized care.

Customarily admitted directly from intensive care units of "traditional" hospitals, patients in Select Specialty Hospitals are typically middle-aged to elderly.

Statistics provided by the Acute Long Term Hospital Association in Alexandria, Va. indicate that nationally, there are 400 long-term acute-care hospitals. Of this number, only 14 are located in Florida, with a total of 876 licensed beds. (These numbers do not include the Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-Orange being built.)

The new facility will be equipped to treat a diverse number of medical conditions including pulmonary, neurological, cardiac, wound care, renal disorders, infectious diseases, bariatric care, cancer, post-trauma care and surgical complications.

Totally funded by Select Medical Corporation, the new $8.8 million, 48,598-square-foot South Orlando facility with 40 beds will have an intensive care unit with six beds and will provide 24-hour respiratory care, diagnostic radiology, clinical pharmacy, rehabilitation therapies, and nutritional counseling.

With the primary focus being to improve the patient's overall condition while aggressively providing required medical treatment, Select Specialty Hospital-Orange will combine state-of-the-art technological capabilities and multi-specialty professional personnel who promote quality patient care.

Both Select Specialty Hospitals will run as a "system" where staff such as physical, respiratory and speech therapists can be interchanged. Medical staff sending their patients to either of the hospitals will be granted staff privileges at both facilities.

Each patient will be assigned a case manager, who will guide the patient and family from admission through discharge. Throughout the patient's hospitalization, interdisciplinary team meetings will be held regularly to review progress and set new goals.

Like its neighbor up the road, Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-Orange will be licensed by the state and Medicare certified. As acute-care hospitals treating patients needing to be hospitalized for an extended period of time, Select Specialty Hospitals operate using InterQual® Criteria developed by McKesson Health Solutions.

InterQual Criteria are a set of measurable clinical indicators, as well as diagnostic therapeutic services, that reflect a patient's need for hospitalization. Rather than being based on diagnosis, they consider the patient's level of illness and the services required. The criteria are grouped into 14 body systems, and there are three sets of criteria for each system: intensity of service, severity of illness and discharge screens.

Looking forward to the opening of Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-Orange is Dr. Juan J. Herran, an Orlando pulmonologist who will serve as associate medical director. "Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-South will allow patients to be cared for in an environment that takes pride in rendering quality services to those in need of a long-term, acute-care setting and I'm pleased to be taking part in the delivery of this care," he said.

With an aging population and an ever increasing need for specialized medical care, Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-North is planning an expansion and replacement of its existing hospital as soon as its neighbor Select Specialty Hospital of Orlando-Orange is open and operational. Offering the same high standard of care, the current hospital would more than double in size from 35 to 82 beds.

Founded in 1996, Select Medical Corporation, based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., is a leading provider of specialty healthcare, employing 20,000 employees at 97 specialty hospitals throughout the United States.


February 2006

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