Providing tours and demonstrations prior to the grand opening of ShorePoint Optalis Health Care Center will be ShorePoint Administrator Brian Peruski, Director of Physical Therapy Neetika Kesar and Associate Administrator Melanie Holliday. The new state-of-the-art facility features a rehabilitation gym, café bistro, comfortable lounge and 39 new private suites.Gina Joseph – Macomb Daily
There was a time when elderly people were afraid to be sent to nursing homes for physical rehabilitation.
But times are changing.
Seniors receiving care at Shorepointe's Optalis Healthcare Center in St. Clair Shores will receive the treatment they need and may enjoy their stay so much that they may want to stay longer.
“We're very excited. It's not something the average person would imagine,” said Melanie Holliday, administrative assistant for the new state-of-the-art center attached to the existing Shore Point Nursing Center. Ta.
“We have a cafe bistro where seniors can have a coffee or cappuccino before or after their therapy session,” Holliday said, giving guests a tour of the full-service coffee shop and lounge. he said.
The interior was bright and cheerful, typical of a cafe/bistro, and had tables and chairs lined up, creating an atmosphere where seniors could gather and chat. Another area looked just as comfortable, but with a more subdued feel, likely a place for patients and visitors to read, wait their turn in the gym, or just relax.
Then there is the gym and rehabilitation center.
Not only did Shorepointe have a dedicated team of physical therapists in place, but they also provided them with equipment equipped with the latest technology in the field, including HUR's Smart Balance.
Neetika Kesar, director of therapy at the center, described a device that provides computerized biofeedback to physiotherapists and said, “This will help them work on improving defective areas.”
To demonstrate, Holliday stepped into the machine and followed training exercises similar to those performed by patients, leaning side to side, forward and backward. Each movement was tracked by a machine that determined if the patient had a disability.
“It's going to be very patient-centered,” Holliday said.
Mr. Gesar agreed.
Every day, she can see her patients' progress and work towards their next goal. If you get well beyond that, there's also a game mode that makes rehabilitation fun.
Because the goal of rehabilitation is to get well enough to resume life at home, part of the center includes a kitchen and sleeping area where seniors recovering from hip or knee replacements can use a microwave oven. You can practice everyday tasks such as putting food in and taking out canned food. Soup from the top shelf.
“This simulates a home environment,” Kesar said. “So they don't feel anxious about doing these tasks.”
Brian Persky, administrator of Shore Point Nursing Center and its new Optalis Healthcare Center, said the facility was once a school.
Today, the nursing center off Jefferson Avenue offers specialized care services such as skilled nursing and in-house dialysis, as well as a collection of units affectionately known as “neighborhoods.”
The new 5,500-square-foot center expands the facility's space and services, including an additional cluster of units for seniors seeking short-term rehabilitation and long-term care.
“It has all the comforts of home and more,” Persky said during a tour of the private suite.
The private rooms are bright and tastefully decorated, with large windows and spacious washrooms, and are equipped with everything a resident might need, including an emergency call button.
For those not staying at Shore Point, there is a program known as TYTH (Take Your Therapist Home) that provides trained medical professionals to provide therapy in your home.
“We can have patients meet a TYTH therapist when they are in the building and then follow up at home when they are discharged,” Kesar said. “That way we can maintain continuity of care.”
Shorepointe Optalis Health Center is located at 26001 Jefferson Ave. in St. Clair Shores.
For more information, visit optalishealthcare.com/ or call 586-779-7000.
