Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Good Shepherd Penn Partners FAQs
What is Good Shepherd Penn Partners?
Good Shepherd Penn Partners is a joint venture between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The organization is the post-acute care provider for the entire UPHS network.
Does Good Shepherd Penn Partners accept my insurance?
Good Shepherd Penn Partners contracts with most insurance companies. Staff in our Admissions Department will verify your insurance benefits and determine if pre-authorization is required.
I have a question about my bill. Who should I contact?
Please call 1-877-9MY-REHAB to contact Good Shepherd Penn Partners.
About inpatient rehabilitation at the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine
What is inpatient rehabilitation?
Inpatient rehabilitation facilities, like the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, provide acute physical and cognitive rehabilitation for individuals following stroke, spinal cord or brain injury, amputation or other illnesses and injuries.
How long will I stay in your facility?
Your length of stay depends on diagnosis, functional ability and safety issues. Nationally, the typical stay in an inpatient rehabilitation facility ranges from 7 to 21 days.
What type of rehabilitation will I receive?
At the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, you will receive acute rehabilitation services provided with the oversight of a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician. Typically, patients receive up to three hours of physical, occupational or speech therapy services every day, along with 24-hour rehabilitation nursing care.
How do I know if I qualify for inpatient rehabilitation care?
The Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine provides care to qualifying individuals who have one or more conditions requiring intensive and interdisciplinary rehabilitation care. Your rehabilitation diagnosis must be medically manageable (i.e. stroke, amputation, spinal cord or brain injury, arthritis, burns, etc.) and you must be able to tolerate 3 hours of therapy in a 24-hour period at least 5 days a week. Other admission criteria also apply. Care managers are available to discuss your situation and your rehabilitation options. To speak with a care manager, please call 877-9MY-REHAB (877-969-7342).
Can the facility handle complex medical problems and pre-existing conditions?
Staff at the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine can handle most pre-existing conditions and complex medical problems. A physical medicine and rehabilitation physician manages the care of each patient and can consult with specialists as needed. Patients with complex wounds and multiple pulmonary medications will be considered for admission at the Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse.
Will my physician care for me during my stay?
If your personal physician has privileges at the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, he or she can be part of your care team.
Where is the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine located?
The facility is located on the Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse campus at 1800 Lombard Street in Philadelphia.
About long-term acute care at the Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse
What is a specialty or long-term acute care hospital?
When you have an accident, suffer a stroke or need surgery, the first place you go is the hospital. There, the doctors and nurses fix your injuries, perform your surgery and stabilize your condition. Many times, after being stabilized at a hospital, patients are too medically fragile to go home or to a rehabilitation facility. Perhaps they have an underlying chronic disease, like diabetes or heart disease, which delays the healing process. That’s where a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) comes in. Patients come to an LTACH for several weeks until they are well enough to move on to the next level of their recovery.
How does a long-term acute care hospital differ from a hospital or nursing home?
The average length of stay for an LTACH patient is 25 days as compared to a 4 to 5 day average in a hospital. An LTACH differs significantly from a long-term care facility or nursing home. LTACH patients are much sicker and may need cardiac monitoring, multiple IVs or even ventilators. Doctors visit LTACH patients on a daily basis.
What types of diagnoses are treated at a long-term acute care hospital?
Many of the diagnoses treated in an acute-care hospital can be treated in an LTACH. The most common diagnoses include respiratory and cardiac failure, septicemia (systemic infection) and osteomyelitis (bone infection). Other conditions treated include: peripheral vascular disease, pressure wounds, prolonged surgical recuperation, burns, trauma, complicated fractures, head injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and kidney failure (on dialysis).
What specialized services are available at a long-term acute care hospital?
The nurses, therapists and physicians at an LTACH have special expertise in weaning people off of ventilators and treating complex wounds. LTACHs also offer the full scope of services that are available in acute-care hospitals, such as radiology, CT scans, MRI, cardiology and laboratory services.
At the Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse, physical rehabilitation is integral. Because patients at the LTACH often cannot withstand many hours of therapy per day, they receive a slower, more regimented therapy plan that takes into account their complex medical needs.
What type of clinicians provide care at a long-term acute care hospital?
The Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse emphasizes the team approach to our patient’s care.
While a physician leads the team, it is a care manager (either an RN or social worker) who acts as facilitator and coordinates patient care. RNs and nursing assistants provide nursing care and respiratory therapists address pulmonary needs. Physical, occupational and speech therapists help patients regain as much function as possible so they can get back to doing the things they love, like spending time with their families, working or other daily activities. Registered dietitians are available to monitor and counsel patients and clinical psychology services and pastoral care lend patients and families necessary psychological, emotional and spiritual support.
Good Shepherd Penn Partners’ LTACH also offers Penn E-lert eICU, supported by VISICU, a state-of-the-art virtual ICU that is monitored by tele-intensivists. These are specially trained critical care doctors who use two-way audio/visual technologies to monitor patients from an off-site location. Patients are monitored throughout the night. Physicians have immediate access at all times, enhancing patient care and safety.
Do you take ventilator-dependent patients?
Patients with tracheotomies that have the ability to wean are commonly admitted to the Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse. Patients who are unable to wean are not appropriate for this level of care. They require placement in a facility for long-term, chronic ventilator-dependent patients. More information about ventilator-weaning at GSPP.
Who decides if a patient is admitted to the facility?
The administrator of Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse, along with nurse managers, care managers and nurse liaisons, meet regularly to discuss the medical status of referred patients. The team evaluates a patient’s need for long-term acute care, as well as other contributing factors, and makes a decision regarding admission.
Do you take patients with complex wound care needs?
Yes. Treatment modalities include electrical stimulation, pulsatile lavage and use of the VAC system. A certified wound therapist is on staff.
Is the specialty hospital a “rehabilitation” unit?
No, but our patients are provided physical, occupational and speech therapy, as needed, by members of our therapy staff. There are no minimum therapy requirements for admission.
Can a patient go home for the day?
This is discouraged. Generally, if a patient is well enough to go home for the day, he or she does not require the level of services provided at a specialty hospital. If, however, a trip is required to ensure that the patient and family can function safely at home, it will be accommodated.
Can a patient leave the specialty hospital for a physician appointment?
The care managers at Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse will make all the necessary arrangements for those patients who need to see a physician outside of the hospital.
Where is Good Shepherd Penn Partners Specialty Hospital at Rittenhouse located?
The facility is located on the Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse campus at 1800 Lombard Street in Philadelphia.
About outpatient rehabilitation at GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness
What is outpatient rehabilitation?
At GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness, outpatient rehabilitation treatment programs are designed to help patients regain function following an injury, illness or surgery.
What clinicians provide care at GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness?
Certified physical, occupational and speech therapists provide individualized care at GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness.
How often will I receive therapy?
Each patient receives an individually designed rehabilitation program, based on his or her medical needs and therapy goals.
Will my primary physician be kept informed of my progress?
Yes. Staff at GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness will communicate with your primary care physician to let him or her know how your therapy is progressing.
Do I need a physician prescription to receive outpatient rehabilitation?
A physician prescription is required for services at GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness. You may get a prescription from your primary care physician or a specialist.
Where is GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness located?
Eight GSPP Penn Therapy & Fitness sites are conveniently located throughout the greater Philadelphia region.
