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ClearSky Elwood-St. Joseph Opens Doors to Community and Accepts First Patients

ClearSky Rehabilitation Hospital of Elwood-St. Joseph has opened its doors this week to accept its first patients.The new 30-bed, state-of-the-art medical rehabilitation hospital provides specialized rehabilitative services to patients with disabling injuries or illnesses such as strokes, brain injuries, hip fractures, spinal injuries, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other medically-complex conditions like COVID-19.

“We’re excited and honored to be the first to bring this higher level of rehabilitative care to the area,” says Deanna Lamb, CEO of ClearSky Elwood-St. Joseph. “Our journey to become a member of the community began more than 18 months ago when ClearSky Health worked with community and medical leaders from Elwood and St. Joseph to assess the need and determine a convenient location that could serve both markets with specialized rehabilitation.”

Lamb says resulting from these discussions, the facility is now located at 502 Roseport Road in Kansas so patients from both Elwood and St. Joseph can easily access the hospital’s services.

ClearSky Elwood-St. Joseph’s interdisciplinary healthcare team, which is led by Dr. Beth Shelton, is expected to treat about 650 patients annually. Services will include physical, occupational, and speech therapy; rehabilitative nursing; case management; respiratory therapy; wound care management; orthotic and prosthetic services; dietary services; and other specialized care.

“Members of our team are specially trained in rehabilitation,” Shelton says. “Our team will work closely with patients and their families to create individualized care plans to best meet their goals. Typically, we’ll provide 15 hours of therapy a week to help our patients get home quickly with as much independence as possible. We’re committed to providing our patients with superior, specialized care to provide maximum recovery.”

A national study shows that patients treated at medical rehabilitation hospitals like ClearSky Elwood-St. Joseph return home sooner, remain home longer, have fewer hospital readmissions and ER visits, and live longer versus other types of rehabilitation programs.

Lamb says that a typical hospital stay for someone receiving inpatient rehabilitation is about 12-14 days. “When individuals have to travel to receive this higher level of care, it can cause financial and emotional hardships for them and their families,” she says. “Now with the opening of ClearSky Elwood-St. Joseph, patients can remain close to their homes.”

ClearSky Elwood-St. Joseph is 40,000 square feet and features all private rooms, a rehabilitative gym with one-on-one therapy, a dining room with a dedicated chef, an activity of daily living space that emulates home conditions, and an outdoor therapeutic courtyard providing various walking terrains.