There were no firecrackers, sparklers, nor bottle rockets, but for St. Luke’s Hospital, there was a great cause to celebrate a New Year—the opening of our beautiful new Rehabilitation Center and Orthopedic patient wing! The $6 million addition opened mid-December for Rehab patients, and by mid-January, the first patients were admitted to the spacious patient rooms.

What an exciting way to begin a New Year! At St. Luke’s, we’ve been very excited and proud of our new patient-centered wing. It features six large, private patient rooms with full baths, a comfortable family waiting area and conference room, and a large therapeutic gym with five private treatment rooms for physical, occupational and speech therapy.

The Rehab Center is a hub of activity with staff helping patients regain strength and function following an illness or, in many cases, hip and knee surgery. We offer therapeutic activities that mimic real life and the tools our patients will need to return to independence. With contemporary kitchen appliances, a car simulator, curbs and ramps to maneuver, patients have the added benefit to really practice the activities that we perform daily without a second thought—getting in and out of a shower, sliding out of car door, reaching deep into a refrigerator or overhead for a cooking staple. How to maneuver all these daily activities following major surgery is really good to know and really good to practice for a return to function and independence.

Two new additions to our Rehab Services have been very well received—aquatic therapy for individualized exercise in warm water, and a ceiling-mounted harness that allows patients to ambulate without the fear and risk of falling. For many, the fear of falling is very real and very often, debilitating. So our Balance Screening Program and Fall Risk Assessment are invaluable for many in our community.

Have you had a chance to visit our new patient wing? We believe you will be pleased, as we are. Each of the patient rooms is almost three times larger than our current rooms on the Medical-Surgical Unit! These larger rooms are important, not only for patient care and comfort, but also for the rehab modalities needed for patients recovering from orthopedic surgery. With full baths, expansive views, comfortable daybeds and flat screen televisions, this healing environment better reflects the quality care and personal attention St. Luke’s is well known for!

We also believe in –and incorporated—the beauty and power of nature throughout. Hard woods, native stone, natural light and pristine views of our beautiful Carolina Foothills will enhance patient comfort and healing.

We’re very proud of what we accomplished, and much of this success is through support and generosity of this community. We greatly appreciate the gifts to St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation—large and small—from individual and corporate donors, from community foundations and charitable grants.

Our community is to be commended for recognizing and supporting many services and agencies that have a unique mission but together add to our quality of life here: Hospice of the Carolina Foothills; Thermal Belt Outreach; The Meeting Place; Adult Day Care; Steps to Hope; our local Library, Tryon Fine Arts Center; Ag Center, Polk Community Foundation, of course, St. Luke’s Hospital, and many, many other others

As we celebrate the beginning of a New Year, St. Luke’s Hospital thanks you for your support. Whether you have given an outright donation or have chosen St. Luke’s for the medical and diagnostic services you need, you have supported our mission to provide exceptional care, close to home. Here’s to a happy, healthy New Year!