GOOD SHEPHERD PENN PARTNERS FUSES CONVENIENCE AND INNOVATION IN NEW MEGA-USE FACILITY

 GOOD SHEPHERD PENN PARTNERS FUSES CONVENIENCE AND INNOVATION IN NEW MEGA-USE FACILITY

Integration and Collaboration.

These are the guiding words behind the recent creation of Penn Medicine’s University City, the new 13 story state-of-the-art facility which fuses together patient convenience and care-giver  innovation to bring what planners of the project call “unprecedented patient care” to the fourth-largest urban area in the US. With over 90 providers offering a wide variety of services on-site, more than 100 exam rooms, a 29000 square foot therapy and fitness center—even a pharmacy—this concept at 3737 Market Street in downtown Philadelphia offers residents of the City of Brotherly Love true one-stop care.

“We started discussing this project over two and a half years ago,” stated Gina Burns, project manager for Penn Therapy & Fitness, Penn Medicine’s outpatient therapy provider. “We wondered how to bring a long list of therapeutic services under one roof for the convenience of our patients and the providers who serve them. It’s really a testament of what you can do if we all work together in an effort to serve patients.”

As one of the first tenants for the mega-use Penn Medicine University City medical building, Penn Therapy & Fitness University City opened for business August 4, 2014 and currently occupies a portion of three of the building’s 13 floors.  Penn Therapy & Fitness is owned and managed by Good Shepherd Penn Partners—a joint venture of University of Pennsylvania Health System and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network.  Good Shepherd Penn Partners operates 12 other outpatient therapy centers in the region, most under 5000 square feet. This is the first facility offering aquatic therapy.

“Offering the pool on-site is part of our integrated approach, designed to elevate patient experience,” continued Burns.  “The HydroWorx 1200 Series pool with resistance technology is really a big step forward in aquatic therapy. Its unique design allows our clinicians and patients to enjoy the state-of-the-art underwater treadmill within a relatively small area.”

Elsa Amaral, PT, who regularly dons her suit and instructs patients in the aquatic environment, explained. “We’ve never had access to a tool like this.  It’s beneficial to the majority of our patient population. People relax in the pool and move more easily.  Water also creates buoyancy and takes the weight off, which is invaluable for post-surgical patients, those with arthritic conditions or other conditions restricting them from land-based activity.”

With the pool on-site, Penn Therapy & Fitness University City is able to offer more consistent aquatic therapy service.

“Previously, when aquatic therapy was prescribed, we sent our patients and therapist to a leased pool at another facility,” added Burns. “This limited our ability to offer aquatics. Now we’re able to provide warm-water therapy five days a week on-site.  And with two months under our belt, we’re just seeing the tip of the ice burg concerning our ability to improve care in our community with this pool.” 

About HydroWorx

HydroWorx, based in Middletown, Pennsylvania, offers a wide range of underwater treadmill therapy pools, and peripheral products and services.  Every day, more than 23000 athletes and patients use HydroWorx technology to recover from injuries and health conditions. 

More information about HydroWorx’s upcoming webinars, as well as archived webcasts from previous events, can be found by visiting https://www.hydroworx.com/events/.

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