On Sunday, December 8, all inpatient residents of the acute rehabilitation unit (ARU) at Alameda Health System (AHS) – Fairmont Hospital were moved to the newly built ARU at Alameda Health System – San Leandro Hospital.
“This is a very exciting time for us. The Fairmont campus has its historical charm but our new space at San Leandro Hospital was designed with the needs of our patients and programs in mind. I think we now have one of the best ARU facilities in the Bay,” said Shearly Chambless, AHS rehabilitation care management.
A ribbon cutting was hosted with members of the AHS Foundation, AHS leadership and local officials including Supervisor Wilma Chan to celebrate the new state of the art facility. The $28 million upgrade to the third and fourth floor of San Leandro Hospital includes 28 beds with semi-private rooms, a newly designed rooftop therapeutic space that will allow patients to participate in rehabilitation in a safe outdoor setting and a brand new EksoNR™ robotic exoskeleton designed to improve health outcomes for patients with stroke and spinal cord injuries.
“I want to thank everyone for all of the hard work that went into this transition. Multiple teams had to come together to make this possible. Staff had to prepare for the move and be trained on all the new equipment during the same time as our electronic health record implementation. This shows the dedication of our employees,” said Richard Espinoza, AHS chief administrative officer of post-acute services.
The ARU moved in order to meet the 2020 seismic requirements and to improve our system of care. This project reinforces Alameda Health System’s commitment to providing high quality services and is aligned with the organization’s overall system transformation efforts. Patients will now have access to acute rehabilitation care as well as traditional hospital services in one location.