KOAM TV 7 Joplin and PittsburgPreview of a unique rehab center to open in the Four States

Freeman Health Systems will run a new rehab unit that they say will benefit therapists and patients.  It's scheduled to open in February.

"We've been looking forward to moving into a larger facility for years," says physical therapist Jeff Purvis.

There are seven Freeman physical unit across the Four States right now.  Many of them have exercise equipment that help get the heart going and help with various injuries.  Others help people with injuries like a broken hip.

Freeman says their new physical therapy unit will be more specific towards each injury.

"All of those facilities are now going to be in one facility," says Purvis.

The new building is located on 32nd Street and will have a special therapy pool that will be one of a kind in the Four State area.  The pool does not have stairs and no lifts, which they say will help patients that have a neurological injury, multiple trauma or have even had a total knee joint replacement.

"Patients that have had a total knee joint replacement, patients that have a neurological injury, or a multiple trauma,

"The floor itself comes up to meet the surface height and then we lower them to the appropriate height in the water," says Mick Ward, Director of Freeman Rehab and Sports Medicine.  "Patients can tolerate a lot of things in the pool more easily then they can on the land."

The first floor will of the new facility also hold speech and neck therapy, among others.  Therapists say the new unit will meet long-term needs, as the demographics of medicare-aged people is growing.  There are other reasons for growth, as well.

"Still today, it's early December but we're still actively treating a couple of dozen patients that have been impacted directly from the storm," Ward says.  "Some folks are continuing to do extensive rehabilitation, from a head injury, multiple trauma, some of our patients had multiple fractures in both upper and lower extremities."

The second floor will be a "graduation" from the beginning of therapy.  There will be more walking and running, a basketball court, and a practice area for baseball pitchers and golf players, all new amenities that Freeman hopes builds a faster recovery.

The old Freeman physical therapy locations might be renovated into doctor's offices.