MEDICAL : St. Jude Hospital to Open a 37-Bed Skilled-Nursing Facility on March 21

Later this month St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton expects to become the first hospital in Orange County to open skilled-nursing facilities on their premises.

Barry Ross, the hospital’s vice president for rehabilitation and mental health services, said the hospital expects to start admitting patients to its 37-bed skilled-nursing facility on March 21, assuming it obtains final state licensing approval.

He said the skilled-nursing facility will take patients released from acute-care hospitals--primarily from St. Jude Hospital--who need special rehabilitation and other nursing services before returning home or to convalescent facilities.

“It allows us to have the patients receive the most appropriate and economical level of care,” Ross said.

Ross said that hospital-based skilled nursing services have the advantage of providing convenience to the patients who can use the hospital’s diagnostic facilities.

He said the skilled-nursing facility is housed on one floor of a wing at St. Jude Hospital that previously contained administrative offices and various ancillary services. Over the past six months, he said, that space has been converted for patient beds as well as a rehabilitation gym, beauty shop and recreation area.

Room and board at the new nursing facility will cost $250 a day, Ross said. Approved Medicare patients--representing the vast majority of patients--will pay $25.50 a day for the first 8 days. After that, he said, Medicare will pick up the entire tab for care up to 150 days.

Also planning to open skilled-nursing facilities are Anaheim Memorial Hospital and Friendly Hills Regional Medical Center in La Habra.

Katherine Dopler, director of communications at Anaheim Memorial Hospital, said that hospital already has received state approval for a 20-bed skilled-nursing facility scheduled to open April 24.

Similarly, Friendly Hills Regional Medical Center, previously La Habra Community Hospital, is planning to convert about 36 of its acute care hospital beds to skilled nursing beds.

Robert Hanna, the hospital’s administrator, said architectural plans for the skilled-nursing facility, which will be established in part of the existing hospital, are under review by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. He said he hopes the facility will open in the late spring or early summer.

John Gilwee, director of the Orange County office of the Hospital Council of Southern California, said he welcomes the trend toward the creation of hospital-based skilled nursing facilities. He said it gives hospitals a potentially profitable opportunity for diversification while providing a needed medical service.