Hospital for Extended Recovery

The Hospital for Extended Recovery is a 35-bed long term acute care hospital located inside Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The hospital opened November 2001 and was the first hospital within a hospital in the state of Virginia. This 35-bed specialty facility is an acute care hospital specifically designed for patients with medically complex needs who need to stay in an acute care setting on average of three to four weeks. Though located within Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the Hospital for Extended Recovery is actually a separate health facility. The proximity to and affiliation with Sentara, however, assures you that if needs change, the benefits of a Level 1 Trauma Center are easily accessible.

Types of Illnesses We Treat

• Active infectious diseases requiring lengthy IV antibiotic treatment
• Complex IV therapy
• Complicated post surgical conditions
• Complicated wound care
• Complicated respiratory conditions
• Ventilator weaning- we have 11 ventilator beds available for patients capable of being weaned off the ventilator
• Complicated heart and circulatory conditions
• Medical problems too complex to be handled at a lower level of care
• Complex medical issues requiring daily physician visits

Our Highly Qualified Staff

Our professional staff consists of our medical director, an assistant medical director, RNs, LPNs, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, RN case managers, RN discharge planner, registered dieticians and pharmacists. Our staff specializes in caring for patients with complicated medical needs. We provide a multidisciplinary team approach to care and meet weekly to discuss every patient’s needs. Our weekly multidisciplinary team is lead by our medical director who is a critical care pulmonologist, and our assistant medical director, who is a physiatrist.

Due to the complexity of our patients, our nurses carry a very low nurse-to-patient ratio, ensuring that our patients get the attention they need. We have a very family-oriented environment where the patients get to know their caregivers, and family members suggestions are an important part of the patient’s plan of care. The patient’s attending physician sees the patient daily and consulting physicians are utilized as needed.

Admission Process

To be admitted to our facility, patients are referred by their attending physician and then evaluated by our RN case manager. The decision to admit is based on the patient meeting long-term acute care criteria and collaboration between the attending physician, the case managers, patients and their families. Once the decision has been made to admit the patient, the patient is discharged from the short-term acute hospital providing care and admitted to our hospital. To ensure continuity of care, many Sentara physicians can attend patients in our facility.

For more information on how to refer a patient please contact our case manager at 757-388-1376 or 757-388-1700.

• Financial Assistance Policy and Application (English)
• Financial Assistance Policy and Application (Spanish)

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