Providence Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center to open COVID-19 Recovery Unit in Downers Grove
In order to assist the community and to help free-up acute hospital beds, Providence Life Services in Downers Grove is opening a COVID-19 Recovery Unit to care for individuals who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The recovery unit, located at 3450 Saratoga Ave. in its Downers Grove nursing facility, houses 14 private rooms setup for isolation. It has a separate entrance and has been sealed with a zip wall to secure the unit as a distinct part of the facility.
It is expected most patients will be discharged from area hospitals and arrive by ambulance. Other patients most likely will be residents of senior living communities that do not have the ability to isolate them while they recuperate. Patients requiring a ventilator are not candidates for this unit.
A team of nurses and other professionals have volunteered to dedicate themselves to the care of older adults who have tested positive for the virus. The facility has a pulmonologist and respiratory therapists who will also treat patients.
In compliance with all guidelines published by the Centers of Disease and Prevention Control and the Illinois Department of Public Health, all staff members will be thoroughly screened before and during each shift. They will be protected with all necessary PPE. Providence's current inventory of PPE can cover close to four weeks of care for 14 patients.
"Providence's goal is to help older adults recover from COVID-19 while we help hospitals make room for patients who need acute care," says Providence spokesperson Sheila King. "Providence Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center can care for COVID-19 positive patients who also have other chronic underlying medical conditions."
Providence's infectious disease physician and medical director will work directly with patients and their family to determine when they are ready to return to their home.
While Providence currently has adequate PPE and other essential resources to care for these patients, the nonprofit organization welcomes donations to support its mission of service to older adults by visitingwww.providencelifeservices.com/giving/advancement-form.
For more information about admissions to Providence's COVID-19 Recovery Unit, please contact (630) 969-2900.