Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals held a ribbon-cutting and open house at its newly renovated Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, marking the completion of the first phase of $25.8 million in capital improvements at the renowned rehabilitative care facility.

“On the outside you see these beautiful, historic buildings, and now, on the inside, a place that was beginning to show its age, has been transformed into a modern, state-of-the-art hospital, featuring advanced technology that reaffirms our decades-long commitment to quality rehabilitative care and healing,” said David Mork, CEO of Roosevelt Warm Springs Hospitals. “Our renovation project epitomizes our goals of giving patients the highly-personalized care of a community hospital and providing it through attractive and innovative amenities.”

Construction began in November 2015 at historic Roosevelt Warm Springs to renovate 90,000 square feet of the structure where clinical long-term acute care and rehab care is provided. A new imaging suite for radiology services and a procedures unit has been added, as well as a “high observation” area with private rooms designed to accommodate as many as 16 critically ill ventilator-assisted patients.

“Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals has always been a vital part of the Warm Springs community, and its physicians, nurses and staff are committed to continuing this legacy. I’m grateful to our leadership at Augusta University, our elected officials, and the community partners with whom we worked most closely to make this project a reality,” said Mork, who was joined by Augusta University President Dr. Brooks Keel, Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Lee Ann Liska and other distinguished guests at the ribbon-cutting event.

“We couldn’t be happier to celebrate the completion of this project today, knowing it will continue to make Roosevelt Warm Springs a place of hope and healing,” said Liska, who serves as CEO of AU Medical Center, which assumed management of Roosevelt Warm Springs Hospitals from the state nearly three years ago.

Augusta University recently pledged its steadfast support for Georgia’s rural health care organizations, many of which are struggling to meet the needs of their communities.

“The important work we’re doing with Roosevelt Warm Springs is an excellent example of our commitment to hospitals in rural Georgia,” Liska said, “and we will continue to seek partnerships that increase access and enhance health care quality for all Georgians.”

About 160 patients are admitted to the long-term acute care hospital each year. These patients usually have a need for ventilator weaning or have complex conditions or illnesses involving the respiratory system, cardiovascular or peripheral vascular system, infectious diseases, or complex wounds that require a level of care comparative to an intensive care unit.

For more than eight decades, Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals have provided a comprehensive, individualized style of care to medical rehabilitation for patients, enabling them to return to the most independent lifestyle possible in their homes and communities.

The state run Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, which operates the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, provides traditional vocational and life skills training to individuals with disabilities. While it shares space on the RWS campus, it is operated independently of the hospitals.