Acuity Specialty Hospital Adds a Healthy Dose of Stimulus to the Steubenville Economy
Steubenville, OH -- The recent expansion of Acuity Specialty Hospital–Ohio Valley, LP, a Long Term Acute Care (LTAC) specialty hospital that operates as a separate facility within Trinity Medical Center East in Steubenville, is an indicator of the healthcare benefits the hospital brings to the community, Judy Weaver, CEO of the LTAC specialty hospital, reported today. Weaver said the hospital has also brought a significant boost to the local economy.
"In 2007, our hospital added nearly $6 million to the Steubenville economy for total goods and services purchased within the community," said Weaver, "and it paid out close to $4.8 million in employee payroll. We also add to the revenue of Trinity Health Systems, the owner of Trinity Medical Center East, with payments for rent and services." Since opening in August 2005, the LTAC has more than tripled the number of its employees.
Acuity Specialty Hospital serves more than 20 communities in the Steubenville area, including Weirton and Wheeling, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Due to its high occupancy rates, a sign of increasing specialized medical needs among the local population, the LTAC expanded from 32 to 40 beds this year. The LTAC employs 143 clinical, technical and administrative personnel. There are 66 physicians on the Medical Staff and seven allied health professionals.
LTACs serve patients who have complex medical problems that require intensive, specialized care for a long period, typically 25 to 30 days. Patients range from young adults to seniors who require an extended time to recover from complicated medical conditions. Conditions treated at LTACs include strokes, multitrauma injuries from car accidents and multisystem medical problems, such as diabetes, pulmonary problems, cardiac problems, surgical complications and infections.
"Our LTAC hospital enables patients with complex needs to gain a higher level of functioning and independence than they would without the ongoing specialized care," Weaver said. "It allows those patients to have continuity of care while freeing up intensive care units in acute care hospitals for incoming patients who need emergency treatment or a very high level of temporary postoperative care."
"We are fortunate that patients, their families and their doctors have convenient access to an Acuity LTAC in the Steubenville area," said Cindy Fairclough, Director of Case Management, Trinity Medical Center.
Weaver noted that LTAC specialty hospitals, which are a relatively new medical model, also help ease the soaring costs of healthcare. "Because of their exclusive focus on intensive, interdisciplinary specialty care, LTACs are more costefficient at providing this kind of specialty care than are regular acute care facilities," she said. "Moreover, many insurers typically do not cover long term specialty care when provided at regular acute care hospitals, thus those hospitals cannot receive reimbursement, which adds to lost dollars for uncompensated care."
The Steubenville hospital is working to expand by an additional 20 beds via a satellite hospital located within Belmont Community Hospital in Bellaire, Ohio. That Acuity facility will provide the first LTAC hospital services in Bellaire and surrounding areas.
Acuity Specialty Hospital–Ohio Valley, LP, is a member hospital of AcuityHealthcare, LP, a privately owned company based in Austin, Texas, which specializes in LTAC specialty hospitals around the country. For additional information on AcuityHealthcare, LP, contact:
Judy Weaver, CEO, Acuity Specialty Hospital–Ohio Valley, LP
740.283.7497
jweaver@acuityhealthcare.net