Charles Warner|Daily Times Frank Bobo, left, and Willis "Bug" Bates, work out on the Nustep machines in the Rehab Gym at Oakmont of Union. The machines, which help build upper and lower body endurance and strength, are among the state-of-the art equipment in the gym the center uses to help patients recover their ability to live independently.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times After working out on the Nustep machine, Frank Bobo, right, takes Occupational Therapist Tracee Smith, left, for a ride in the car in the Rehab Gym at Oakmont of Union. The car is designed to help patients practice safely getting in and out of a car.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times Physical Therapist Lindee Dover, left, and Prosthetist Orthotist Terry Gordon, right, assist Willis "Bug" Bates, center, with getting ready to use a walker in the new state-of-the-art Rehab Gym at Oakmont of Union.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times Nancee Davis-Sharkey is Regional Rehab Manager for HCR Manor Care which owns Oakmont of Union. Davis-Sharkey was among those who attended Tuesday's open house for the center's new state-of-the-art Rehab Gym. Here, Davis-Sharkey, who had surgery on her ankle three months ago, uses the gym's Wii to get some therapy of her own via the Dance Dance Revolution program. The Wii is used to help patients practice weight shifting and balance.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times This kitchen is part of the new state-of-the-art Rehab Gym at Oakmont of Union. It is designed to help patients undergoing therapy to regain the ability to perform everyday tasks such as washing dishes they will need to live independently when they leave the center.

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A new state-of-the-art “Rehab Gym” will enable Oakmont of Union to provide its patients with a variety of physical, occupational and speech therapies designed to help them return home and live as independently as possible.

The nursing care and residential center held an open house Tuesday to formally inaugurate the new Rehab Gym which was built by the facility’s owner, HCR Manor Care, at a cost of $180,000. Oakmont of Union Director of Rehab Nikki Loyd said the new gym is designed to not only provide patients with the physical therapy they need to complete their recovery but to also prepare them to return home able to safely perform the tasks of everyday life.

“We’ve always provided rehab services, but over the last few years we have started to focus on short-term rehab and returning our patients safely home,” Loyd said. “With the new Rehab Gym we are now able to meet the needs of all levels of patients following hospitalization. We strive to return patients not just to home but back to their lives.”

To help patients return to their lives, Loyd said the gym has a variety of state-of-the-art equipment not found anywhere else in Union County and surrounding areas.

“Our gym is state-of-the art, we have equipment that is not otherwise available locally,” Loyd said. “The Rehab Gym encompasses a full ADL (Activities of Daily Living) kitchen, bathroom with shower, a car, a Lite gait, a weight supported treadmill system, cardio equipment, modalities, a Wii system, and a variety of strengthening equipment as well.”

Loyd said the physical therapy portion of the rehabilitation program involves the treadmill, cardiac and strengthening equipment. The occupation portion focuses on activities of daily living in the kitchen and bathroom. The speech therapy focuses on medical management, cognitive training, and dysphagia — a condition where a patient has trouble swallowing — intervention.

“Together, all three disciplines are able to help patients achieve their highest level of functioning to safely transition home,” Loyd said.

While the presence of a kitchen, a car and even a bathroom with a shower in a rehabilitation facility might seem strange at first glance, Loyd said they are all part of Oakmont’s program of helping patients regain the ability to function at home.

“The kitchen allows us to practice washing dishes, doing laundry, all the tasks we take for granted being able to complete each day,” Loyd said. “The bathroom allows them to practice getting in and out of the shower safely. The car allows them to practice car transfers, to regain the balance needed to make sure they are able to get into and out of a car safely.

“When we discharge our patients we want to be sure they can perform all the tasks they need to be able to function independently in the community,” she said. “So rather than send them home and wonder if they can complete the tasks safely, we allow them to achieve success with the tasks here with us first.”

For more information about Oakmont of Union and the services it provides, call 427-0306.