Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center
& Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC)?

A. RIC provides comprehensive rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. Established in 1954, RIC is known for clinical excellence in treating a range of conditions, from spinal cord injury, stroke and traumatic brain injury, to arthritis, chronic pain and sports injuries. There are more than 30 RIC locations in the Chicago area and
Southern Illinois.

Q. What will the relationship between RIC and Saint Joseph entail?

A. Under a four-year Management Services agreement, RIC will provide administrative leadership for the following areas and services at the South Bend, Mishawaka, and Plymouth campuses:

  • 26 licensed beds in Acute Rehab (Rehab Unit)
  • All Inpatient Therapies, including:
  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Speech Language Pathology
  • Recreational Therapy
  • Therapy Services for Our Lady of Peace Hospital
  • Outpatient Rehabilitation Services
  • Aquatics
  • Brain Injury Treatment Program
  • Industrial Rehab (Work Hardening)

Q. What are the benefits of RIC to Saint Joseph?

A. With the RIC partnership, we will have the ability to create future quality patient-centered programs quicker than we would be able to do alone. Our partnership with RIC will dramatically affect recruiting and enable us to attract more top-ranked professionals to our rehabilitation program. RIC will also help us best utilize our complete rehabilitation continuum of care.

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Q. Why RIC?

A. Every year since 1991, the Institute has been ranked the "#1 Rehabilitation Hospital in America" by U.S. News & World Report. Some of the other RIC features include:

  • 5 alliances throughout Illinois, comprised of four hospitals and one LTAC
  • The operation of 281 beds
  • Rehabilitation services for 4,715 inpatients in 2006
  • 12 % increase in admissions throughout the RIC System of Care over the past two years, despite a national rehab market decline of 11%
  • High patient satisfaction results, with 98% of patients willing to recommend family and friends
  • Discharge to home and functional improvement scores that exceed the national benchmarks

RIC is known as "the expert" in rehabilitation care, especially in seven distinct rehabilitation service segments, including:

  • Inpatient acute rehabilitation
  • Inpatient “transitional” rehabilitation
  • Skilled nursing rehabilitation
  • Medical-surgical therapy delivery
  • Day rehabilitation
  • Outpatient rehabilitation
  • Home Care rehabilitation

Q. Is RIC compatible with the Saint Joseph mission?

A. Yes. RIC is the national leader in providing the highest quality programs in patient care, education and research. RIC’s mission is to provide excellent patient care, advance innovative research and education to make a difference in the world for people with disabilities. Their commitment to advocacy and community service will only complement Saint Joseph’s own mission through this partnership.

For more information, please visit the RIC Web site www.ric.org.

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