By Katie Vasquez
A brand new rehabilitation gym is now available at Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center.
While the home has been around since 1903, the building in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn wasn’t opened until 2002.
The facility’s executive director, Anthony Restaino, says it’s never been updated.
“We identified that our short term rehab is needed in this neighborhood, and the rehab gym was the original one,” he tells Currents News. “The equipment was older, things were starting to look old.”
For George Jensen, chairman of the board of directors for Norwegian Christian Home, these upgrades are particularly important to him. He has been a patient there himself more times than he can count, and knows what it’s like to be there firsthand.
“I’ve had two knee replacements. I’ve had two hip replacements. I’ve had a fractured shoulder, fractured elbow, ” he explains.
Even though Jensen always got excellent care, he says the space could have been better and he’s glad to see the upgrade.
“We’ve modernized it, we have a lot more room, but it did get crowded here,” he recalls. “They had to bring patients down on a schedule so it didn’t get overcrowded. But, with this setup, it’s going to be much better.”
The center used money raised at its inaugural golf tournament to pay for the improvements.
“We focus on short term rehabilitation,” Anita Panopio, the director of rehabilitation for Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center, tells Currents News. “Patients come here for four to six weeks. It depends on their progress. She know that the renovation is important: “It’s a big impact for the residents.”
A new addition to the center are stations with real-life scenarios like doing laundry or taking a bath, to help patients as they return home.
“It really helps the residents because the goal is to get them to acclimate back to their homes,” explains Restaino.
While he’s hoping not to be back as a patient any time soon, Jensen says that if he is, he knows he’ll be in good hands.
“Every time I’ve been here for therapy, it’s done marvelous things,” he says.