Physical therapist Jerry Mercado helps patient Arthur Adams of Athens stand at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital, 3131 Troup Highway in Tyler, Wednesday March 22, 2017. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

There’s a bright brass bell on the wall of the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital’s newly remodeled physical therapy room. It’s at chest-height, with a short rope attached. It’s not an alarm of any kind; it’s a goal and an achievement.

Gale Davis, of Palestine, is a physical therapy patient at the hospital. After a trip around the room, with the help of a therapist and a walker, she makes her way to the bell unaided. When she gets there, she rings it proudly. And throughout the room, everyone stops and claps.

“Everyone drops what they’re doing,” explains Marianna Svesko, director of marketing operations for the hospital. “The bell is for people who are re-learning to walk, especially if they haven’t walked in a long time. Everyone here knows what it takes to get there. So we all stop and cheer.”

The new room is part of the CTMF Rehabilitation Hospital’s new expansion, which is nearly complete. The $11 million project will add 20 beds, bringing the total to 96, adding nurses’ stations, new office space and a new conference room. The kitchen is next, as it expands to serve the new, larger hospital at 3131 Troup Highway, near the Green Acres Shopping Center.

The Rehabilitation Hospital has a staff of about 300, but CEO Sharla Anderson said it’s continuing to increase staff, and will eventually add about 20 percent to the staff of health professionals.

The hospital specializes in getting people home after surgery, or a stroke, or an accident, she said. It ranks in the top 10 percent in patient outcomes, she added, with about 90 percent of patients returning home after leaving the facility.

“A lot of people might not know we’re here,” Ms. Anderson said. “But we play an important role in the health care community.”

That’s especially true as more and more retirees move to Tyler, which is now a Certified Retirement Community, according to the East Texas Council of Governments.

And it’s a full hospital, not just a rehab center.

“We have nurses 24/7 and a hospital-level of care around the clock,” she said.

For most of the hospital’s patients, therapy – whether it’s physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy – takes place for up to six hours per day, usually broken up into two to four sessions. The average stay is about 12 days.

“We help people work toward their goals,” Ms. Svesko said. “In addition to the usual physical and occupational therapy treatments, we have things like a car simulator. We help people practice getting into and out of a car. We have community outings, where we take patients to the grocery store and help them get comfortable, again, doing things they used to do.”

There’s a simulated kitchen, complete with dishes, appliances and furnishings.

Again, Ms. Svesko said, “it’s about helping patients become comfortable.”

“They did these things without a second thought before” a stroke or an injury, she explained. “But after, they might be a little afraid, unsure they can do those normal things alone.”

That fear can be as debilitating as any injury, she added.

“Once they’re comfortable, they’re closer to going home,” she said.

The Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital first opened in 1993 with 62 beds. It underwent a 12-bed expansion in 2008. It serves amputees, hip and knee replacement patients and bariatric patients, as well as stroke patients and others.

It was a pioneer in animal-assisted therapy. Occupational Therapist Shari Curran, executive director and founder of Therapet, started the program in Dallas in 1984 and brought it to Tyler 10 years later.

“What’s different about our program is that it’s not just a pet visitation program,” Ms. Anderson said. “We use pets in our treatment modality. It’s truly a part of the treatment program.”

But that’s just part of what the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital can do. Its new therapy gyms “are nearly complete,” Ms. Anderson said.

“We’re growing, and that’s allowing us to help more people,” she said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

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