Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, part of Jefferson Health, founded in 1958, is a 83-bed specialty medical rehabilitation hospital providing physical and cognitive rehabilitation services. Magee's flagship facility is located in Center City Philadelphia. In addition to the main campus that offers comprehensive services for spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, orthopedic replacement, amputation, pain management and work injury, Magee provides an expanding outpatient network serving the surrounding communities.
History Mage Rehabilitation Hospital was founded in 1968 by the philanthropy of Anna Justina Magee, a fifth-generation descendant of Johann Christian and Christina Kneass who arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam in September 1753. Magee was born on January 21, 1843, the fourth daughter and one of seven children of James and Caroline Magee. In her will, in memory of her parents, she endowed the Magee Professorship of Medicine at The Jefferson Medical College. With a gift of $1,285,000, she established what is present-day Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.
Anna Magee believed that the city's hospital wards were overcrowded because needy patients, although they could not resume their normal occupations or duties, remained there too long after passing the initial stage of acute illness or injury. She also did not want patients' families to be burdened with their support. She envisioned a hospital for convalescents—one, she stated that should ensure "the highest degree of reasonable comfort and healthfulness," in a "stately and dignified" building in which "no money should be misused for architectural ornament."
In 1985, Magee's brain injury rehabilitation program became the first in the nation to be accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Magee partnered with Jefferson Hospital to create one of the nation's 14 federally-designated centers for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Magee has been rated one of the nation's leading rehabilitation hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Magee provides treatment to more than 5,000 individuals annually. Magee is authorized to treat wounded military personnel returning from war. Magee is not an Obligated Group Affiliate.
Under Chairman C. Stevenson Newhall, M.D., the first board meeting took place on June 2, 1925. A committee was appointed to study the will, survey hospital needs, and come up with the best plan to follow. At following meetings the board decided that construction should not begin until $2.5 million had been accrued, and that money for the site and building should come from income, not principal holdings in the estate.
Dr. Howard A. Rusk, of the Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City, demonstrated that rehabilitation, not convalescence, was better able to restore soldiers to their former abilities. Frank H. Krusen, M.D., called the "Father of Physical Medicine," was developing theories and treatments in physical medicine while treating patients with disabilities and chronic diseases at the Mayo Clinic.
In 1954, the Orphan's Court of Philadelphia permitted the use of the Magee Trust Fund to establish a rehabilitation center, ruling that rehabilitation was now seen as a dynamic form of convalescent care and that such service was consistent with the wishes of Anna Magee.
The search for a founding director of the hospital led to H. Frazer Parry, M.D., who studied with Drs. Rusk and Krusen. He assumed the post in September 1955, setting up office space at 1500 Walnut Street, where he worked with a team to find an appropriate building for the hospital.
A former factory at 1513 Race Street was ideal because of its central location, open floor space, and relatively few walls that would have to be taken down. The building was purchased from American Meter Company, and construction and renovations began in December 1956. The total cost of the project, which was designed for 39 patients, amounted to about $2.5 million.
Opening ceremonies for Magee Memorial Hospital for Convalescents were held on March 9, 1958, and with a staff of 30 in place, the hospital, the first of its kind in Philadelphia, began admitting patients the very next day. In the first two years, approximately 57 percent of the care was free.
Rehabilitation programs Spinal Cord Injury Magee Rehabilitation Hospital's spinal cord injury "SCI" program has 4,000 patients and follows up with another 3,500 to 4,000 patients. Magee is partnered with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to form the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley. This federally-designated model system of care is one of 14 in the country to provide coordinated lifetime care for people with SCI and their families. Magee's SCI program is also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).
Magee's SCI services include a clinical inpatient program; assistive and therapeutic technology, outpatient therapy programs, and community reintegration services. Lifetime follow-up care is coordinated through Magee to address the unique health and community reintegration concerns of people with SCI.
Magee's SCI inpatients' therapies are offered seven days per week, and physician and nursing services are available 24 hours a day. Patients stay at Magee for varying periods of time, based on their goals and progress. Most inpatient stays are complemented by continuing care services at home or in outpatient settings.
All resources and services of Magee Rehabilitation are available through the Lifetime Follow-Up System of Care because people with SCI are likely to have some form of long-term disability and healthcare needs for the remainder of their lives. The program provides patients and families with continued access to rehabilitation physicians and professionals to help patients maintain or regain their level of physical function and good health.
Magee is partnered with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to offer the NeuroRecovery Network (NRN). The NRN is a part of the Locomotor Training Program, which is activity based therapy.
Brain injury Magee's brain injury rehabilitation care system includes:
Acute Rehabilitation Traumatic and non-traumatic admissions Post tumor resection rehabilitation Dual diagnosis (SCI/TBI) rehabilitation Day Rehabilitation Outpatient Services Vocational Evaluation Mild Brain Injury Program Medical (Physiatric) Evaluations Lifetime Follow-Up Peer Mentor Program
The brain injury continuum at Magee provides many services in outpatient settings. Treatments combine technology and pharmacology with hands-on evaluations and therapies. Magee keeps active relationships with other providers, such as vocational agencies and residential programs, to ensure effective and efficient placement in appropriate support programs. Patients with brain injuries receive treatment at the New Wendkos Center for Brain Injury and Stroke.
Stroke The Wendkos Center for Brain Injury and Stroke at Magee is led by a stroke program physician, who is a board certified physiatrist (fiz-ee-ah-trist - specialized rehabilitation physician). This physiatrist leads a team of stroke rehabilitation experts including case managers, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, recreational therapists, registered dietitians and speech therapists.
The stroke rehabilitation program is customized to fit each patient and family. The stroke rehabilitation team works with the patient and the family to identify goals. Then a patient-specific pathway is mapped out. Magee's Lifetime Follow-Up System of Care provides individuals and families with continued access to a rehabilitation physician and a team of expert rehabilitation professionals, who provide a variety of services to help patients regain or maintain function, including case management for lifetime rehabilitation care.
The Wendkos Community Center for Stroke Survivors provides community based education and activities, servicing the re-entry needs of the stroke survivor and the stroke survivor's caregiver. The center is open to the community.
The Delaware Valley Stroke Council (DVSC) exists to improve services for and treatment of stroke survivors and their families. DVSC fulfills this mission by promoting optimal stroke care through advocacy, education, awareness, diagnosis and treatment.
Amputation Program services in amputation rehabilitation at Magee are designed along two tracks, traumatic amputation (accidental severing) and disease-related amputation (diabetes, necrosis). There are also different methods of amputation treatment depending upon whether upper or lower extremities are involved. Services may be delivered in inpatient and/or outpatient programs. Magee's amputation program for amputation care combines technology with traditional, hands-on interventions. The pre-prosthetic phase of treatment includes:
Strengthening Mobility Endurance training and preparation for fitting with a temporary prosthesis The individual is then fitted with a temporary prosthesis, so that the individual can begin to adjust to the use of the limb, incorporate it into daily living skills and develop tolerance for wearing the limb.
The patient progresses to the outpatient phase when a level of independence is achieved with the temporary limb. Then the patient will be fitted with a permanent prothesis. Magee's follow-up services help patients maintain integrity of their residual limb(s) for the rest of their lives.
Magee also sponsors a peer support group, called AMP-PEER, whose members are available to help new patients before and after their amputations.
General Rehabilitation The General Rehab Program at Magee provides comprehensive rehabilitation to individuals with a wide variety of medical, orthopedic and neurologic disorders. Programs are tailored to the needs of individuals with arthritis, cancer, cardiac disease, limb amputation, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Guillain–Barré syndrome, status post organ transplantation, and functional decline secondary to prolonged medical illness and neurologic disorders. The General Rehabilitation Program services are available in a variety of settings, including inpatient, outpatient, and Day Rehab.
Orthopedic Injury Serious orthopedic problems include multiple bone fractures, joint replacement surgeries, and hip, knee and pelvis fractures. These conditions have lifelong consequences and often result in a short-term disability. Specialized rehabilitation is needed to make sure the affected body parts can operate at their maximum levels of function. The orthopedic rehabilitation program at Magee provides comprehensive rehabilitation to treat the loss of functional ability in patients with a wide variety of conditions that affect the muscles, bones and connective tissues. Inpatient and outpatient programs are offered for arthritis, hip or knee replacement, hip fracture, and multiple fractures. The Magee care team consists of physicians, case managers, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, recreational therapists, registered dietitians and speech therapists. Upon admission to the Orthopedic Rehabilitation Program, the care team members work together with patients and families to:
Establish rehabilitation goals; Address current rehabilitation care needs; and Plan for lifetime continuing care options
Magee has a Follow-Up System of Care to provide individuals and families with continued access to a rehabilitation physician and a team of expert rehabilitation professionals. This team provides a variety of services to help patients regain or maintain function.
Ventilator Services