Oakland Rehabilitation Program Helps Seniors Get Back on Their Feet


The short-term rehabilitation program at Mercy Retirement & Care Center offers top-notch care for seniors in recovery.

After a health event, it can take time for seniors to fully recover. That’s where short-term rehabilitation can help. The Mercy Care Center offers a top-notch program designed to help seniors start feeling like themselves as quickly as possible.

The skilled nursing care center at Mercy works to help seniors regain strength and mobility through person-centered care. The program is ideal for those who need temporary rehabilitation services while recovering from a stroke, heart attack, surgery, fall or other health event that leaves them needing professional care.

The goal is to help seniors transition back to their homes or to a lower level of care within the community, such as independent or assisted living. “The program is geared toward getting people well by regaining their ability and strength and overcoming issues, then getting them home as quickly as possible,” says Glen Goddard, Administrator at Mercy Retirement & Care Center.

The program focuses on providing person-centered care in a peaceful, restorative environment. Residents have access to speech, physical and occupational therapy, and a full rehab fitness center. On-call doctors are available 24-hours a day. The beautiful garden and cozy atmosphere help make their stay as pleasant as possible.

The program is part of the continuum of skilled nursing care offered at Mercy. Long-term stays are also available for residents with a debilitating illness or who require extensive care. The Care Center maintains the highest levels of clinical quality and consistently receives a Five-Star Quality Rating by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Eugene David Burnett, 90, is one resident who has benefited from short-term rehabilitation. Burnett has been living at Mercy for four and a half years. He transferred to the Care Center for a temporary stay to help regain mobility in his arm after a fall. Eugene says he’s appreciated how the staff balanced attentive care with preserving his independence and dignity.

“One thing that really impressed me is that they treat everybody beautifully. The people here need a lot of care but they don’t treat us like children or talk down to us,” says Burnett.

Mercy Care Center has 59 beds, 18 of which are designated for the short-stay program. Typically, participants in the program stay for about two weeks. Some stay as little as a week after a minor surgery or incident. Others stay longer if they need more care. Often, Medicare and Medicaid can help cover some or all of a temporary skilled nursing visit.

A vast majority of those in the program, about 90 percent, transferred from acute-care hospitals. The program is also open to residents in other levels of care at Mercy Retirement & Care Center. Remaining in the same community during recovery helps minimize disruption and distress, keeps residents close to loved ones, and helps ensure continuity of care.

Contact us for more information on our short-term rehabilitation program at Mercy Retirement & Care Center.

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