An inpatient rehabilitation unit at Latrobe Hospital is set to close, prompting patients to look for other health care options in the area.
The EPIC (Excela Physical Improvement Center) unit is set to close on Tuesday, according to a person who answered the phone at the center on Monday.
But information about the move — such as the reasons behind it and the impact on center staff — has not been forthcoming from officials with Independence Health System. Independence Health was formed by the January 2023 merger of the Butler Health System with Excela Health facilities in Westmoreland County — including Latrobe Hospital, Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg and Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant.
Judi Mason, whose home is on the border of Mt. Pleasant Township in Westmoreland County and Saltlick Township in Fayette County, was a recent patient at the center. In an interview on Monday, she called its closure an injustice to patients who could benefit from the unit’s services, as she did.
“This is a highly needed establishment,” said Mason, who was a patient at EPIC Aug. 2-13, after suffering a stroke on July 30. “There are so many people who need therapy.
“I wouldn’t be walking or talking now if not for the people there. They did a very good job.”
Others have posted concerns about the EPIC closure on social media. One woman said the planned closure caused a family member to seek care instead at a rehabilitation facility in Harmarville.
Mason said she was one of four patients at EPIC during her stay and, with a number of other beds in the unit vacant, was told she was one of the last patients who would be admitted prior to its closure.
The other patients included a fellow stroke victim and two others who were learning to use prostheses, she said.
During conversations with nurses who assisted her at the unit, Mason said, she learned some expected to be reassigned to another area of Latrobe Hospital while some others were looking for jobs elsewhere.
Mason said one nurse indicated she was set to begin a new job at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. That hospital has a 20-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit, according to its website.
In response to a reporter’s questions, Independence Health on Friday would not comment on reports of the EPIC unit’s pending closure or any other plans concerning Latrobe Hospital.
“Independence Health System has a number of initiatives to reconfigure our services in a manner that will best serve our patients,” Brian Fritz, president of Westmoreland, Latrobe and Frick Hospitals, said in a statement. “These efforts are an ongoing evolution. It is premature to go into further detail at this time.”
Dr. Arthur T. Androkites, who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, is one of the doctors who has cared for patients at EPIC. He declined comment on Monday.
Mason expects to have a follow-up appointment with him at his Youngwood office.
She said her stroke was not a severe one, but it left the left side of her body weakened.
“I could walk, but I dragged my left side, stumbled and swayed back and forth,” she said. “I couldn’t use my left arm and hand; I had no control. I couldn’t pick up and hold anything.”
After daily speech therapy, facial and hand exercises and walking with the help of parallel bars at EPIC, Mason said she has recovered much of her affected abilities. But, she was told it likely will take six months to completely recover.
“They sent home instructions with me, and I do exercises every day,” she said.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.