Rehab gym addition will allow Briarfield Manor to add patients

By Elise Franco

AUSTINTOWN — A 3,200-square-foot addition to the Briarfield Manor will help the facility be more efficient and aid more patients.

Construction on the new rehabilitation gym began three weeks ago, said Vickie Heller, corporate marketing director, but about a dozen people involved in the project gathered for an official groundbreaking Monday morning.

She said the facility, at 461 S. Canfield Niles Road, was purchased by Edward Reese in 2000 and has seen a steady increase each year in the number of people requesting services.

“The number of people we provide short-term rehab services has grown to the point where we just did not have adequate space,” Heller said. “Each year we have seen an increase, and we just felt that it was time to make the change and add the extra space.”

She said the new facility, which is costing more than $600,000 to build, will include new gym equipment, a model apartment, simulated curbsides and surfaces to promote safe mobility.

“These are all of the things patients will need to be independent in their own living situation once they go back into the community,” Heller said.

She said the rehab portion of Briarfield has 20 beds, which are almost always full, and 18 have been added to accommodate the influx of patients expected once the new gym is completed.

Township Trustee Dave Ditzler, who attended the groundbreaking, said he’s happy to see the Reese family expand its facility in Austintown.

“They have owned and operated several of these facilities in the county and done a phenomenal job,” he said. “They are expanding, and we’re happy to see that the expansion is local.”

Heller said patients should expect all the amenities and care needed to get them ready to live on their own again after rehabilitation.

“We’re going to have various living environments that will allow the patient to practice skills they learn in rehab in a real-life setting,” she said.

“They’ll gain an increased confidence to return to their own home and feel safe.”

Heller said it’s not uncommon for an elderly patient to feel scared or nervous about going home after an accident, and the addition will help eliminate some of those fears.

“Once someone has been through a traumatic event, there’s a lot of fear that it will happen again,” she said. “We allow them to show themselves that they can do it and be independent.”

efranco@vindy.com