Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

History

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, or Rancho, dates back to 1888 when indigent patients from the Los Angeles County Hospital were relocated to what was then known as the Los Angeles County Poor Farm. Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy were started in the late 1920s. The Rancho rapidly expanded after it was designated as a respiratory center for polio patients in 1951. In 1955, Dr. Vernon L. Nickel developed the halo vest, a device which is still in use to immobilize the cervical spine following severe neck injury or certain types of surgery. Drs. Jacquelin Perry and Robert Waters contributed to advances in pathokinesiology and treatment of spinal cord injuries, and other advances in rehabilitation of orthopedic and neurologic disorders were made in ensuing years. The Rancho Los Amigos Scale, a widely used scale to determine the cognitive level in brain-injured patients, was developed in the 1970s.

Today

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center is one of the largest comprehensive medical rehabilitation centers in the U.S. providing services to a wide range of individuals with catastrophic illnesses and injuries.

Rancho specializes in helping patients with disabilities regain skills and learn techniques to accomplish the basic activities of daily living, and returning to work or school if possible.

For more than two decades, Rancho has been ranked among "America's Best Hospitals" in Rehabilitation Medicine by U.S.News & World Report. In 2011, U.S.News ranked the Downey, California-based hospital 7th among the 138 hospitals rated in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Rancho is licensed for 207 beds. It cares for approximately 4,000 inpatients and conducts 78,000 outpatient visits annually. The hospital provides rehabilitation services in stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, pediatrics, orthopedics and diabetes care, pressure ulcer management, limb preservation and post- amputation care. These services help patients to obtain as much independence as they are able, so they may return to their family, school or a job if feasible.

As the rehabilitation arm of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services healthcare system, Rancho is becoming an enhanced medical home for stroke and spinal cord injury, providing lifetime care for seniors and persons with disabilities. Rancho continues to pioneer creative programs that promote recovery, community reintegration and independence for persons recovering from or living with physical disability, including such programs as:

These programs serve patient needs directly and provide advocacy, research platforms, education, and easy access to services.

Rancho also provides its patients with many innovative patient programs that strive to promote self-esteem and achieve independence. These include:

Rancho continues its mission of providing each patient with the best possible medical and rehabilitation services, while advancing its service delivery model and access to one of the best physical medicine and rehabilitation care facilities in the country.