`waltz' Crosses Emotional Landscape

1when Harry Met Coach, 
He Got Back His Future 
Meet Harry Barnes, First-year Student At Luzerne County Community College.

By CHRISTINE LIBERASKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, February 10, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 4A QUICK WORDS: MERCY HOSPITAL IN
NANTICOKE 





NANTICOKE -- The name has changed and so has the focus at Mercy Hospital in
Nanticoke. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Wednesday, Mercy Med-Care Inc. officials announced its Nanticoke
facility, now called Mercy Special Care Hospital, has been designated by state
and federal officials as a long-term acute-care hospital. It was previously an
acute-care hospital not specifically designed for long-term stays. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The Mercy Special Care Hospital administers a very specialized level of
patient treatment that goes beyond traditional acute-care hospitals and
skilled-nursing facilities, said Robert P. Goodwin, president and chief
executive officer of Mercy Med-Care Inc. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A long-term acute-care hospital, as defined by the federal government, is a
facility in which patients stay longer than an average of 25 days per visit.
The facility must be free-standing and licensed as an acute-care hospital with
a Medicare provider agreement to participate as a hospital. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Stephens, vice president of marketing and planning for Mercy Med-Care,
said the recent positioning of physicians with health-care providers in the
area does not affect Mercy Special Care Hospital because its patients --
because of the extent of their illnesses -- qualify for Medicare, which pays
the medical bills. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The hospital specializes in caring for patients with longer-than-usual
lengths of stay who need close physician monitoring and intensive nursing.
Examples of these patients include those with cardiovascular or pulmonary
disease, complex nutritional therapy, radiation therapy and
extended-intravenous antibiotic therapy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mercy officials said patients are referred to Mercy Special Care from other
hospitals and doctors. And if the patient's physician isn't a Mercy Med-Care
physician, Mercy Special Care will provide emergency-staff status to the
doctor so that he or she can have direct contact with the patient. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Nanticoke facility has operated as a long-term acute-care facility
since July, when the U.S. Department of Health Care and Finance Administration
permitted it to do so on a trial basis, Since then, Stephens said, the
acute-care beds have been, for the most part, filled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With its designation, Mercy Special Care Hospital becomes one of two
long-term acute-care facilities in the state. The other hospital is in
Pittsburgh. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition, the hospital will continue to offer a 24-hour emergency room,
outpatient services and an 18-bed psychiatric wing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/RICHARD SABATURA &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Registered nurse Gerri Morreale checks 86-year-old Elizabeth Boyle's blood
pressure at Mercy Special Care Hospital. The former Mercy Hospital in
Nanticoke has been designated by state and federal officials as a long-term
acute-care hospital.

Mercy Hospital In Nanticoke Gets New Special-care Mission State And Federal Officials Have Designated The Hospital A Long-term Acute-care Hospital