Doors open on new rehab center in Woodmere

This is not your grandmother’s rehabilitation and nursing center.

When Ben Landa and Bent Philipson conceived what has become the Five Towns Premier Rehabilitation & Nursing Center to replace the Woodmere facility immediately next door the principals of SentosaCare thought of a place where they would want to live.

“This is nursing home care that I would go to,” Landa said, as he noted that the building was built with 280 beds in mind, not 500, and rooms providing 625-square-feet of space, along with large common rooms and state-of-the-art amenities such as concierge service, 14 dialysis machines, flat screens televisions, and piped in oxygen that allows residents to move about freely without lugging oxygen tanks.

The last Sunday and Monday of January, was moving day for the residents of Woodmere Rehab. With the help of every staff member they moved into the new facility that also houses only a kosher kitchen, a physical fitness/rehab center and a full-time functioning synagogue.

The old building at 121 Franklin Place is roughly 75,000-square-feet and three floors; the new one at 1050 Central Ave. is 183,000-square-feet and four floors and includes single rooms, double rooms, a beauty parlor and an outdoor patio.

There are also eight bariatric rooms for a total of 16 beds that accommodate people with weight issues. Only replacement nursing home facilities are being constructed as the New York State Department of Health has a moratorium on issuing new nursing home licenses.

Administrator Elie Pollack said the increased space and number of dialysis machines allows the rehab center to treat residents and patients more comfortably and more efficiently. “This is a big part of what we do,” he said.