Covenant Health and Rehab serving the community
Published 7:00 am Friday, June 19, 2015
![FATHER’S DAY GIFTS: From left, Kim Aultman with Women of Inspiration presents Father’s Day gifts to Covenant patient James Noel. Photo by Cassandra Favre](https://www.picayuneitem.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/06/Dart1web.jpg)
FATHER’S DAY GIFTS: From left, Kim Aultman with Women of Inspiration presents Father’s Day gifts to Covenant patient James Noel.
Photo by Cassandra Favre
For the past 10 years, Covenant Health and Rehab in Picayune has provided certified long-term care and short-term rehabilitation services to seniors.
The center is owned by Covenant Dove, interim administrator Raymond Sabino said. He will serve as interim administrator until a new one is found.
According to www.covenantdove.com, Covenant Dove operates 48 nursing facilities in 11 states. The company’s mission statement is “Serving the needs of our communities, one patient at a time.”
There are 15 facilities in Mississippi, Sabino said.
The Picayune facility has 120 beds and about 116 trained staff members including CNAs, LPNs, RNs and Nurse Practitioners. There are two general medical practitioners that visit the center about four to five times a week, Sabino said. On a scheduled basis, many specialists also see patients at Covenant including dentists, psychologists, optometrists and podiatrists. Patients are also driven to outside appointments by Covenant staff in one of the center’s two buses, Sabino said.
The center accepts many types of insurance including Medicare and Medicaid, Sabino said.
“Medicare covers the cost for short-term rehabilitation and Medicaid is utilized for long-term stays,” Sabino said. “They come here to get rehabilitated and get their strength and health back so they can return to their homes. Our goal is to make everyone healthy and happy.”
A typical short-term stay can last up to 100 days, Sabino said. Although these patients are usually in therapy for the majority of their stay, they still participate in daily activities offered by the center.
There are many departments within the facility including activities, Sabino said.
“There are multiple events planned during the day designed to keep the patients more active and social, especially for our long-term patients,” Sabino said. “This is their home and we have to make it happy.”
Activities include musical entertainment, BINGO, church services and physical activities such as yoga and tai chi, Sabino said. The center also hosts events for local first responders.
There is also a dietary department and a social worker who counsels patients on topics such as family issues and their feelings about moving into a new home. The social worker also sets up home health care for recently rehabilitated patients, Sabino said.
Covenant also has an admissions department, business office, nursing department and an MDS department, Sabino said.
“The MDS staff ensure the patients have proper documentation for Medicare and Medicaid,” Sabino said. “They also complete social assessments and our nursing staff completes a daily patient assessment.”
The therapy department provides physical, speech and occupational therapy to patients, Sabino said.
Finally, the maintenance department ensures the environment around the center is well kept, Sabino said.
There are no set visiting hours.
“We try not to encourage overnight guests,” Sabino said. “We do understand that some family members have different schedules and want to see their family members after they get off work.”
However for most business inquiries, Covenant is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Our number one goal is resident care,” Sabino said. “When a patient arrives for therapy, we want to ensure that their needs are being met. For our long-term residents, we want them to feel at home and strive to make it as smooth a transition as possible. Our major goal is to keep our residents healthy and happy.”
Covenant Health and Rehab is located at 1620 Read Rd.
For more information contact Covenant staff at 601-798-1811.
Learn more about Covenant Dove by visiting their website at www.covenantdove.com.
![ACTIVITIES: Covenant Health and Rehab patient Ella Varnado colors a page in her book. Photo by Cassandra Favre](https://www.picayuneitem.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/06/Dart2web.jpg)
ACTIVITIES: Covenant Health and Rehab patient Ella Varnado colors a page in her book.
Photo by Cassandra Favre