Penn Medicine to transfer only nursing home unit to new operator

The University of Pennsylvania Health System has announced plans to transfer its only nursing home unit to a new operator next month.

Rittenhouse Post Acute will take over the unit at Penn Medicine Rittenhouse — formerly the Graduate Hospital — and plans to expand its capacity to 38 beds over the next year. Rittenhouse Post Acute is supported by Marquis Health Consulting Services, a management company based in New Jersey, that manages 15 nursing homes across the Philadelphia region. 

Marquis Health Consulting Services typically manages nursing homes owned by Tryko Partners, a real estate firm based in the same building in Brick, N.J. A spokesperson for the two companies has confirmed that Tryko is not involved in the Rittenhouse Post Acute operation.

Rittenhouse Post Acute offers a range of clinical services, including post-operative subacute care, 24/7 skilled nursing, physical therapy, dementia care, and more. The center’s on-site amenities include private rooms, dining, Wi-Fi, cable, housekeeping, laundry, and beauty and barber services, among others.

The skilled-nursing unit at Penn Medicine Rittenhouse, which is currently operating as the Penn Presbyterian Center for Continuing Care, was relocated to its present location on South Street in 2020 from the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. This move was part of a broader strategy to centralize and streamline Penn Med’s post-acute care services. 

After the change, employees currently working in the skilled-nursing unit will have the opportunity to either transition to positions under the new operator or take on different roles within the broader Penn Med network. 

Good Shepherd Penn Partners — an Allentown, Pa. nonprofit and Penn Medicine partner — will continue to operate its inpatient rehabilitation unit on the third and fourth floors of Penn Medicine Rittenhouse, as well as a long-term acute-care unit on the fifth floor, a spokesperson confirmed. The continuity ensures that patients receiving rehabilitative and long-term acute care will not experience disruptions in their services.

Penn Medicine Rittenhouse — which was founded in 2007 — also features the Tuttleman Center, and other clinical practices available between the two centers include ENT and allergy, internal medicine, neurology, the Pain Medicine Center, physical medicine and rehabilitation, plastic surgery, and radiology.