El Dorado Hills hospital opens rehabilitation center with zero-gravity robotic therapy device
Marshall Hospital in El Dorado Hills celebrated the opening of a new rehabilitation center that is helping people get back on their feet with some futuristic technology.
Step by step, new technology is giving people with physical and neurological impairments the hope that they will one day walk naturally again.
"I would say patients love it," said Dr. Ryan Ebersole, a physical therapist at Marshall Hospital.
Ebersole is unveiling this new zero-gravity robotic therapy device that allows patients to move around on foot without the fear of falling.
"It just offloads a portion of a patient's body weight, allowing them to move a little bit freer," Ebersole said.
The harness is connected to a grid in the ceiling, allowing protected movement across an entire room.
"I found it very stabilizing, I felt that it helped me walk more normal," said John Raslaer, an El Dorado resident.
"I got polio when I was 3 years old," said Diane Marchesi.
Marchesi is one of the first patients to get the groundbreaking treatment.
"Once I got into it and felt how snug it was and I did fall, it caught me right away," Marchesi said.
She's hopeful the therapy will eventually allow her to move around without assistance.
"I've been doing it now since October, and I'm getting better and better. My goal is to get out of here walking," Marchesi said.
Marshall Hospital says it's the first of its kind three-dimensional therapy on the West Coast, harnessing new technology and offering a chance to change the lives of those who struggle to take a step.
"We hope that it will get used by a broad swath of people in the Northern California area," said Robert Pepper, a Marshall Hospital donor.
"It's very impressive and it gives them such independence," said Star Pepper, a Marshall Hospital donor.
"The little things, taking the stairs instead of the ramp, or being able to walk a little quicker or just feeling like they're a little more balanced," Ebersole said.
The hospital said about three to five patients a day are currently getting the treatments, which are billed to insurance just like other types of physical therapy.