BILLINGS — It was a time for celebration and reminiscing at St. Vincent's New Hope Rehabilitation Center, which is closing after 40 years.
Doctors and the staff held a closing ceremony on Thursday.
New Hope saw its first patient on July 9, 1979.
Those working at the center remember the achievements of helping patients.
Mike Glancy will work at the new facility and was once a patient at New Hope.
He talked about important the care was that was shown to him and the other patients.
"I had the hope that I would walk again,” Glancy said about his rehab that started in November of 2009. “These people, that was gone. They had lost that but the compassion that (the staff) showed to them people, day in and day out, it was amazing."
"So many people are vested in the patients that came here,” said Dr. Patti LaHaie, Medical Director of Rehabilitation. “We've celebrated their ups and downs and their small achievements and their big achievements. It's been years of miracles that we've witnessed here. It's really hard to say goodbye to a team you've worked with for so many years."
St. Vincent is a partner with Billings Clinic and Kindred Healthcare on the Rehabilitation Hospital of Montana at 3572 Hesper Road.
The new center is set to open early this month.
