A monthly birthday party celebrates the residents’ birthdays in one room while several people are working on strengthening exercises in the rehabilitation center.

Heartland of Riverview in South Point is not only an active facility, Manor Care Inc. that owns the facility was recently recognized by Fortune magazine.

According to Fortune’s 2007 list of America’s Most Admired Companies, Manor Care Inc. that also owns Heartland of Portsmouth and Heartland of Jackson was named the most admired health care facility.

“I am very proud of my team,” said Catherine Coburn, admissions/marketing director at Heartland of Riverview. “Together, our team determines what the patient needs, both physically and emotionally, before returning home.”

Heartland of Riverview is focused on post-hospital rehabilitation, transitioning the patient from hospital to home.

Manor Care Inc. has about 500 facilities in 30 states with more than 40,000 patients with 41 facilities in Ohio.

The company was ranked No. 1 in quality of products/services, innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality management and long-term investment.

“I think one thing our company has always done at the front of the imagery is really putting our money where our message is,” said Tyler Dugar, manager of market development. “Not just saying that we’re the best in rehab, but really investing heavily in it — training our therapists extensively, hiring the most qualified people as well as investing into the physical plans.”

Heartland of Riverview opened a new rehabilitation gym with all new equipment last spring. Other services for residents include various daily activities, clinical lab services, dental care, dietary services, occupational and physical therapy, pharmacy, physicians, x-rays and many other services.

“We have made a dramatic shift in the last five years that probably contributed to that (ranking), Dugar said. “That is the shift away from a traditional nursing home to a really active complex medical environment where we focus on the short-term rehabilitation.”

Many patients will only be in the facility for several weeks compared to a few years ago, patients lived out their lives at the nursing facility, he said.

In the rehab center is a training kitchen and bathroom where patients can learn to operate every day with limitations.

“A lot of times we’ll even do home visits before they go home in order to help with any suggestions they need as far as equipment and things like that,” Coburn said. “When they do go home, we make sure that they have everything they need like a walker, hospital bed, oxygen, things like that.”

The room is filled with weights, gripper devices, bikes, a treadmill and a Sci-Fit, a low-impact total body exerciser.

“Occupational therapy will focus on upper body strength and endurance,” said Shelly Hall, of Ashland, an occupational therapist. “But, getting them back to functioning at their highest level on a daily basis, doing their bathing, doing their dressing, is what we work with. Physical therapy focuses primarily on walking, balance and things like that.”

The facility also has speech therapists for people who have had strokes and difficulty speaking.

Other treatments include electrical-stimulation, ultrasound, diathermy and infrared to be used to relieve pain and help with therapy.

The rehab facility at Heartland of Riverview is available also to outpatient care.