Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center is a rehabilitation hospital located in Downey, California, United States.

History
Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, or Rancho, dates back to 1888 when indigent patients from the Los Angeles County Hospital were relocated to what was then known as the Poor Farm. Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy were started in late 1920s. The Rancho as it is now known rapidly expanded after it was designated as a respiratory center for poliomyelitis patients in 1951. In 1955, Dr. Vernon L. Nickel developed the halo vest, a device which is still in use to immobilize the cervical spine following severe neck injury or certain types of surgery. Drs. Jacquelin Perry and Robert Waters contributed to advances in pathokinesiology, and other advances in rehabilitation of orthopedic and neurologic disorders were made in insuing years. Rancho Los Amigos Cognitive Functioning Scale, a widely used scale to determine the cognitive level in brain injured patients, was developed in the 1970s. Rancho's spinal cord injury unit has been designated as a model system by the U.S. federal government since 1979.

Today
Rancho is a 395-bed rehabilitation hospital owned and operated by the Los Angeles County. Rancho is internationally recognized for its excellence in rehabilitation medicine, consistently ranking among the leading rehabilitation hospitals according to the U.S. News and World Report. It is affiliated with the University of Southern California.

Budgetary concerns led to an attempt by the County Board of Supervisors to close the hospital in 2003. The closure was averted by a last-minute court injunction. A settlement from a federal lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles County in 2005 allows the Los Angeles County to look for an entity interested in taking over Rancho. The settlement stipulates that any entity attempting to take over Rancho ensure continuity of care provided to indigent rehabilitation patients.