If you’re looking for comprehensive rehabilitation services under one roof, look no further than St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Newly relocated, St. Mary’s Rehabilitation Services’ expanded floor plan has allowed staff to also expand the services they provide to the community. Additionally, hours of operation have been extended to meet patient needs, and patients may utilize either valet parking or park in the ER parking area for convenience.
Occupying 7,800 square feet on the second floor of the hospital’s Regional Heart Institute, the Rehabilitation Services staff members provide occupational therapy and physical therapy, as well as speech and language pathology. All care is provided by licensed staff members in a one-on-one treatment regimen with compassionate, qualified and specially-trained professionals. Many of the staff members have advanced training or specialty certifications.
“We’re set up to treat just about any kind of patient who comes to see us,” said Adam Forrest, manager of Rehabilitation Services. “They range in age from children with speech problems to older adults who need help with daily living activities, balance, gait, or communication. We also help patients recover function and independence after a stroke.”
There are 42 staff members in Rehabilitation Services. Outpatient staff members include two full-time occupational therapists, a full-time physical therapy assistant, four full-time physical therapists, a rehab technician and two speech therapists. Each therapist has his or her own laptop to make sessions interactive between therapist and patient.
“We do have all three therapies and everyone on staff is licensed,” Forrest explained. “In addition, all of our therapy sessions are done entirely on a one-on-one basis – we do not have group therapy sessions.
“That’s no small task because, right now, we probably average about 40 patients a day,” he said. “That’s about 800 people in and out the door in a month. Sometimes the physicians will send specific instructions for therapy evaluation and treatment and sometimes we make that call after we do the assessment.”
Visitors to the floor are greeted by a large waiting room and open gym. Staff members have access to two semi-private rooms, as well as additional rooms for traction and wound care patient treatments. Speech therapists have three designated rooms, including one for pediatric patients. There also are three rooms dedicated for the department’s lymphedema program, which helps those patients who may develop edema postoperatively, as well as those with other types of edema. Two of these rooms share a private bathroom and shower. The third room has a private shower and bathroom and can accommodate any patient, regardless of body size. The room is designed for individuals weighing up to 1,000 pounds. In addition, there are washers and dryers available to assist patients with maintaining cleanliness of compression bandages.
Rehabilitation Services now includes a state-of-the-art system called the BTE Primus, which allows therapists to accurately measure and rehabilitate all types of patients, from athletes to those in wheelchairs. The BTE can be used to simulate job activities, as well as activities in the home or sports. There are golf, baseball, tennis and other components to assist patients with return to leisure activities.
The new space also includes a working simulation of a home environment, with kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room. This assisted daily living suite helps to restore functional independence for patients who have had strokes, rely on walkers or have balance disorders.
In addition to standard physical therapy services, St. Mary’s offers a variety of unique services. The department houses the only comprehensive lymphedema treatment program in the Tri-State certified by the National Lymphedema Network.
“Lymphedema is a problem that can occur after breast cancer treatment or from a variety of other conditions where there are problems in the lymphatic system resulting in development of protein rich fluid in the tissues,” Forrest said. “Our therapists provide complex decongestive therapy treatment, including manual lymph drainage, skin care, exercises, use of low-stretch compression bandaging and fitting for compression garments.”
Another addition to the department is the driving assessment program, which features a driving simulator system with 240 scenarios and 450 training exercises. Therapists can simulate day or night conditions, various weather elements and measure reaction time and visual acuity. The unit utilizes three flat-panel computers and side mirrors.
“The driving simulator system is a really fancy arcade game with a serious purpose,”
Forrest said. “The assessment, which includes muscle and cognitive testing, can help us determine if a person is safe to drive or return to driving. We want to know if they are safe, how we can keep them safe and whether they need license restrictions or vehicle modifications. Those are our goals.”
St. Mary’s employs one of only 300 certified driving rehabilitation specialists in the country.
Occupational therapists at St. Mary’s have at their disposal a fully-functional apartment in the Rehabilitation Services space. The apartment is designed to simulate real-world experiences, such as cooking, carrying plates to a table, getting the mail and raising up out of bed independently. The unit has a brick front, working doorbell and all the furnishings and elements of a patient’s home.
“Therapists in a hospital setting can try to simulate experiences as much as possible, but nothing compares to having a bathtub here and working with a patient to see if they can get in and out of it, to help them learn how to do that,” Forrest said. “Can they carry their dinner? Make their bed? Having the apartment here helps us learn what we can do – and what they can do – to make them more independent at home.”
One of the speech and language pathology rooms is designed to be kid friendly in a setting that also pleases parents. “We have one room especially designed for children with the smaller tables and chairs and a one-way mirror for parents,” Forrest said.
Speech therapists at St. Mary’s are qualified to diagnose and treat swallowing disorders, communication disorders and augmentative communication needs.
Rehabilitation Services also added another advanced technology. Patients now have access to a virtual reality treatment system.
“The virtual reality system uses a technology similar to a green screen weather map,” Forrest explained. “We can simulate anything from playing volleyball to driving a race car or snorkeling under water. It works well with both young and old patients who like the challenge of something fun and new.”
Forrest added that the Rehabilitation Services hours are designed to accommodate the most patients possible.
“We have therapists in here at 6:30 in the morning and we’re here until at least 8 p.m. three nights a week,” Forrest said. “We don’t have standing weekend hours, but if somebody needs a weekend appointment, we’ll come in to accommodate them.”
For more information about treatments offered in St. Mary’s Rehabilitation Services, call (304) 526-1333.
7-day Archive
