Imagine this: You’re getting ready to be discharged from the hospital when you get the news that your care team is recommending you go to a rehabilitation center to get stronger. You may ask, “Can’t I just go home with home health?” The answer is yes, but the benefits of in-patient therapies offered by a skilled nursing facility might out-weigh the understandable desire to get home right away.
Maimonides Health Center of Virginia Beach, for example, offers skilled rehabilitation that includes physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Each discipline plays a vital role in the recovery process.
MCH’s physical therapy staff has more than 99 years of collective experience and provides skilled therapy to improve functional mobility through range of motion, strength, balance, transfers, and walking. In addition, the facility offers a non-pharm logical approach to pain management. It also instructs residents in skilled techniques to improve their ability to walk, negotiate steps, and increase physical stamina. Rehab patients can expect to have therapy five to six days a week, based on evaluation findings.
The occupational therapy staff has more than 90 years of collective experience providing techniques to strengthening fine and gross motor movements. It works on standing stamina and balance to improve the abilities to return to household chores and cooking meals and educates on how to use specialized equipment to improve dressing and bathing techniques. Rehab patients can expect to have therapy three to five days a week based on evaluations.
The speech pathologists have 39 years of collective experience and play an important role in treating any language and swallowing deficits. This includes cognition, voice projection, and communication through alternative methods, memory recall, and problem solving and safety awareness. Rehab patients can expect to have therapy three to five days a week based on evaluations.
For those who decide to go home with home health services, similar services will be provided. Generally, however, they are restricted to two to three times a week and the providers may not have all the tools available to improve the patient’s recovery process.
Most skilled nursing facilities can provide these same therapies. Look for the one-on-one care that makes patients feel like family while going through the recovery process.
Wendy Burton is director of rehabilitation services at Maimonides Health Center.
The benefits of in-patient rehab
