Inpatient physical rehabilitation

Treatment begins with clinical rehabilitation specialists (CRS) working alongside an interdisciplinary care team to determine if you're a candidate for the program. Although the CRS team is crucial to you being accepted into our program, treatment shifts to your care team once you are admitted. A personalized plan will be created and modified as you progress.

Treatment is typically based on the following components:

• Educating you and your family and helping you adapt to lifestyle changes
• Improving overall function
• Providing tools for modifying your environment
• Treating your disability and preventing further complications

Additionally, if you are recovering from a cardiovascular event, such as a coronary bypass graft, we offer a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program that focuses on evaluation, exercise, education and support.

Our therapy services

Our rehabilitation experts specialize in different areas of the body, with a primary focus on helping you relearn, adapt or develop new skills. Services we offer include:

• Nutritional guidance — Led by a registered dietitian (RD), you'll receive a nutritional assessment as a part of your treatment program. RDs coordinate with the care team to ensure education is provided in a way that is accessible to you and your caregiver.
• Occupational therapy (OT) — This type of therapy works to help you improve, regain or retain your ability to perform tasks of everyday living, including cooking, eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, meal preparation, visual and perceptual tasks. A therapist provides education about adaptive methods, such as adaptive device training, home safety, energy conservation and joint protection.
• Physical therapy (PT) — This therapy focuses on helping you perform activities, such as moving in bed, transferring to bed or chairs, standing, walking and using a wheelchair. Depending on your ability level, a physical therapist will use assistive devices and prescribe exercises to increase range of motion, strength and endurance. If needed, the physical therapist will assist you with getting off the floor, getting into a car and navigating stairs.
• Recreational therapy (RT) — This therapy covers training to operate in a community setting. Our specialists assist with providing transportation for community outings and will provide lifestyle and leisure modification recommendations as needed.
• Speech-language pathology (SLP) — This therapy treats cognitive, language, memory, speech, swallowing and hearing disorders that interfere with your ability to function independently. If you have swallowing difficulties, an SLP therapist may conduct swallowing evaluations and instruct you in compensatory techniques.

Treatment at our unit begins with a referral from your doctor. Most people are referred to us while they are still recovering in the hospital. However, referrals may also come from skilled nursing facilities and community-based physicians.

If you or your physician have any questions about your loved one's eligibility for our program, please feel free to contact an inpatient rehabilitation unit admissions team member at (907) 264-1893.

While in our care, you'll be admitted to our unit, located on the hospital's fifth floor. Once admitted, your treatment begins with a thorough evaluation to identify your current strengths and weaknesses. There, our care team will evaluate your level of independence.

The goal of acute rehabilitation is to help you regain function and return to your routine with as much mobility as possible. Your care involves continuous physician and nursing oversight, and includes:

• Daily meals served in the rehabilitation unit’s dining area, to simulate a home environment.
• Documented schedule on the therapy whiteboard, written out a day in advance or the night before. A written copy of this schedule will also be provided to keep at your bedside.
• Scheduled rest periods, as needed, to be posted on the whiteboard near the dining hall.
• Three hours of therapy per day, combining two to three disciplines (physical, occupational, recreational or speech-language).
• Weekly recreational, community outings with your therapists and one to two others.

Care team

Your care team meets weekly to develop and adjust your treatment. A plan is designed to help you relearn skills, develop methods to compensate for decreased functioning and resume activities of everyday living. You'll be expected to participate in all therapy sessions as scheduled. As you draw closer to discharge, the team will meet once again to determine final recommendations.

How long you will be in rehabilitation

Your length of stay is determined by various factors, such as:

• Ability and willingness to participate in daily therapy
• Age
• Pace for accomplishing rehabilitation goals
• Potential to make significant functional improvements
• Previous stage of health
• Severity of injury or illness

Once admitted to the program, your family will be allowed to see you during visiting hours. Our therapy and nursing staff will offer you and your family opportunities to learn more about your condition and how to continue recovery once you've been discharged. Family involvement is a very important part of your therapy's success, and our care team wants to work with anyone who will be helping you upon discharge.

We do ask that one family member be identified as the primary spokesman or caregiver. This primary caregiver will be allowed to come to your sessions and stay beyond visiting hours, with your nurse's approval. Our team will provide your caregiver with an outline of expectations and a caregiver agreement.

Family training sessions

Your treatment team will coordinate family training sessions. In these sessions, the emphasis is on helping you most effectively interact with your close inner circle, in a home-like setting.

This training helps your support network feel comfortable when it comes to addressing your needs. Not only can family members help you feel better about your visit, but they can also help staff get to know the specifics about your support system and living situation.

Discharge planners focus on your ongoing care. For questions about the next steps, you or your caregiver can speak with one of these planners by calling (907) 264-1901. Aspects you may discuss with your discharge planner include:

• Alternative arrangements — Planners can help you with alternative arrangements in the event you do not make sufficient improvement to be able to fully return to your previous living situation. In the event this happens, you may need to consider:
  • Having a friend or relative live with you
  • Living with a friend or relative
  • Moving to an assisted living facility
  • Relocating to a more accessible home
• Additional services — The rehabilitation team may recommend additional services after you leave the hospital, such as outpatient therapy, home health assistance or durable medical equipment.
• Goal setting — We discuss your rehabilitation goals, discharge disposition and post-discharge support needs.
• Resources — As the time for discharge nears, you and your family are counseled about our available resources. We want to ensure a smooth transition back home or into an alternate care setting.