Patients receive any or all of a wide range of rehabilitation services, depending on their needs. The services available are:

Nursing. Patients are cared for by certified rehabilitation registered nurses and nursing staff on a 24-hour basis throughout the hospital stay.

THE PATIENT IS OUR PRIMARY FOCUS. OUR ULTIMATE GOAL FOR EACH PATIENT IS TO ACHIEVE HIS OR HER MAXIMUM STATE OF FUNCTIONING AND WELLNESS.

Physical therapy. The clinical evaluation performed on every patient assesses capacities such as sensation, muscle control, joint range of motion, and cardiac and respiratory status. The functional evaluation determines bed mobility, wheelchair mobility, transfers, ambulation, and stair climbing. These examinations are key to designing a treatment program that will lead a patient to the highest level of independence possible.

Pain management. It hurts to push yourself to your limits physically. That’s why pain management is an absolutely essential component of successful rehabilitation. As part of rehabilitation at the ORI, every patient attends a weekly class in pain management conducted by a rehab psychologist. Its focus is providing encouragement and support as well as tools to reduce anxiety and increase comfort, such as breathing exercises and distraction, relaxation, and visualization techniques.

Occupational therapy. Another key to independent living after discharge is occupational therapy. An occupational therapist evaluates every patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) such as feeding, bathing, grooming, hygiene, dressing, toilet and tub/shower transfers, household tasks, and work performance skills.

Fall prevention. A special program in fall prevention reviews safety techniques with an eye toward protecting the patient, both in the hospital and at home.

Recreational therapy. Recreational therapy activities are designed to enhance fine and gross motor skills, endurance and cognition as well as to fill patients’ social, physical, emotional and expressive needs. Individualized computer/Internet training and animal-assisted therapy are also available.

EVERY STAFF MEMBER IS THERE TO OFFER ENCOURAGEMENT, SUPPORT AND MOTIVATION, WHICH INSPIRES PATIENTS TO PUSH THEMSELVES TO ACHIEVE GOALS THOUGHT UNACHIEVABLE.

Speech-language pathology. A patient will be evaluated by a speech-language pathologist if he or she is impaired in one of the following areas: swallowing function, auditory comprehension, verbal expression, speech/voice output, reading/writing ability, or cognitive-linguistic skills.

Psychology. Patients and their families often need help coping with the patient’s medical condition and the often arduous process of rehabilitation. A psychologist assesses every new patient and provides support individually, in groups, and in a family context, as appropriate.
 

Neuropsychology. A neuropsychological evaluation, assessing capacities such as language, memory and judgment, is completed for each patient suspected of suffering cognitive impairment.

Social work. The social worker is a very important part of the rehabilitation team. He or she performs a bio-psycho-social assessment of each patient and provides important information about prior level of functioning, support at home, and possible discharge needs. The social worker serves as the important link between hospital and home by arranging for home care services, outpatient therapy, subacute rehabilitation services and assistance in obtaining devices to improve self-care skills.

Nutritional services. Proper nutrition is essential to recovery. A registered dietitian and a diet technician are available to assess the patient’s nutritional status, address any dietary issues and guide the patient and the family in improving nutritional intake.

Support groups. The CVA (Stroke) Group and the Amputee Support Group meet monthly to provide assistance, education and emotional support to new and former patients and their family members.

Brace clinic. Patients requiring bracing or prosthetic limbs for walking are evaluated on a weekly basis by a team consisting of a physical therapist, a physician, a prosthetist and an orthotist.