On the Road to Recovery

  • By Lisa Amstutz
  • June 10, 2011
  • 255
                        
Teaser article: Inpatient Rehab Paves the Way to Independence “A rehab facility is one that offers therapy after an injury or disease process. The more we move, the better off our body is,” said Diane Windon, R.N., manager of the Wooster Community Hospital’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. Inpatient rehab is geared toward patients who are not yet well enough to return home for outpatient therapy. “Statistics show that the more therapy you do, the quicker you get back to independence,” Windon said. “That is key for us. We teach tricks for doing things independently and help people adapt to a different lifestyle, whether temporary or long-term.” Patients on an inpatient rehab unit may receive treatment from physical, occupational and speech therapists along with the nursing staff, and must need at least at least two types of therapies to be admitted. In addition, they must benefit from or require 24-hour physician availability, 24-hour rehabilitation nursing, three-hour minimum daily therapy and an interdisciplinary team approach. WCH offers the only acute inpatient rehabilitation facility in Wooster. The unit opened four years ago and has had stellar success rates, with patient satisfaction in the 95th percentile for the past five quarters and an 86% return to community rate. “Before the unit opened, we had to send people to a larger hospital,” Windon said. “What a blessing to live in a town where you can come back from a surgery or illness to your hometown for therapy.” Main article: On the Road to Recovery David Goodrich of Apple Creek spent two weeks in the Wooster Community Hospital’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, working with physical therapists to regain his strength and muscle tone after a ten-week stay at another hospital. He was pleased to be able to do his therapy so close to home. “There is a very good atmosphere at Wooster, and it is a more personal experience than a larger hospital,” Goodrich said. “Kelly and the other physical therapists that worked with me were very helpful—they put me through the paces, but only as much as I could tolerate. I’d highly recommend the unit. The people are kind and helpful and there is a good rehab regimen available to patients.” Unit manager Diane Windon, R.N. was instrumental in helping Goodrich transition to WCH for therapy. She is clearly enthusiastic about her unit’s mission of helping patients regain their independence. “We’re one of those great units where you know people are working toward going home,” she said. “Our return to community is 86%, as compared to a national rate of 77%. We’re taking patients at an older age than average, and still managing to get them back home. It helps that as a medical rehab facility, we can do rehab and medical treatment simultaneously for those with ongoing medical problems or comorbidities.” WCH offers the only acute inpatient rehab facility in Wooster. The twelve-bed facility opened four years ago and is located on the hospital’s fourth floor. It serves patients of all ages from WCH and other regional hospitals—210 of them last year. The average stay in the unit is 7-10 days. “My big push is always to get patients back to our community,” said Windon. The inpatient rehab unit has ranked in the 95th percentile in patient satisfaction for the past five quarters, and is applying for CARF accreditation. (CARF stands for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.) In addition, WCH recently became certified as a primary stroke center. “The great thing about it is that it’s seamless—the patient can come right over to us after their treatment. It really works for them,” said Windon. However, strokes are just one of the many factors that bring patients to the inpatient rehab unit. Thirteen different diagnoses make up sixty percent of the unit’s admissions. These include amputations, hip fractures, strokes, spinal cord or brain injuries, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, burns and more. Referrals to the unit come from a large radius—Akron, Cleveland, and even Columbus. “When we get a referral, we go evaluate the patient. We can admit them from home (or a nursing home) or a doctor’s office as well,” said Windon. “We maintain a good relationship with case managers here and at other area hospitals. Our goal is to get the patient to the best place for them.” The inpatient rehab unit, formerly the hospital’s OB unit, is spacious and comfortable Each room is private and handicap-accessible, with its own bathroom. The rooms also have televisions and extra chairs for guests. Conveniently located on the unit are several therapy rooms containing various types of exercise equipment along with a functional kitchen, washer, dryer and dishwasher. Many stroke patients lose their ability to cook and need to relearn what to do in the kitchen, Windon said. Patients can also practice skills such as getting into and out of a bathtub and climbing stairs. Unit staff work as a team to plan out each patient’s course of therapy. “The success of a rehabilitation unit is due to the interdisciplinary team of experts including physicians, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and social work,” said Dr. Norman Friedman, who is a neurologist and the unit’s medical director. “Together with the patient, they develop an individualized plan of care to achieve the best outcomes so the patient can return home as independently as possible.” Before returning home, patients spend 1-2 days in a home-like transition room that gives them a chance to try out their newly acquired skills in a safe environment. “It gives them the reassurance that they can do it when they go home,” said Windon. The involvement of family and friends can help to ease the transition process as well, and the proximity of WCH makes it easier for area residents to visit and support their loved ones throughout their stay. “What a blessing to live in a town where you can come back from a surgery or illness to your hometown for therapy,” said Windon. The WCH Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit is CMS-mandated and accepts all forms of insurance and Medicare. For more information, call 330-263-8421 or visit http://woosterhospital.org.


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