Rehabilitative Services

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Physical Therapy

The physical therapist assesses the patient's functional capabilities and establishes a rehabilitative plan with realistic goals. To reach the goals, the therapist, in consultation with the physician, works with patients and families to establish home exercise programs to improve strength, range of motion, endurance, functional gait quality, and general mobility. The physical therapist may use modalities such as massage, heat and water or ultrasound to restore function, maximize performance, or alleviate pain. The therapist evaluates the home environment for architectural barriers which may interfere with the patient's progress or safety. Frequently, a physician will request that a physical therapist visit a patient at home prior to a scheduled surgery. This gives the family an opportunity to understand how to adapt the home environment so that the individual can most safely and comfortably recover at home.

        See Also

• Skilled Nursing
• Medical Social Work
• Home Health Aides
• Tele-Health Program

Speech Therapy

The speech and language pathologist assists patients with disorders of communication and cognition. This encompasses the wide variety of problems people may have with language, speech, thinking skills, fluency, voice, social skills and hearing. In addition, the speech therapist offers specialized training for patients who have swallowing problems. Therapy focuses on the nature of communication problems and identifies their causes and impact on people. The speech and language pathologist administers communication/cognitive evaluations, appropriate treatment, and consultative services for all age groups.

Occupational Therapy

Rehabilitative techniques are used by occupational therapy to increase a patient's ability to carry out normal, day-to-day activities such as feeding, dressing, grooming, bathing, and performing household tasks. Occupational therapists also construct adaptive equipment, and instruct in energy conservation/work simplification techniques. A major goal of occupational therapy is to assist a patient in becoming as independent in self care as possible.