Four Focus Areas of Recovery
Play the accessible version of the “The Four Whys of Inpatient Rehabilitation” video
We specialize in treating patients recovering from a range of medical issues including stroke, brain or spinal cord injuries, surgery or chronic medical conditions. Our multidisciplinary care teams assess patients and develop personalized treatment plans to meet patient needs, with a goal of improving their independence and returning to daily life. This brief video outlines the four core aspects of our hospitals' approach to inpatient rehabilitation.
Four Focus Areas of Recovery
Helping patients return to life
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We help patients strengthen muscles that aid in self-care activities, balance improvement, coordination and endurance.
We focus on patient mobility because it can increase:
- Ability to return home
- Independence
- Ability to perform other rehabilitation activities
- Quality of life
- Ability to return to work, school, community and daily routines
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We work on strengthening and controlling facial muscles to help create sounds for speech and enunciation, finding words, understanding others, reading, writing and communicating.
We focus on restoring speech because:
- Speech provides dignity, allowing patients to participate in their own care, express their wishes and communicate with family members and others.
- Patients who can speak are less likely to experience depression and anxiety.1
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We help strengthen muscles to prevent aspiration and improve swallowing, hydration, nutrition and ultimately advance our patients to a normal diet.
We focus on restoring the ability to eat because:
- Safe swallowing increases the variety of nutritional foods patients can eat.
- A balanced diet prevents muscle loss and enhances the ability to participate in therapy sessions.
- “Normal” forms of eating increase a patient’s sense of independence, quality of life and community since many gatherings center around food.
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We address cognitive impairments by actively working with patients to improve their thinking and cognition, and by teaching safety strategies and techniques that help with activities of daily life.
We focus on the importance of thinking and cognitive rehabilitation because it:
- Improves executive functions such as decision-making
- Enhances the ability to perform daily tasks and routines
- Prepares patients to return home and regain their quality of life