Carrus Rehabilitation Hospital

Physical therapy (PT) helps patients regain their independence through improved mobility and strength. PT can be especially beneficial after surgery, or when a chronic disease makes healing difficult.

The physical therapists at Carrus will first assess a patient’s strength, endurance, range of motion, gait, and any sensory deficits. Using this information, they will create a customized rehabilitation program aimed at helping patients regain control over their motor and sensory abilities.

A patient’s personal goals and lifestyle preferences also help our physical therapists adjust their treatment approach to closely mimic what a patient’s activities outside the hospital setting will be. A recent trend in physical therapy emphasizes the effectiveness of engaging in goal-directed activities, such as playing golf to promote coordination. When appropriate, our therapists have used a golf putter as part of patient’s PT regimen.

With physical therapy, patients will:

• Regain or improve the use of their body
• Learn compensatory strategies to minimize physical challenges
• Engage in specially designed exercise programs to help retain newly learned skills

Video: How Technology Has Advanced Physical Therapy

Much like physical therapy, the goal of occupational therapy (OT) is to improve a patient’s motor and sensory abilities. However, OT specifically helps patients relearn skills needed to perform daily activities such as personal grooming, preparing meals, and housecleaning.

Occupational therapists often teach people to break down a complex activity into parts, practice each part, and then perform the whole sequence of actions. This strategy can improve coordination and is often used to help patients – especially those who have suffered a stroke – relearn how to perform everyday tasks.

Our OTs also teach patients how to develop strategies to modify their environment so that their daily activities are not restricted. For example, people with the use of only one hand can substitute Velcro closures for buttons on clothing.

In addition, occupational therapists will address at-home safety with patients and their family by recommending changes to help prevent falls or other accidents (for example, by removing certain barriers or installing assistive devices such as grab bars in bathrooms).

Video: How Occupational Therapy Can Help You

At Carrus Rehabilitation Hospital, speech therapy helps our patients:

• Speak clearly. Carrus speech-language pathologists often are called to help stroke patients relearn how to use language or develop alternative means of communication. Language disorders addressed include difficulty remembering words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write.
• Improve cognitive function. A stroke or other health condition can impair a patient’s cognitive function. Language rehabilitation specialists at Carrus use a variety of specialized therapeutic techniques to assist these patients with comprehension.
• Address swallowing difficulties. Speech-language therapy may be used to address swallowing problems. Our therapists may use noninvasive imaging techniques to study a patient’s swallowing patterns to identify the exact source of the impairment. Then, our therapists work with patients to devise strategies to overcome or minimize the deficit. Sometimes, simply changing body position and improving posture during eating can bring about improvement. The texture of foods can be modified to make swallowing easier. For example, thin liquids, which often cause choking, can be thickened. Changing eating habits by taking small bites and chewing slowly can also help alleviate some swallowing problems.
• Develop problem-solving strategies. Speech-language therapy also helps patients develop problem-solving strategies and social skills to cope with the long-term effects of language disorders. This may include the use of symbol boards or sign language.
• Improve conversations. Conversational coaching and rehearsal, as well as the use of prompts or cues to remember specific words may also benefit Carrus Rehabilitation Hospital patients.

Video: Common Misconceptions About Speech Therapy

Our amputee rehabilitation program is designed to help patients heal with restored confidence as they prepare to return to an active, healthy, and productive life.

Our expert rehabilitation team will customize a care plan that includes safety assessments, balance screenings, and gait and transfer training.

Our physicians and medical team will provide the treatment and education patients and their loved ones will need to adapt to the “new normal.”

This type of rehabilitation is specially designed for patients who may be experiencing weakness following an acute illness or surgery. We can help patients increase their endurance, energy, and strength so they can return home with their loved ones.

Our rehab team will design a customized treatment plan, typically involving physical and occupational therapy, as well as provide education that promotes personal wellness and lifestyle modification strategies.

Diseases like spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, myasthenia gravis, and muscular dystrophy (MD) affect parts of the nerves and muscles. These neuromuscular diseases are not curable but respond well to treatment and rehabilitation.

The Carrus rehab regimen is goal-oriented and based on input from our patients, their loved ones, and caregivers. Our ultimate goal is to improve physical functioning and emotional health for the highest quality of life.

Our orthopedic and trauma rehab program is designed for patients with impaired mobility due to musculoskeletal trauma or after joint replacement surgery. Learning to walk or function again after a debilitating surgery or injury can be difficult. But the experienced Carrus rehab team knows just what it takes to restore range of motion, balance, coordination, gait, and more after an orthopedic injury.

Patients in this program will receive specialized strength, endurance, and movement training, as well as education, to help them regain function, decrease pain, and promote healing.

At Carrus Rehabilitation Hospital, we offer comprehensive services for stroke patients that focus on the whole person. Our care is designed to help prevent secondary complications while maximizing a patient’s physical, cognitive, and psychological recovery.

The Carrus stroke recovery program prepares patients and their loved ones and caregivers to transition to the next level of care with confidence. Our therapists provide the information and education necessary for daily living after being discharged from the hospital.

A brain injury can affect all aspects of life. It can change a patient’s personality and ability to function and live independently. But there is life after a brain injury. And because no two brain injuries are alike, we customize each patient’s brain injury recovery program.

Our specialized team of providers focuses on the physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments caused by brain injury. We work with our patients to stabilize and restore functional abilities to better prepare them for the road ahead. Our caring staff works with each patient and his or her family to help them through this life-changing event.

24 inpatient rehabilitation rooms:

• Large private rooms
• Private bathrooms
• Telemetry
• Private temperature control
• Outside view – most have a garden view

• Daily physician rounds
• Multispecialty physician staff (neurology, cardiology, nephrology, pulmonary, infectious disease, wound care, etc.)
• Physician extenders (physician assistants, nurse practitioners)
• 24/7 nursing
• 24/7 respiratory care
• Registered dietician
• Case management and social services
• In-house dialysis
• In-house radiology services, including CT scans and ultrasound
• In-house laboratory services
• In-house pharmacy
• Special procedure rooms for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), tracheostomy, thoracentesis, bronchoscopy, etc.
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech and language therapy
• Rehabilitation gym with state-of-the-art equipment and big windows overlooking a pond
• Walking trail and covered gazebo
• 4 courtyards and gardens
• Outside pond with Koi fish
• Business office
• Continuous improvement and quality support
• Open-door administration policy
• Chapel
• Retail cafeteria for family and friends
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Complimentary parking