St. Mary’s rehabilitation services help patients boost their quality of life
Question: What do these people have in common?
- A 4-year-old who still can’t walk
- A stroke survivor who can’t speak or move the right side of her body
- A car crash survivor whose multiple injuries make routine activities impossible
- A patient whose back pain is so severe he can’t even put on his shoes
Answer: They could all benefit from rehabilitation services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.
“Rehabilitation focuses on improving quality of life,” says Tim Sorrells, St. Mary’s Director of Rehabilitation Services. “All across St. Mary’s, we use a team approach to reduce pain and maximize the functionality of patients of all ages who have disabilities or injuries.”
Our highly trained rehabilitative staff works with patients to evaluate strength, flexibility, range of motion, balance, function and pain levels. The staff then works with the patient to create a personalized treatment plan, implement it, and track progress. Each patient can receive one or more types of care, depending on their needs and goals:
- Physical therapy – treats functional mobility and/or soft tissue pain and movement limitations
- Occupational therapy – focuses on dexterity, cognition and activities of daily living
- Speech-language pathology – assists with building communication and swallowing skills
St. Mary’s rehab services are available for inpatients in all three of our hospitals. Outpatient services are available at:
- St. Mary’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, 2470 Daniells Bridge Rd., Bldg 300, Athens
- St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital, 367 Clear Creek Parkway, Lavonia
- St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital, 5401 Lake Oconee Parkway, Greensboro
- Georgia Neurological Surgery & Comprehensive Spine, 2142 West Broad St., Bldg. 100, Ste. 200, Athens (spine issues only)
A unique feature of St. Mary’s is the Center for Rehabilitative Medicine, recently named the #1 acute rehabilitation program in the Atlantic-Gulf Region by Kindred Health, a nationwide rehab care provider that partners with St. Mary’s. The CRM provides at least three hours a day of PT, OT and/or SLP services, along with 24/7 nursing care.
“Year after year, we are proud to consistently enable more than 80 percent of our patients to return to the community setting,” says Rebecca Swick, CRM program director. “We have helped thousands of patients go home instead of to a skilled nursing facility since our program started in 2002.”
St. Mary’s also offers rehabilitation services through St. Mary’s Home Health Care Services, which provides care in the home to patients in a 10-county region of Northeast Georgia.
“Rehabilitation service are a vital part of helping our patients maintain or improve their quality of life at home,” says Director Sandra Stephenson. “We are honored to be invited into our patients' homes to help them achieve their goals.”
Other forms of rehab care are also available through St. Mary’s, including cardiac rehabilitation for those who are recovering from a cardiac diagnosis or procedure, and pulmonary rehab for those with breathing issues. Initial phases of cardiopulmonary rehab, including education and monitored exercise, take place at St. Mary’s Hospital. A Phase 3 program for lifelong support continues at St. Mary’s Wellness Center.
“For many, many patients, rehab makes the difference between disability and a fulfilling life,” Tim says.
When you or someone you love needs intensive rehabilitative care to recover from a stroke, injury or other debilitating condition, St. Mary's award-winning Center for Rehabilitative Medicine can help. Our highly skilled staff provide at least three hours of physical therapy, occupational therapy and/or speech-language pathology to adult patients six days a week, along with 24/7 inpatient nursing care.
St. Mary’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center on Daniells Bridge Road, just off Ga. 316, provides highly skilled staff, state-of-the-art equipment, and a beautiful rehab gym with lots of natural light.
St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital’s rehab capabilities include not just outpatient therapy for patients of all ages, but intensive rehab care through the hospital’s swing bed program, which aims to help patients stay in their local community while recovering from debilitating conditions such as stroke or systemic infections.
St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital Rehab Services staff bring years of experience to patients on the first floor of the medical office building. The rehab suite adjoins the Sacred Heart Wellness Center, providing a huge array of equipment and a seamless transition from therapy to ongoing wellness.