Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke Rehabilitation is an important part of stroke recovery.  Rehabilitation will allow the patient to re-learn basic skills such as talking, eating, dressing, and walking. For all patients, it is important to regain as much independence as possible. Not all stroke patients are the same. They not only have different brain injuries and disabilities but they also have different interests, lifestyles, and priorities.

To help meet each patient’s stroke recovery goals, a rehabilitation program will be planned by a team of professionals. The team at Twin Creeks includes the following:

• Physiatrist - a physician who  leads the interdisciplinary team, sometimes referred to as PM & R-Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician
• Neurologist - a physician who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of stroke and other diseases of the brain and spinal cord
• Rehabilitation Nurse - a nurse who specializes in helping patients with disabilities manage health problems that affect them and adjust to life after the stroke
• Physical Therapist - helps stroke patients with problems in movement and balance, utilizing hands-on therapy and customized exercises to strengthen muscles for walking, standing and other activities
• Occupational Therapist - helps stroke patients learn strategies to manage activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, writing, and cooking
• Speech-Language Therapist - helps stroke patients re-learn language skills (talking, reading, and writing); shares strategies to help with swallowing problems; incorporate strategies to assist with memory and problem solving
• Dietician - teaches healthy eating and designs special diets
• Social Worker - helps patients make decisions about rehabilitation programs, living arrangements, insurance, and support services in the home
• Neuropsychologist - diagnoses and treats patients who may be facing changes in thinking, memory, and behavior after a stroke; provides coping mechanisms to assist with current change in lifestyle and independence

When considering a stroke program, stroke patients and families should chose a program that has met industry standards of excellence. Medicare Certifies rehabilitation programs to meet minimum health and safety standards. Twin Creeks Hospital has chosen to meet the standards outlined by the Joint Commission. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality and reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.

Some of these standards Twin Creeks meets are:

• A Team approach for patient care
• A Medical Director and doctors who are board certified in rehabilitation related specialties such as physiatry and neurology
• Regular rehabilitation team meetings to evaluate a patient’s progress
• Regular family meetings to keep them up-to-date on the progress of their loved ones
• Patient and family education
• Patient and family support
• Ongoing assessment of each patient’s progress in terms of abilities and level of independence in activities of daily living

Patients at Twin Creeks Hospital receive around the clock nursing and a minimum of three (3) hours of therapy, seven days a week.  Our goal is to improve the functional living skills of persons recovering from disabling medical illness or injury.