Springfield Memorial Hospital Inpatient Therapy Care’s focus is on maximizing a patient's function and independence. Memorial Inpatient Therapy Care is part of the Memorial Care continuum that includes Springfield Memorial Hospital Inpatient Therapy Care, Memorial Outpatient Therapy Care and Memorial Home Care.
Specialty Programs
Memorial Inpatient Therapy Care offers a wide range of therapy services in many specialty areas. Our programs are staffed by highly qualified professionals with many years of experience and some with advanced certifications in their specialty areas.
Specialty areas include:
- Wound Care
- Orthopedics
- Neurology
- Wheelchairs/ Adaptive Technology
- Intensive Care
- Burns
- Amputee Care
- Oncology
- Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS)
- Medical/Surgical
- Cardiology
Physical therapy is used to prevent physical disabilities, and also for the evaluation and rehabilitation of people who have pain, disease or injury.
Physical therapists (or physical therapist assistants) treat and prevent disability, relieve pain and help individuals return to normal, functional activities. In the hospital, physical therapists work with patients who have fractures, joint replacements, back and neck injuries, burns, amputations, arthritis, neurological problems such as stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease or acute and chronic illnesses.
Your physical therapist may:
- Evaluate your strength, joint flexibility, body movement, balance, sensation, coordination and functional mobility
- Identify impairments that make movement and function difficult for you
- Design an individualized treatment plan to help you reach your goals
Treatment may include:
- Strengthening
- Endurance activities
- Functional training: walking, standing up, moving in and out of bed, wheelchair use, moving from one surface to another, navigating curbs and stairs
- Balance retraining
- Neuromuscular retraining
- Use of therapeutic modalities: electrical stimulation or ultrasound to decrease pain and increase performance
- Home exercise programs
- Safety education
- Family and caregiver education, training
- Wound care
Occupational therapy is concerned with the therapeutic use of self-care, work and recreational activities to increase independent function, enhance development, prevent disability and provide evaluation and rehabilitation of those disabled by pain, disease or injury. The goal of occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy assistants is to assist people in developing the "skills for the job of living" necessary for them to live independent and satisfying lives. In the inpatient setting, occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy assistants treat patients who have orthopedic injuries, neurological injuries, arthritis, mental health problems, burns, vision or cognitive problems and acute or chronic illnesses.
Occupational therapists help patients recover by:
- Evaluating a patient's ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL)
- Identifying impairments such as strength, range of motion, fine motor (hand) control and cognition that are interfering with a patient's ability to perform ADL safely and independently
- Designing a customized treatment program that addresses a patient's impairments to allow the regaining of independence and function for daily activities
Treatment may include:
- Strengthening of upper extremities (arm and hand)
- Neurological retraining
- ADL retraining, including the use of adaptive equipment and new skills to increase independence with tasks such as bathing, dressing and meal preparation
- Fabricating customized splints for arms and legs to achieve or maintain a functional position
- Adaptive and assistive equipment recommendations and usage training
- Cognitive and visual retraining
- Family and caregiver education and training
Speech language pathologists (SLP) help people with speaking, swallowing, cognitive difficulties and language. They perform evaluations and deliver speech therapy for disorders that affect a person’s speech, language, cognition, voice or swallowing.
SLPs treat hospital patients who may have had stroke, brain injury, cognitive impairment, swallowing disorders and head/neck cancer. They also use special techniques and equipment to help with communication.
SLPs evaluate patient’s swallowing, communication, cognition, speech and language based on individual needs; identify issues including dysphagia (swallowing problems), memory loss and speech/language deficits that can affect both speaking and understanding of language; and design a treatment plan that addresses a patient’s impairments to help patient live a better quality life with greater safety and independence.
Speech language pathologists:
- Evaluate the patient's swallowing, communication, cognition, speech and language based on the patient's individual needs
- Identify issues such as dysphagia (swallowing problems), memory loss and speech/language deficits that can affect both speaking and understanding of language
- Design a treatment plan that addresses a patient's impairments to help the patient live a better quality life with greater safety and independence
Treatments may include:
- Techniques designed to improve speaking and understanding of language
- Prognosis and recommendations for patients with cognitive (memory or thinking) problems and/or dysphagia (swallowing problems)
- Communication technology and techniques for clients with tracheostomy, augmentative tools for patients who are unable to speak and tools for patients who have had a laryngectomy to help them produce sound
- Providing clients with home programming
- Advocacy for patient when quality of life decisions are being made
- Education for patients, families and clinical team members about specific disorders and treatment plan and prognosis
- Referrals to other specialists when needed
- Pre-surgery counseling and communication with surgeon for patients with laryngectomies or other throat surgeries