Rehab Select Blog

Along with your primary care physician and endocrinologist, wound care specialists are an integral part of your healthcare team if you have diabetes. While you may not consider wounds of primary concern, the prevalence of foot ulcers is very high for those with diabetes. An estimated 19 to 34% of adults with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer during the course of their lifetime, and a large percentage of these ulcers will become infected and require amputation.

Prevention, early intervention, and specialized wound care can help reduce the incidence of infection and amputation related to diabetes. Wound care specialists have specific skills to help you prevent wounds from developing and worsening.

Diabetic wound care requires a specialized approach for a number of reasons. Let’s examine the top four reasons so that you can ensure that you or your loved ones can seek the best possible outcome for diabetic wound care.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the United States. In Alabama, as of April 17th, there had been over 4000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and 172 deaths. Of those fatalities, 72% were aged 65 or older. The Center for Disease Control reports that older adults and those with underlying health conditions are most at risk of developing more severe illnesses as a result of coronavirus infection. Inpatient rehabilitation facilities and other long-term care facilities are at particular risk, and strict safety regulations are therefore in place in facilities across the United States.

What is a Stasis Ulcer?

Stasis ulcers, sometimes called venous skin ulcers, affect almost 1% of Americans. These wounds usually occur on the lower legs, especially around the ankles. They can be extremely painful and are very slow to heal, taking an average of six to 12 months to close completely. Worse still, for 70% of patients, ulcers will recur within five years of closure.

In the US, coronavirus has caused over 40,000 deaths as of April 21, 2020, the highest percentage of whom are over the age of 65. The risks of coronavirus have impacted one particular group the hardest: patients of long-term care facilities. The level of care provided isn’t the problem; it’s the unique setting and medical statuses of the residents that pose the biggest risk.

Typically, residents of these facilities tend to be an older demographic with underlying medical conditions who live in shared living spaces. This particular combination of factors makes residents of rehabilitation centers highly susceptible to risk.

Let’s take a closer look at the risk factors for coronavirus and how to keep your family members safe.

In this time of rapid change and global crisis, it can be hard to know how to best support your loved one if he or she is in an inpatient rehab facility. At Rehab Select, we take our responsibility to our patients and their families incredibly seriously. During this global pandemic, that means that we are abiding by strict regulations to ensure patient safety and well-being.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the medical facts known about the coronavirus, the current federal and state regulations that apply to inpatient rehab facilities, and the guidelines that we are following to ensure patient safety and well-being at all times. We will focus on how you can support our efforts to keep your loved ones healthy while they remain in our care, and why social distancing is an absolute must.

Right now, we’re experiencing an unprecedented experience together as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. Although many of us share feelings of uncertainty, we can find proactive ways to minimize our exposure and to be encouraged by the discoveries that are being made every day. We can find comfort in the many proven strategies to combat the virus together.

One fact researchers do know is that certain populations appear to be at higher risk when exposed to the virus, especially seniors living in long-term facilities. It’s important that these facilities follow stringent safety measures to reduce the risks of exposure to vulnerable residents as much as possible.

If you have an open wound, bedsore, burn, or ulcer after surgery or a medical complication, your doctor may provide a referral for a wound care center. A wound care center provides targeted services to help your wound heal and reduce the pain associated with it. The complex nature of wound care requires specialized medical attention, especially when associated with chronic health conditions like:

• Diabetes
• Vascular disease
• Obesity
• Incontinence
• Lymphedema
• Surgical breakdown
• Traumatic injury
• Renal failure
• Congestive heart failure

These medical conditions can slow healing time, decrease blood flow, or cause nerve damage that requires skilled attention. Your wound care specialist should have special training in addressing wounds associated with these conditions.

The average stroke recovery takes anywhere from 3-4 months to 1-2 years, and sometimes recovery efforts can last a lifetime. Early intervention is critical for the best results, and rehab often starts within a day or two of hospitalization. 

“Remember to breathe. It is after all, the secret of life.”  – Gregory Maguire

Breathing is a necessity of life. So, it can be pretty alarming when you feel like you can’t catch your breath or like you’re choking on air. Lung issues can make you feel like the very source of your vitality is compromised. 

A recent study from the American Heart Association reported that nearly half of U.S. adults are living with some form of heart condition today, and as many as 6.9% have severe cardiovascular disease. If you are one of the many people suffering from severe chronic or acute heart disease, have recently experienced a heart attack, or have undergone heart surgery, your physician may recommend inpatient cardiac rehab.

In this article, we’ll break down what you can expect from your rehab program, how to choose between inpatient and outpatient treatment, and how you might benefit from cardiac rehab.