Rehab Select Blog

If you plan to use the services of a short term rehab program as a means of ensuring your best recovery after surgery, choosing a top-notch program that delivers quality care is essential to meeting that goal. One of the most important factors to consider in order to assess the quality of care you can expect from such a program is the patient to staff ratio of that program. What is the patient to staff ratio and why is it so important?

Joint replacement surgery, which replaces a damaged or diseased joint with an artificial joint, has helped millions of people reduce chronic pain and restore mobility and independence. Knees and hips are the joints most frequently replaced via these procedures, with over a million Americans having one of these joints replaced every year, according the National Institutes of Health. So why do so many people need joint replacement? In many cases, arthritis is the answer to that question, as the disease causes joint damage and deterioration that can lead to chronic pain and significant disability, severely impacting quality of life.

The transition from the acute care setting of a hospital to an in-patient short term rehab program can be a difficult one for patients. Knowing what to expect – including the differences between these two types of care – can make the experience easier and much less stressful. Perhaps the chief difference that patients should be prepared for is a change in the focus of care from simple healing and recovery to rehabilitation. Healing and recovery, of course, remains important in short term rehab, but the primary goal is to help patients regain strength and function lost to surgery, injury or illness as quickly as possible.  

Case managers play an important role in our health care system – a role that has expanded greatly over the last several decades. So what does a case manager do? Case managers are professionals who specialize in overseeing and organizing the case management process, which is, according to the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, "a process of assessing, planning, organizing, coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the services and resources needed to respond to an individual's health care needs."

Understanding senior health care benefits is very important for people who have reached, or are approaching, the age of retirement. After all, everyone wants to feel secure and comfortable during those Golden Years, and good medical care is essential to enjoying that feeling. So what do aging Americans need to know about health benefits? 

If you are considering joint replacement surgery, knowing exactly what you're getting into is essential to making a well-informed decision about whether or not this surgery is right for you. Should you decide to move forward with surgery, knowing what to expect from the procedure, as well as the recovery and rehabilitation period, is very important to ensure you're prepared to make solid decisions about your care throughout the process. In the interest of helping you learn what you need to know to make these decisions with confidence, let's go over the basic facts on joint replacement procedures.

If you or a loved one is spending time in the hospital due to a serious medical event, surgery, or illness, and discharge planning is underway, you may have heard the term "care planning meeting" used in reference to those preparations. So just what is the purpose a care planning meeting? Who is responsible for setting up these meetings? Who will be involved and what do they offer in terms of improving patient care?

If you will be having a knee or hip replaced to treat joint damage done by arthritis, you should know that how your recovery and rehabilitation is handled is as important as the joint replacement surgery itself in terms of achieving an optimal outcome – reduced pain, increased mobility, and improved quality of life. That means having a good plan in place well ahead of your procedure date for your recovery and rehabilitation period is essential. Here are some planning tips that can help you ensure the best recovery.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 54 million people either already have osteoporosis or are at high risk for developing the disease due to low bone mass. The consequences of this very common and often debilitating disease can be severe and in some cases, even life threatening. Studies suggest that approximately one in two women and up to one in four men age 50 and older will break a bone due to osteoporosis, and serious fractures in the hip or spine are among the most common. Knowing what steps to take to preserve bone health is essential. So what can be done to prevent osteoporosis, or, for those already diagnosed with the disease, minimize its effects?

Millions of Americans provide daily care for aging and chronically ill family members, friends and neighbors – care that can enable these individuals to remain in their own homes and communities and enrich the quality of their lives. If you are a caregiver, you know that it can be a very rewarding experience but can also be physically and emotionally draining. That's why it's very important for caregivers to have an occasional break. Respite care offers caregivers resources for meeting that need, providing the help they need to carve out a little time to recharge.