Nov 19, 2002 3 min read

One of the Uniontown Hospital’s best-kept secrets is its Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (IRU), which is located on the hospital’s second floor. IRU provides intense rehabilitation programs for patients, who are striving to reach maximum independence in living skills, mobility and communication.

“They did everything they could for me to get me moving,” said Velma Rahm of Fairchance, a recent patient. They got me walking again and back home.”

Dolores Roth of Uniontown, who commented about the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, said, “The staff and therapists kept after me every day encouraging me to do a little more each session. I was able to move it before going home. One day I did not realize what progress I had made until I walked from the physical therapy gym to the nurses’ station.”

Typically, rehabilitation services such as those offered in the IRU are considered for patients suffering from the following conditions: stroke, spinal cord injury, congenital deformity, amputation, major multiple trauma, fracture of the femur, brain injury, polyarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, motor neuron diseases, polyneuropathy, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic pain syndrome. In addition, there are many other conditions that can be treated on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.

The care provided on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit is unique because of the intense level of rehabilitation provided by the physical, occupational and speech therapy and rehabilitation nursing, all under the direction of a physiatrist, a physician with special training in rehabilitation. In addition to rehabilitative care, social work services and recreational therapy are also provided to each patient on the unit.

Patients on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit have an expected outcome of returning to home and the community and should meet the following criteria:

– Have the expectation of functional improvement through intensive rehabilitative services within a reasonable period of time.

– Are at high risk of potential medical instability.

– Require regular direct individual contact with rehabilitation physicians.

– Have multiple and/or complex rehabilitation nursing needs with a potential for needing high activity skilled nursing.

– Have education and training opportunities for themselves and their families on an ongoing basis.

– Receive a daily minimum of three hours of therapy services at least five days per week.

Upon admission to the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, the health care team assesses the patient and develops a collaborative plan of care considering each patient’s individual goals and discharge needs.

The rehabilitation team assists patients to perform personal skills to the best of their ability. Some of those skills include bathing, dressing, grooming, walking, getting in/out of bed or up and down from a chair or toilet, using the bathroom, taking medications, cooking and eating/feeding themselves along with many other specific needs. For those patients who cannot perform these tasks independently but want to return home with a caregiver, caregiver training is provided.

Throughout their rehabilitative stay, patients and/or families are provided with intense education regarding their condition and rehabilitation progress. The health care team meets weekly with the physiatrist to monitor their progress and identify additional needs for care, discuss the need for a continued stay so that they can be closed to their homes or families. For more information or to make a referral, call 724-430-6034.