Joint Replacement & Orthopedic Rehabilitation
A Personal Approach to Joint Replacement & Orthopedic Rehab
Our skilled specialists design an individualized treatment plan to meet each patient’s specific needs for recovery following a knee replacement, total hip replacement, hip fracture, or other condition. Each patient is cared for by an interdisciplinary joint replacement and orthopedic rehab team under the direction of a physiatrist who specializes in orthopedic rehabilitation.
Working collaboratively towards the patient’s goals, the team consists of rehabilitation nurses, physical and occupational therapists, case managers, and other professionals. This dedicated team of clinicians specializes in orthopedics and holds certifications and specialties in orthopedic rehabilitation. Family members are encouraged to participate in the rehabilitation process. Joint Replacement Rehabilitation FAQs.
Program Admissions
Patients who have had a single or bilateral joint replacement (including knee replacement, total hip replacement using an anterior or posterior approach, etc.) or hip fracture may be admitted to HHH’s acute rehabilitation unit or our Transitional Care Unit, depending on the patient’s medical condition, surgical status, and age. The rehabilitation length of stay ranges from 5 to 7 days. Located in New York’s Hudson Valley, the program serves patients from throughout the New York Metropolitan region, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Customized Treatment Plan
In order to maximize knee replacement recovery, hip replacement recovery, and recoveries from other orthopedic conditions, the rehabilitation team communicates on an ongoing basis with the referring surgeon with regard to the patient’s weight-bearing status, medication, and therapies. The basis of the orthopedic treatment plan includes:
- Physical Therapy restores mobility, endurance, strength and range of motion
- Occupational Therapy focuses on activities of daily living, including self-care and home & food management skills
- Pain management includes use of heat and cold modalities
- Individual & group therapy sessions utilizing NuStep, CPM & other equipment as indicated
- Rehabilitation Nursing
- Medication evaluation & optimization
- Patient/family education
- Case management/discharge planning, including ordering of mobility and adaptive devices
- Individual home exercise program
Inpatient Orthopedic Discharge Group
The hospital’s Inpatient Orthopedic Rehabilitation Service incorporates a special therapy program to to ease the transition home for patients who are about to be discharged. The initiative is called the Patient Discharge Group and it is run jointly by the service’s physical and occupational therapists.
Patients on the Orthopedic Rehabilitation Serivce who come to HHH after joint replacement surgery typically have a short length of stay on the inpatient service. The discharge group is designed to help reinforce the confidence and skills needed to return home.
Patients who are preparing to go home the following day participate in the Group. Therapists have each patient independently demonstrate all of the functional mobility skills needed to return home safely, including:
- walking independently with an assistive device
- transferring in and out of a car
- going up and down a full flight of stairs
- performing skills necessary to safely complete home and food management tasks.
A key component of this exercise is to ensure that the patient can complete these tasks while simultaneously following the post surgical precautions outlined by their surgeon.
The most important goal of the Group is to reassure patients that they are safely able to perform all of these activities. By reviewing everything and engaging the patient in demonstrating these key skills, patients earn the extra confidence they need to return home comfortably and confidently, reinforcing their feeling of preparedness for returning home.
Follow-Up Care
Following inpatient rehabilitation, joint replacement and orthopedic rehabilitation patients may benefit from HHH’s full continuum of care, including:
"Thank you for providing me with a most perfect place to recover from total knee replacement surgery. I was so inspired by every single person I came in contact with. Each and every one took an interest in me and made me feel great."
For more information, please contact the
Helen Hayes Hospital Admission Referral Center:
1-888-70-REHAB ext. 4118
845-786-4118
info@helenhayeshospital.org
