Acute Rehabilitation Unit
Acute Rehabilitation Unit
The Acute Rehabilitation Unit – Cherry Hill provides inpatient rehabilitation services for patients of all ages. We offer acute rehabilitation for medically stable adult patients who need intensive therapy. Our interdisciplinary team includes specially trained nurses, physiatrists (rehabilitation physicians), physical therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, social workers and speech-language pathologists.
We’ll include you and your family as part of the team to design a treatment plan that is tailored to your condition, rehabilitation needs and goals. Our goal is to provide a rehabilitation program that improves your daily living skills, independence and quality of life.
Your health care provider or physician can refer you to rehabilitation.
Our experienced staff are experts at helping you regain as much mobility and independence as possible after an injury or illness. Inpatient rehabilitation is often needed for patients who have disabling illnesses or injuries, such as:
- Amputation
- Cardiac arrest with anoxic brain injury
- Closed head injury
- Deconditioning after a complicated hospitalization
- Degenerative and progressive neurological disorders
- Guillain-Barré syndrome
- Hip fractures and replacements
- Multiple sclerosis
- Multiple trauma
- Neuropathy or myopathy
- Parkinson’s disease
- Spinal cord injury
- Stroke
Common functional problems or challenges we treat include:
- Balance and coordination impairments
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty moving in bed or from one place to another
- Difficulty performing daily living activities, such as eating and dressing
- Inability to work or function due to physical impairment
- Memory deficits and judgment impairment
- Speech or language problems in conjunction with physical limitations
- Weakness or limited motion in arms, legs or trunk
Download and print our Inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Flyer.
Much of your day will include therapy sessions. Typically you will have three hours of therapy a day, seven days a week. You will have a dedicated rehabilitation nurse working with you.
You and your family are the most important members of your care team. A physiatrist, a physician specializing rehabilitation, will coordinate your medical care. Depending on your rehabilitation plan, your rehab team may also include:
- Occupational therapist
- Physical therapist
- Rehabilitation nurse
- Rehabilitation care coordinator
- Social worker
- Speech-language pathologist
To help you regain your independence, you will also be encouraged to do as much for yourself as possible.
Family members are welcome to visit while you recover on the unit. Visitation hours are from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Your family may wish to be available both day and night. They can find lodging conveniently located at the Inn at Cherry Hill, right on the Swedish campus. For information or a reservation, call 206-320-2164.
Mealtimes are set to accommodate your individual therapy schedules. You and your family may eat together.
Your length of stay depends on your illness or injury and your rate of progress. It typically ranges from five days to five weeks, with an average stay around 14 days. Your rehab team will talk to you about the tentative and final discharge dates as you progress.
During your stay in acute rehab, we will do everything we can to make you as comfortable and stress-free as possible.
You will be physically active and need loose, comfortable clothes. We suggest you bring:
- Two pairs of pants
- Two shirts or blouses (not pullovers)
- Night clothes and a robe
- Sweater or sweatshirt
- Rubber-soled shoes with wide heels
- Grooming items
- Any assistive devices you are currently using
Your family members and friends may also bring personal items that will help you feel more comfortable, such as pictures and hobby materials.
Many insurance providers, including Medicare, recognize that patients with the following conditions may require rehabilitation care:
- Amputation
- Brain injury
- Congenital deformity
- Major multiple trauma
- Musculoskeletal disorder
- Polyarthritis
- Spinal cord injury
- Stroke
Other conditions may be covered as well. A physician or admission coordinator will meet with you to review admission criteria for the program.
We will do everything possible to make your transition from hospital to home a smooth one. Before your discharge, a therapist may evaluate your home environment and make recommendations for modifications that will make independent living easier.
Your social worker will evaluate your support systems and help arrange any necessary community services. We will coordinate any other services such as outpatient therapy or home-health care. You will have an active role in developing your discharge plans.
- You could initially feel increased pain as we assess your ability to move your body and then work to improve your movement. This is particularly true if you have not used part of your body for some time or experienced recent changes in your body/medical status. Please tell us if you are in pain so we can help control your pain.
- You may be at risk of falls as you work on functional activities such as walking and getting in and out of bed and chairs. This risk can be from impairment of your strength, endurance, balance or cognition.
- If you are experiencing swallowing problems, there is a risk for aspiration (food or liquid in the lungs) with oral feeding and assessment. Our trained speech/language pathologists may also recommend specialized diagnostic imaging to check your risk for aspirating/choking on food or saliva and how to best manage it.
- Your physician may prescribe medications, therapy, exercises, lab work or diagnostic testing that has risks as well as benefits. Please ask for more information if you have questions or concerns about these recommendations.