CHRISTUS St. Michael’s rehab offers extensive outpatient services
CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital is a 50-bed rehab hospital that provides inpatient and outpatient services.
“We not only have a 50-bed rehab hospital, but we have extensive continuum of care with our outpatient services,” said Cookie Gender, administrator/ nursing officer of CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital. “That means once a patient’s inpatient rehab is finished, it doesn’t stop there.”
For instance, a person who’s had a stroke and comes to the inpatient facility and makes functional gains will continue to progress for months or years after the fact.
“We have outpatient services to continue to help patients make those gains,” Gender said.
The outpatient rehab program is for patients who need a single discipline such as physical therapy or occupational therapy.
“One of the biggest things people don’t understand about us is we do have quite a huge outpatient rehab program,” Gender said. “We have the largest outpatient program in the area. We treat orthopedic and neuro patients. We have sports medicine therapy and hand therapy. We’re treating oncology rehab patients. It’s very important for oncology patients to get their strength back after surgery or radiation.”
The day rehab program is for patients who need therapy that is more intense.
“Our day therapy is for patients that still need up to three hours of therapy a day, but they can go home at night because they don’t need 24-hour nursing care anymore, and they don’t need close supervision by a physician,” Gender said.
The excellent standards set by CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital’s inpatient program is unique in the industry, Gender said.
“We have the unit divided into diagnostic teams such as stroke, orthopedic surgery or injury, brain injury, spinal cord injury or medical problems,” Gender said. “With each diagnosis, we have specialized nurses and therapists caring for those patients. It’s a dedicated team. For instance, for the stroke team, the nurses and therapists only work with stroke patients, so they become expert in their care.”
The staff at CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital consists of experts in their fields, and the extra training means better outcomes for patients.
“There is a certification in rehab nursing, and 56 percent of our nurses are certified,” Gender said. “Nurses have to work in the field for two years before they can sit down for the exam. There are very few rehab hospitals around the country that have that many of their nurses certified in rehab nursing.”
The certification shows the staff’s commitment to excellence.
“It’s a very difficult exam to pass. Some of our nurses have said it’s more difficult than the state boards. There have been research studies showing the more certified nurses you have, the better the outcomes for patients,” Gender said. “Therapists also have special certifications in neuro and ortho, as well.”
Patients of the inpatient rehab hospital undergo intense therapy.
“The other thing that sets our inpatient rehab apart is that our therapists are providing individualized therapy, one-on-one, for three hours a day for patients. That happens at least five of the seven days a patient is here,” Gender said. “Some places provide more group or concurrent therapy, but we’re providing that one-on-one.”
CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Rehab Facilities.
“We are the only CARF accredited facility in the area, and we’re accredited for inpatient rehab and stroke specialty,” Gender said. “That’s a special accreditation just for rehab hospitals. They look at all kinds of indicators, particularly those focusing on the patients.”
Patients of the rehab hospital have opportunity to do activities not associated with traditional therapy.
“Our therapists do a lot of leisure activities and community outings including fishing, outdoor grilling and gardening. These activities help patients practice those leisure activities they enjoyed before their disability (began), and it helps show how they’re going to do after rehab,” Gender said.
CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital also has an outdoor mobility court where patients are able to practice walking on different types of surfaces.
“We also have a greenhouse with pots of tomato plants so patients can go out there and tend plants if they enjoy gardening,” Gender said. “We have a balance center for patients who are prone to falling. We assess them and see where their problem is and treat that problem so we don’t have continued falls.”
Another service provide by the rehab hospital is driving evaluations.
“If someone is wondering if their parent is safe to drive, we can do some testing on that and give them an opinion, which I think is very important,” Gender said.
CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital’s commitment to excellence shows in its patient outcomes.
“We have really good outcomes. We do compare ourselves with almost 1,000 rehab units and hospitals across the country, and the functional gains our patients make from admission are higher than the national average, and our length of stay is shorter,” Gender said. “We’re making higher gains in a shorter amount of time, and I think that’s because of the intensity of our program; and we do have a higher percentage of patients that return to their homes and don’t have to be in an institution.”