Rehabilitation Day
The Rehabilitation Day Program (RDP) is designed to help persons with a physical or cognitive disability learn to function more independently in their home and community. RDP provides an intense and holistically oriented approach that includes medical monitoring, coordinated therapies and education. The comprehensive program is personalized and designed to meet each patient’s individual needs.
Family member and caregiver involvement is highly encouraged. Together, they are given the opportunity to practice newly learned skills at home and receive timely feedback from rehabilitation professionals for optimal outcomes. We require that a family member or caregiver attend the first day to offer input into the development of the individual treatment plan and goal setting. If significant assistance is needed during the day, we may ask that a patient’s caregiver attend, too.
On-Site Care
Transitioning to Outpatient Rehabilitation
The Rehabilitation Day Program is a core component to the continuum of care available at Madonna. It is designed to provide continued intensive rehabilitation on an outpatient basis for patients. It is available for patients after discharge from an inpatient program, or as an alternative care setting when inpatient hospitalization is not medically necessary. The emphasis is on regaining real-life skills, community re-entry and resumption of life roles
Clinical Expertise and Interdisciplinary Care
The program includes an interdisciplinary team of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and recreational therapists. A registered nurse is available for patient education, nursing cares and case management. A social worker is available to assist with the coordination of payment for therapy services, housing, transportation, caregiver assistance, psychosocial concerns and arranging community resources. A primary therapist is assigned to patients upon admission and reviews the initial plan of care and goals while serving as a primary contact during the program. The social worker will review the care plan every two weeks.
What to Expect
Patients will have therapy for 3 to 6 hours per day for 4 to 12 weeks, depending on the services recommended. Appointments are made between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. A scheduler will work with the patient to develop a weekly schedule. Patients are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and flat, sturdy shoes or sneakers.
Family-Focused Care
The first day is focused on assessment and treatment planning with the patient. That is why a family member or caregiver is also asked to attend and highly encouraged to remain involved as therapy continues. They will meet the care team and share input on goals, needs and scheduling preferences. Members of the care team will perform evaluations for each discipline ordered by the physician. The results will be discussed with the patient and their family to develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
A Typical Day in RDP
After the first day, patients attend scheduled appointments determined by their individual needs, insurance benefits and preferences. Upon arrival, they’ll have a locker to store personal items and a lounge area with recliners to rest in outside of therapy sessions. Throughout the day, patients are involved in both individual and group therapies as necessary. They generally occur in the gym area, Independence Square, pool, vision clinic or out in the community, depending upon specific needs. School-aged patients may spend time in the Therapeutic Learning Center. Patients take a break for lunch during the noon hour and can buy a meal in the cafeteria, bring one from home or leave for outside food. During the day, an outpatient nurse is available to perform skilled procedures such as intermittent catheterization, wound care, monitoring of blood pressure or lab work as ordered by a physician. The nurse is also available to answer questions or provide education and will facilitate an appointment with one of Madonna’s rehabilitation physicians if necessary, during the patient’s stay.
Group Therapies
Group therapies offer further practice of community and household skills, in addition to your individual treatments. You may be scheduled for one of the following groups:
- Independent Living Skills (ILS) – Focused on providing further practice of community and household skills. Alternates between cooking and community outings.
- Cooking Group – Group members work together to plan, shop and prepare a meal. This group focuses on regaining skills such planning, organizing, multi-tasking, following directions, endurance and safety awareness.
- Community Outing – Group members plan and attend an outing in the community. This group focuses on regaining skills such as planning, organizing, endurance and safety awareness.
- Intense Aphasia Group – Utilizes role play of common situations to implementing strategies for language deficits through conversation.
Continuing to Work at Home
It is not unusual for the therapists to ask patients to practice specific things at home during the evenings. This “homework” is very important for reinforcing new techniques learned in therapy. Feedback to the therapists regarding how the task went at home will also help guide future treatment.
Tracking Patient Progress
Each week the treatment team meets to discuss patient progress, plans and goals. Patient care plans are updated every other week. After the team meeting, the social worker or primary therapist will relay what was discussed. Additionally, a family meeting will be held prior to discharge from RDP.