By Cheryl Berry
There are superheroes living among us. They are patient, kind, hospitable and committed to making a difference.
Sept. 16 marks the start of National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, a time to recognize local therapists and therapy assistants who have dedicated their lives to helping seniors.
Surgery, injury or illness can bring the day-to-day lives of older adults to a halt, and getting back to normal can take weeks, even months of rehabilitation.
After being discharged from the hospital, many older adults are referred to an outpatient therapy center. Outpatient services are prescribed by physicians to help patients achieve a variety of treatment goals, including a heightened sense of wellness, increased functional ability and independence, improved communication ability, reduced risk of falls and injury prevention.
At The Preserve, a senior living community in Fort Myers, physical therapists offer personalized plans of care for both outpatient and skilled rehabilitation services in a convenient and comfortable setting.
The Preserve’s outpatient rehab center is particularly special, as it opened its doors at a time when Southwest Florida direly needed such a facility.
In our region, skilled nursing centers often operate at full capacity, which means that hospitals can’t transition patients to the care they need as swiftly as desired. To address this need, The Preserve opened its doors in 2020 to fill the gap between hospital and home and has since welcomed scores of older adults to its rehabilitation, skilled nursing, memory support and assisted living community.
Today, The Preserve’s outpatient rehabilitation center uses a personalized approach to therapy; its therapists use open and effective communication, one-to-one treatment and care, comprehensive treatment plans, and family and physician consultations when necessary to ensure premier care for each patient who comes through its doors. The Preserve’s outpatient rehab offers all three disciplines: physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
We use advanced technology and clinical expertise to achieve patient goals, like increased functional ability, improved communication, injury prevention and more. Modern technology and equipment have revolutionized the art of rehab, but did you know that rehabilitation practices date back thousands of years?
Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician known as the father of medicine, used a variety of physical therapy techniques in his holistic approach to medicine as early as 460 B.C.
Emphasis on the importance of physical activity and motor skills were common in ancient Greece. Centuries later, ancient Roman physicians wrote about interventions that helped strengthen the physical integrity of conquerors and military members following accidents.
In the 1700s, before doctors fully realized the importance of rehabilitation following ailments, patients were instructed to stay in bed. Although types of therapeutic practices have been around since ancient times, physical therapy didn’t become an occupation until the early 1900s when therapists rehabilitated patients with polio and soldiers from World War I.
In 1976, National Rehabilitation Awareness Week was celebrated for the first time to honor therapists and therapy assistants for their commitment to patient care and recovery.
Our team of therapists and care providers at The Preserve have impacted so many lives in the Southwest Florida community by working diligently to get patients back on track. This month and every month, we say thank you!
About the Author
Cheryl Berry is the director of rehabilitative services at The Preserve.