This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

A broken hip, a stroke or major surgery can leave you or someone you love needing weeks of therapy to walk, dress or speak again.

Many patients aren't ready to fully care for themselves when they leave the hospital. Physical rehab can take place in several settings and families often have to choose among them quickly.

Rehab decisions should be a team effort, said Kerri Fitzgerald, executive director of the Hackensack Meridian Johnson Rehabilitation Institute at Ocean University Medical Center in Brick, New Jersey.

"Ideally, following initial treatment or assessment of your loved one's injury or condition, the health care team will recommend whether outpatient (home and/or therapy location) or inpatient (hospital or 24/7 acute facility setting) therapy is the most beneficial and will provide a referral," Fitzgerald said in an institute news release.

Whatever the setting, the program should be built around the patient and account for other health problems, she said. Families should also check that the facility is safe, easy to get around in and open to visits from loved ones.

David Michael, an occupational therapist at Brown University Health's Newport Hospital in Rhode Island, laid out how the main options differ in an article for the health system.

Inpatient rehab is the most intensive option, built for patients who still need regular medical attention while they work toward going home. Programs are led by physiatrists, doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Source link