Rehabilitation and Transitional Care
A Professional Team
The unit is managed by a medical director who is a physiatrist (a physician who specializes in rehabilitation), a licensed administrator and a director of nursing. The nursing staff includes registered nurses, certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, many with years of experience at Emerson and others with experience at rehabilitation facilities.
In addition, the unit has physical therapists, occupational therapists, a speech therapist, a social worker, a nurse liaison, and a part-time activities director. The entire team holds daily conferences to monitor each patient's progress and can draw on the full resources of Emerson Hospital to devise the best possible plan of treatment for each TCU patient.
Patients and family members are encouraged to contribute to the development of individualized treatment plans, and family involvement is encouraged as an essential part of patient rehabilitation and discharge planning.
Comprehensive discharge planning by the TCU social worker ensures that appropriate services will be available after the patient returns home. The staff also helps family members learn care-giving skills in preparation for the patient's return home. On occasion, staff members may also visit the patient's home to conduct a safety evaluation and recommend modifications.
To ensure customer satisfaction, patients are called after their return home to elicit their opinions, concerns and suggestions about their stay on the unit.