Getting Your Patients Back to What Matters Most

Patients recovering from a complex injury or illness can benefit from the right rehabilitation. Inpatient rehabilitation can treat a variety of conditions. Some of the most common include stroke, hip fracture and other complex orthopedic conditions, neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis and brain and spinal cord injuries. If you are unsure if your patient is right for inpatient rehabilitation, find an Encompass Health location near you and talk to one of our rehabilitation liaisons. They can evaluate your patient to determine if inpatient rehabilitation will help restore them to their highest level of function and independence

Our admission liaisons are available seven days a week and can assist you in determining if inpatient rehabilitation is right for your patient. After a referral is made, they will work directly with the patient and the caregiver to assist them in transitioning to our hospital. Our liaison will also work with Medicare and your patient’s insurance company. There is no three-day hospital stay requirement for inpatient rehabilitation, as there is with a skilled nursing facility, so we can admit directly from the emergency department.

No. There is no therapy requirement for a skilled nursing facility. In an inpatient rehabilitation facility, patients are required to receive three hours of therapy a day, five days a week. Inpatient rehabilitation facilities also are required to staff nurses 24/7 and patients have frequent physician visits. There is no such requirement for SNFs. Unlike a SNF, inpatient rehabilitation also requires a multi-disciplinary approach to care. In addition to nurses and physicians, your patient will have at least two of the following therapists—physical, occupational and speech. Their care team also includes a case manager, dietitian, pharmacist and more.

Your patient’s care team will work with your patient over their entire stay to meet Medicare requirements for therapy intensity and will meet them where they are in their recovery. Therapy will be spread out throughout the day to give them plenty of time to rest and recuperate. When developing your patient’s care plan, they will start with less intensive therapy that can be performed at the bedside and build up to more challenging therapy as they regain their strength.