Inpatient Rehab Partnership Celebrates Successful First Year

On July 1, 2019, Boulder Community Health and UCHealth officially opened a new joint 18-bed inpatient rehabilitation department inside the UCHealth Broomfield Hospital. This newly-formed partnership offers patients a state-of-the-art unit with interdisciplinary therapy services to help restore strength, function and independence for those recovering from serious injuries or illness.

Over the past year, a team of physicians, nurses, therapists and other specialists have provided care for 289 patients needing rehabilitation for a variety of diagnoses, including stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and other neurologic, orthopedic and trauma-related conditions. The average patient was able to complete inpatient therapy in 9.6 days, which is 30% quicker than the national average, while seeing improvements in self-care and mobility that are consistent with national results. These great results are due to the extensive collaboration between members of the rehab team.

A Skilled and Experienced Team

The rehab team is led by physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians who are experts in brain injury, spinal cord injuries and other impairments requiring an intensive rehabilitation program for maximum recovery. The provider team also includes a nurse practitioner experienced in rehabilitation.

Additionally, over 50% of registered nurses have specialty certifications including the nationally recognized CRRN (Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse). According to the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN), these certifications help validate their professional standing as an experienced rehabilitation nurse with a documented level of knowledge and a commitment to patient care.

Therapy team members have earned many advanced certifications, giving them the in-depth knowledge and proficiency to provide exceptional care to patients:

• Advanced Neuro Developmental Treatment (NDT) certification
• Board-certified specialist in neurologic physical therapy
• Certified lymphedema therapist
• Lee Silverman Voice Training for Parkinson’s Disease (LSVT) Big Certification
• McNeil Dysphagia Therapy Program certified (MDTP)
• Neuro Developmental Treatment (NDT) certification
• NeuroMuscular Electrical Stimulation certification (NMES)
• Specialized training in wheelchair assessment, seating and mobility
• Stroke therapy specialist

Some members of the therapy staff also serve as clinical faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. The program’s care management team works tirelessly to ensure that the discharge plan for patients minimizes any risk of complications or unexpected readmissions. Learn more about the BCH and UCHealth inpatient rehabilitation department.