Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit

Inpatient Rehabilitation at Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) is a 38-bed unit designed for inpatients recovering from orthopedic surgery, broken bones, respiratory, neurological disorders, and/or designed for patients who no longer require acute medical or surgical inpatient services but require continued medical monitoring for further functional and/or cognitive assessments before being discharged.


Patients are cared for in a compassionate and supportive environment to prepare for discharge while working to fulfill their goals with an exceptional interdisciplinary team. The Inpatient Rehabilitation Team includes dedicated medical, nursing, support, and allied health staff. The Inpatient Rehabilitation unit has a rehab gym, patient dining room, teaching kitchen and bathrooms so that patients can return to their optimum level of function. Discharge planning include care partner involvement and links to community service resources.


Inpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program

The Inpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program helps people to improve their quality of life and teaches essential skills to help manage the symptoms of chronic conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The four-week inpatient program runs from Monday to Friday and assists patients to achieve their goals that are most important to them. When admitted into the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program, patients work with a compassionate and specialized team who will help to improve physical symptoms and teach patients how to better manage their chronic lung condition.

 

The program includes:

  • Daily monitoring and supervised exercises tailored to the needs of the individual.
  • Educational sessions about: breathing techniques, medications, nutrition, relaxation, managing breathlessness and flare-ups.
  • Learning how to cope with changes that often come with a chronic lung condition such as anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

 

Team and Roles

  • As an inpatient in rehabilitation, we believe that you are the most important member of the care team. We want to know what is important to our patients, answer all their questions, and provide all information needed before they’re safely discharged.
  • Care partner/family members are also important within the circle of care and considered essential when preparing patients to return to their previous living situations. Care partners are welcome and encouraged to attend patient therapy and educational sessions provided by the health care team.
  • The Inpatient Rehabilitation clinical manager is on-site from Monday – Friday and responsible for providing operational management and clinical leadership for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Team. This includes being accountable for coordinating exceptional patient care, promoting, and maintaining a positive, safe, and professional practice work environment. The clinical manager always strives to fosters a culture of continuous performance improvement and enjoys connecting with patients and care partners during daily patient rounding.
  • The Inpatient Rehabilitation care facilitator (CF) is responsible for providing leadership and organizational support to ensure effective and efficient day to day operations. The CF also supports nurses and team members while fostering a culture of continuous performance improvement and ensures excellence in patient care and safety.
  • Nurses are with patients 24/7 and help to coordinate compassionate direct patient care. They provide ongoing education and make appropriate referrals to enhance positive patient outcomes and document all aspects of patient care in the Electronic Patient Record (EPR).
  • Physicians are highly skilled and passionate about caring for older adults and work diligently with patients to assess, diagnose, treat, and manage their care. In collaboration with the interprofessional team, physician’s provide patients with the information and support needed to assist with any important health care decisions needing to be made and ensures that exceptional patient care has been provided.
  • Occupational therapists (OT) work with patients to become as independent as possible by practicing self-care such as bathing, dressing, toileting, and grooming. OT’s address concerns with memory, thinking, and ensure that patients can safely manage daily activities (e.g., managing banking, medications, meal preparation, etc.) prior to being discharged. OT’s can provide recommendations and solutions for home safety, equipment needs, and seating requirements.
  • Physiotherapists (PT) evaluate a patient’s physical and functional abilities and works closely with patients to develop functional goals to increase mobility, relieve pain, build strength, increase range of motion, improve balance, and optimize cardiorespiratory function. PT’s provide patients and their care partners with education and recommendations to support a safe and successful transition from hospital.
  • Rehabilitation assistants (RA) work with patients to carry-out their therapy plan as assigned by the physiotherapist and occupational therapist. They provide patients with valuable support while working towards reaching their functional goals.
  • Social workers (SW) work with patients and their care partners to provide helpful education and/or counseling to help support patients during challenging times. The SW’s sets up patient care conferences and will help with the coordination of care and discharge planning.
  • Pharmacists provide the team with important and beneficial information about a patient’s medication, makes recommendations and answers any questions. In consultation, the Pharmacist will provide individual patient education to explain what new medications are for and review common side effects with patients and their care partners.
  • Dietitians provide education and help patients with their dietary needs to ensure healthy nutrition and will monitor a patient’s weight while in hospital, if required.
  • Speech language pathologists (SLP) develop a therapy plan to help patients with communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing problems. This can include assessment of reading, writing, listening comprehension and speaking as well as thinking skills. SLP’s also provide patients and their care partners with information and strategies to compensate for communication and swallowing difficulty and assist to maintain swallowing safety after discharge from hospital.
  • Respiratory therapists (RT) work with patients to assess patient breathing and the effectiveness of therapies. RT’s can give patients advice about oxygen, and specific exercises to help improve breathing, if required.
  • The administrative control clerk (ACC) is responsible for all clerical tasks including booking appointments, record-keeping, directing patients and visitors, as well maintains excellent communication between team members and QCH departments. ACC’s are the first friendly face everyone sees upon arrival to the unit.
  • Spiritual care / clinical chaplain ensure that a patient’s spiritual and multi-faith religious needs are met. They can provide spiritual support to patients and their family throughout hospitalization.
  • Volunteers are a valued member of the team and often greet patients upon their arrival to the unit. Volunteers are always happy to provide patient support and available for friendly visits.
  • Sub-acute referral process: Sub-Acute Referrals can be made by any member of the Allied Health Team (PT/OT/SLP) via Meditech once inpatient/Substitute Decision Maker (SDM) consent has been obtained. The Sub-Acute Programs Assessor then reviews all Sub-Acute Referrals and determines which program best suit a patient’s rehabilitation needs.