Amputee Program

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital provides a comprehensive, four-phase medical rehabilitation program addressing the unique therapeutic needs of an individual who has experienced an amputation. We provide the clinical and technical resources to deliver individualized treatment to promote an independent, meaningful and productive lifestyle.

• Phase 1: Pre Prosthetic Training - which includes evaluation of mobility needs & potentials, daily living skills, nutritional needs, and development of personal goals. A prosthetists is chosen.
  
  
• Phase 2: Prosthetic Training - Inpatient Rehabilitation - Comprehensive therapy continues which includes prosthetic prescription and fitting, gait assessment, balance & coordination, strength and endurance training and skin care and swelling management.
  
  
• Phase 3: Prosthetic Training - Outpatient Clinic - The patient is discharged from inpatient to home and therapy continues to address gait training, prosthetic adjustment, community re-entry, adaptive driving (if appropriate), range of motion and contracture prevention.
  
  
• Phase 4: Amputee Clinic - Outpatient Clinic - This montly clinic is offered free of charge and provides the opportunity to monitor & maintain function, maintain skin integrity and ensure proper fit of the prosthesis, and to address specific to the patient.

Balance and Vestibular Program

The Balance and Vestibular program evaluates patients with persistent dizziness and disequilibrium. Individuals who may benefit from an evaluation include those with severe disequilibrium, history of falls due to dizziness, significant balance dysfunction in conjunction with normal ENG test, post inner ear surgery, and cerebellar dysfunction due to head trauma, stoke or other neurological involvement. Rehabilitative objectives include:

• Identify the functional deficits of the patient
• Provide a comprehensive rehabilitation program based on individual needs
• Improve the functional capabilities
• Provide and instruct the patient on a home exercise program
• Provide education for the patient and caregiver on balance disorders and the rehabilitation process
• Provide follow-up and referral to other resources in the community to continue the recovery process

Brain Injury Program

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital offers a comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation program dedicated to providing the quality care necessary for maximum recovery following traumatic brain injury. Brain injury rehabilitation is an intricate and challenging process that requires a multidisciplinary approach to help patients regain the highest possible level of independence. Rehabilitative program phases include:

• Acute Rehabilitation - an intensive physical, cognitive and psychosocial rehabilitation based on a comprehensive evaluation and geared toward a functional lifestyle, behavioral management and community re-entry.
  
  
• Day Treatment - an intensive interdisciplinary therapy program that can stand alone or be used as a step down from inpatient care, for patients who do not (or no longer) need 24-hour nursing care.
  
  
• Outpatient Rehabilitation - individualized, highly specific treatment designed to continue the patient's progress toward maximum independence.

Dialysis

Dialysis is a method of removing toxic substances (impurities or wastes) from the blood when the kidneys are unable to do so. Dialysis is most frequently used for patients who have kidney failure, but may also be used to quickly remove drugs or poisons in acute situations. This technique can be life saving in people with acute or chronic kidney failure. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital offers both Peritoneal and Hemodialysis for our rehabilitation inpatients and this service is provided by the physicians of Renal Medicine Associates.

Lymphedema Program

Lymphedema is a swelling in the soft tissues of the limbs, or less often the trunk, caused by the buildup of lymph fluid as a result of primary or secondary lymphedema. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital provides a comprehensive medical rehabilitation program addressing the unique therapeutic needs of an individual who has experienced lymphedema. Lymphedema clinic is also available to patients to learn:

• Principles and techniques of decongestive self massage
• Skin care management
• Self bandaging tips
• Exercise tips
• Self management programs

Neurological Conditions

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital offers comprehensive rehabilitation programs that target functional decline in patients suffering from conditions such as Gullian Barre, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), motor neuron disease, encephalopathy, polyneuropathies, and radiculopathy.

Areas of focus include:

• Activities of Daily Living: feeding, grooming, dressing, bathing, toileting
• Community re-entry: meal preparation, home management, return to work, money management, driving and prior activities
• Mobility: ambulation, safe transfers, wheelchair use
• Bowel & bladder control
• Language: understanding of spoken, written and non-verbal communication
• Dysphagia: swallowing
• Cognition: safety awareness, memory, and problem solving
• Medication: education and management
• Adaptation: adjustment to disability and coping skills
• Vision screen and perceptual skills

Orthopaedic Conditions

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital offers comprehensive rehabilitation programs that target functional decline in patient's who have had joint replacements or fractures.

Areas of focus include:

• Activities of Daily Living: feeding, grooming, dressing, bathing, toileting
• Mobility: ambulation, safe transfers, wheelchair use
• Home safety training
• Medication: education and management
• Adaptation: adjustment to disability and coping skills

Outpatient and Day Treament

With a network of more than 1,400 rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging, and ambulatory surgery centers, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital is the nation's leading provider of outpatient services. Through our continuum of care, patients receive their treatment in a seamless and cost-effective manner.

Parkinson's / Deep Brain Stimulation Program

Parkinson's Disease (PD) can have devastating effects on a person's ability to work, walk, complete self-care tasks, speak, and interact with others. As the disease progresses, quality of life is often significantly diminished. Many patients reach a point when medications are no longer adequate to control the symptoms of the disease. These patient be candidates for the surgical treatment approach called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).

Dr. Jill Marjam-Lyons is the DBS program director and a neurologist with extensive management via DBS that may be required. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital provides patients with necessary post-operative rehabilitation services to assist in the achievement of optimal, functional patient outcomes.

Dr. Marjama-Lyons has completed training in the adjustment of stimulator settings and the concurrent management of Parkinson's medications. The nurses and therapists have also been educated in the specific needs of the DBS population. Based on individual needs, the patient's treatment may include any or all of the following:

• Stimulator Adjustment
• Medication management/reduction
• Physical Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Speech Therapy
• Neuropsychology Services
• Social Services and Case Management
• Family Education
• Patient / Family / Caregiver Support Group

Spasticity Program

Severely increased muscle tone or spasticity, due to such things as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, and movement disorders can be an overwhelming problem to manage. It can interfere with many areas of life, including mobility, walking, self-care, as well as basic hygiene and skin integrity. Managing this spasticity can be a part of the solution to helping people overcome some of the barriers to greater independence and quality of life.

Altaf Ahmed, MD, is the Medical Director at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, and oversees the comprehensive Spasticity Management Program. There are several ways to manage difficult cases of spasticity effectively. We provide a full service program with:

• Medical consultation. Dr. Ahmed works closely with referring physicians in developing a medical management plan for spasticity that is most appropriate for their patients' needs.
• Oral medication if appropriate.
• Localized injections - i.e. botulinum toxin.
• Coordinating spinal implants or ITB (interthecal baclofen) pump placement if appropriate.
• Coordinating ITB pump refills and monitoring as appropriate.
• Coordinating nerve blocks if appropriate.
• Referral for certain orthopaedic or neurosurgical procedures if indicated.
• Specialized physical rehabilitation program (including physical and occupational therapy) to facilitate improvement in muscle strength and motor control, thus enabling the patient to demonstrate functional improvement. Therapeutic intervention may include the use of orthotics,
splints or a technique called serial casting to help improve range of motion, mobility and function. Therapeutic goals may also include seating and positioning intervention.
• Nutritional counseling.

Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord rehabilitation is an intricate and complicated process that requires a team of experts to enhance a patient's abilities on physical, cognitive and emotional levels. We have an interdisciplinary team that will establish a program of care, specific to each patient, incorporating specific methods that encourage the injured person to develop pragmatic problem-solving approaches that are appropriate for his or her rehabilitation and continuing care.

Areas of focus include:

• Activities of daily living: feeding, grooming, dressing, bathing, toileting
• Community re-entry: meal preparation, home management, return to work, money management, driving and prior activities
• Mobility: ambulation, safe transfers, wheelchair use (as appropriate)
• Bowel & bladder control
• Cognition: safety awareness, memory, and problem solving
• Medication: education and management
• Adaptation: adjustment to disability and coping skills

Stroke Program

For many stroke survivors, rehabilitation is a very important part of the recovery process. Studies indicate that 60 percent of stroke survivors can benefit from aggressive rehabilitation intervention, with 80 percent of those treated through rehabilitation services returning to their homes, work, schools or active retirement.*

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Albuquerque was awarded the Stroke Center of Excellence in 2003, a national honor that recognizes excellence in patient functional outcomes as well as the level of specialized training of our therapists in neurodevelopmental interventions.

Areas of focus include:

• Activities of Daily Living: feeding, grooming, dressing, bathing, toileting
• Community re-entry: meal preparation, home management, return to work, money management, driving and prior activities
• Mobility: ambulation, safe transfers, wheelchair use
• Bowel & bladder control
• Language: understanding of spoken, written and non-verbal communication
• Dysphagia: swallowing
• Cognition: safety awareness, memory, and problem solving
• Medication: education and management
• Adaptation: adjustment to disability and coping skills
• Vision screen and perceptual skills

*National Rehabilitation Caucus

Dysphagia Management using Vital Stim™

The Vital Stim™ Therapy Treatment Device is intended for muscle re-education and for the creation of functional muscle use patterns in the throat muscles necessary for correct and functional swallowing. The device is indicated for the treatment of dysphagia from any etiology other than mechanical causes requiring surgery. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Albuquerque provides patients with this essential tool to achieve optimal, functional patient outcomes.

Causes of Dysphagia

Nerve and muscle problems such as:

• Stroke
• Multiple Sclerosis
• ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Parkinson's Disease
• Huntington's Disease
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Polymyositis

Treatment

• Therapy incorporates a specialized neuromuscular electrical stimulation system and uniquely designed surface electrodes to stimulate inactive swallowing musculature commonly found in patients with dysphagia.
  
  
• Using Vital Stim™ to activate key swallowing muscles allows clinicians to implement an active regimen of therapy to create or re-learn functional muscle use patterns necessary to initiate or re-establish swallowing.