Amputation at Mercy Rehab Hospital Northwest Arkansas
To help our amputation patients move forward, we begin working with them as soon as medically possible after the amputation. We strive to help them regain lost abilities, prevent pain complications, improve wound healing and prepare them to return home independently or with assistance from family members or other care providers.
Our amputation team strives to provide effective and evidence-based care related to the specific needs of the amputee population. The program is tailored to restore strength and confidence, regain function and mobility, and return individuals to an independent and satisfying life.
Our Amputation Rehabilitation Team
Our amputation program in Northwest Arkansas is offered by a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team of professionals with specialized training, experience, and credentials for the management of medical and functional needs.
Our therapists work hand-in-hand with doctors and nurses who specialize in amputation rehabilitation. Focused on achievement, the care team meets regularly to monitor progress and response to treatment. Discharge planning begins upon admission and involves the patient, caregivers and the entire rehabilitation team to ensure a smooth transition to home or to another level of care if appropriate. Members of the team may include:
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Prosthetists
- Orthotic/adaptive equipment specialists
- Case managers/social workers
- Nutritional counselors
Amputation Program Services
Our amputation rehabilitation program helps improve skills so patients can move forward. Treatment delivery and intensity of service are determined as part of the individualized plan of care and typically include a combination of 30- to 60-minute therapy sessions provided throughout the day by physical and occupational therapy. Speech therapy is included if clinically appropriate, and social workers and case managers may work with patients to adjust to emotional issues that may arise as they move forward after an amputation, as well as assist in procuring equipment and services that the patient might need in order to return home.
Levels of Service
We offer intense inpatient services in a rehabilitative environment, for patients who need daily physician oversight and 24-hour rehabilitation-focused nursing care. Our setting is for patients considered by their physicians to be medically stable and physically able to begin a comprehensive rehabilitation program consisting of 15 hours of therapy over the course of a week.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapists focus on:
- Improving overall mobility, health and independence
- Transferring to/from different surfaces
- Using an artificial limb (prosthesis)
- Walking safely either independently, or with a temporary or permanent walking aid such as crutches or a walker, and how that need might change with or without the use of a prosthesis
- Complete strength and range of motion exercises
- Balance and coordination improvement
- Restoration of functions that can be restored or adaptation to new levels of function
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists focus on:
- Safely performing activities of daily living such as eating, dressing, grooming, bathing and homemaking
- Caring for the residual limb
- Assessing necessary environmental adaptations for work or home
Pre-Prosthetic Rehabilitation
Our pre-prosthetic rehabilitation programs focus on strengthening the muscles necessary to support and be successful with the prosthetic device and training patients about residual limb care.
Post-prosthetic Rehabilitation
Once a prosthesis has been fitted, our therapists work with patients to learn to use the prosthesis and how to incorporate it into their activities of daily living.
Therapeutic Goals for Amputee Rehabilitation
Our Fort Smith rehabilitation hospital uses standardized improvement measures to track our patient outcomes and ensure that we are providing competitive services that are best suited to assist our patients in making the most gain possible during their therapy.