News

Celebrate National Rehabilitation Week

Released: 9/17/2012

The third week in September is National Rehabilitation Week. There are fifty million reasons why National Rehabilitation Week is important. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, about 49.7 million Americans, of all ages, have a disability. About two-thirds of these individuals can be classified as having a severe disability. Disability can result from any number of acute or chronic diagnoses such as cardiac, respiratory, neurological or orthopedic conditions.

National Rehabilitation Week was first started in Pennsylvania over 30 years ago as a local awareness campaign to educate people on the value and power of rehabilitation. The concept spread to healthcare facilities across the country, and today rehabilitative services are recognized nationally for their contribution to the population’s health and wellness.

At Kaleida Health, the rehabilitation staff of over 250 includes physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, speech-language pathologists, exercise physiologists, physiatrists and rehabilitation nurses. The team provides skilled services to facilitate and assist patients in regaining their independence or provide adaptations to compensate for their individual disability.

Through over 260,000 annual patient visits across all of Kaleida Health, the team provides services in many locations including home care,
inpatient, outpatient, acute medical rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities.

Take a moment this week to thank the Rehabilitation Services Department dedicated staff for all that they do each day.