After a major medical event, reentering the rhythm of life can feel overwhelming. You may experience a significant period of mourning for the activities you once enjoyed. Your friends, family and colleagues may not fully comprehend your experience. The administrative tasks involved in managing work, healthcare, finances and other essential aspects of life can seem endless.
Your intensive therapy or day rehab program can offer the community, stability and support necessary to rebuild your life. Individuals of all ages, whether affected by genetic or acquired conditions, benefit from these comprehensive programs. They focus on enhancing activities of daily living (ADLs), improving strength and overall wellness, and reintegrating into community life. At Ability KC, we go beyond therapy; we assist you in envisioning and achieving a fulfilling, balanced life.
This article defines intensive therapy and day rehabilitation programs, highlighting their essential qualities and integrated services that make them impactful.
What are intensive therapy and day rehabilitation programs?
Intensive therapy and day rehabilitation programs take a multifaceted approach to help people rehabilitate in several areas. Most include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Why are intensive therapy programs important?
Different treatment facilities provide different levels of support. There are often treatment gaps between hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and outpatient rehab facilities. People with complex conditions like stroke and traumatic brain injury in particular have a higher rate of unmet rehabilitation needs. Intensive therapy programs and day treatment programs provide more support, more therapy hours and diversity of programming during the day to close those gaps and create better outcomes.
A high-quality intensive therapy or day rehabilitation program should include:
- Integrated approach — We help a lot of patients with complex medical diagnoses. Integrated care teams and multidisciplinary treatment plans help our patients move toward meaningful rehab goals for all-around well-being.
- Case management — Coordinating multiple therapies shouldn’t be your job as a patient. Everyone at Ability KC works with a case manager who gets to know you and your goals for recovery. They handle communication with internal departments, other healthcare providers and funding sources.
- Social work — Social work provides communication and resources to you and family. Social workers provide updates to each person’s individual plans and provide resources to assist with transitions back to your home, school, work or community.
- Mental wellness — Our health impacts our self-image, our self-worth and our social well-being. Any comprehensive rehab program should address the psychological aspect of recovery.
- Physical therapy — This is what most people think of when they think about rehabilitation. It’s integral to your overall well-being, so it should be integrated with other therapies. We use state-of-the-art technologies like the Ekso GT and innovative approaches like aquatic therapy to provide PT that supports your other rehab goals.
- Occupational therapy — After a stroke or a major injury, you may need help relearning to do basic daily tasks. OT helps you work on your fine motor and visual skills so you can take care of yourself and potentially get back to work.
- Speech therapy — Your rehab program should include some time with a speech language pathologist to work on the basics for eating, speech and communication. Some injuries or illnesses will require you to work on attention, memory, problem-solving and executive functioning. Ability KC’s speech therapist will assist you in relearning or using strategies to improve these vital skills.
- Group therapies — Many people underestimate the role of peer support and education in rehab. Your peers will inspire you and provide validation that can keep you going through the toughest parts of treatment.
- Education — Plenty of children and young adults in our programs need academic support to keep learning during rehab. Along with our therapeutic preschool, we also serve patients and their families through educational and vocational services.
- Fitness and wellness — Your strength, flexibility and cardiovascular health are key components of your recovery. We offer a fitness and wellness program to our patients.
Explore intensive therapy and day rehabilitation programs at Ability KC
These are just a few of the highlights you can expect during your rehab experience. Your care team and your treatment plan will be tailored to meet your specific needs and help you meet your goals for rehab and life afterward. After you finish our day rehab program, you can continue working with us in our outpatient program and fitness and wellness program.
How do you know you’ll be in good hands at Ability KC? We’re a designated Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility (CORF) with a Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation. That means we exceed federal requirements and international standards for outpatient rehab facilities.
Do you think you or a loved one could benefit from intensive therapy in a day rehab program? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.