The Coast Plaza Rehabilitation Department

At Coast Plaza, we recognize the need for continued patient care after surgery. Our Rehabilitation Department consists of a team of highly skilled and caring therapists who offer Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy in a relaxed, patient-friendly setting, while also handling the responsibilities of after-care and evaluation.

Physical Therapy incorporates the assessment, evaluation and treatment of numerous musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders in an effort to restore each patient to the level of his or her fitness prior to surgery, as well as to increase the overall functionality of older patients. By focusing on increasing strength and endurance, physical therapy sessions help to reduce pain, stiffness, swelling and tightness while enhancing balance and ambulation through a variety of procedures and modalities tailored to meet the individual needs of each patient.

Occupational Therapy addresses a patient’s Daily Living Activities by first making a functional evaluation and then treating specific areas of interest highlighted by the therapist. Through therapeutic exercises designed to promote maximum functionality, patients are thus encouraged to achieve their optimal level of independence upon arriving home.

Our Speech Therapy Pathologist provides both speech and swallow evaluations, including video fluoroscopy, or barium swallow evaluation, to determine the extent of rehabilitation necessary as well as the proper course of treatment for those patients with speech or swallowing disorders.

Open six days per week and on call Sundays and holidays, the Coast Plaza Rehabilitation Department is always available when our patients need them. They work in close conjunction with medical staff to provide assessments and updates on each patient’s condition. A monthly class on body mechanics and ergonomics is also offered to all new hospital staff and their families, as well as a more comprehensive class twice per year that focuses on the ways in which proper use of the body can reduce work related injuries and improve the overall health of employees. I salute the Rehabilitation Department for their continued excellence in helping both patients and staff to achieve their best, each and every day.

 Email Protocol

As you know, Coast Plaza Hospital is committed to maintaining full compliance with all patient privacy regulations, including but not limited to the most recent changes to HIPAA involving electronic transmissions (i.e., emails, facsimile transmissions, delivery of any CDs or DVDs containing patient health information, etc.). Please continue to ensure that hospital electronic communications are in full compliance with all HIPAA-related regulations.

 Blood Exposure Management

No matter how professional we are as a team, the unfortunate reality is that accidents do happen in the workplace. When such accidents involve the exposure of a health care worker (HCW) to blood, bloody fluids, or other body fluids through mucus membranes, needle sticks or other sharps, certain procedures must be followed to ensure that this employee has not sustained any risk:

• The health care worker must immediately report the injury to the Nursing Supervisor.
• The Nursing Supervisor must fill out the Blood Exposure Report and any appropriate consent forms that the HCW and the source patient, if known, must sign. At this point, both the HCW and source patient are given code numbers to protect confidentiality.
• The source patient will then be tested for HIV, Hep-B, and Hep-C. Should the source patient refuse, the patient will be informed that the hospital will use previously drawn blood for the test. If no blood is available, the HCW will be notified of the difficulty of testing the source patient.
• The HCW will be taken to the ER and screened for HIV, Hep-B and Hep-C and offered a Tetanus shot. The HCW will receive prophylactic oral antiviral agents in accordance with current CDC guidelines pertaining to the results of the source patient’s tests.
• Three days following the exposure, the HCW will be informed of the results of his or her tests, as well as those of the source patient, and the necessity for further follow up will then be determined, depending upon test results. This includes retesting of the HCW at 12 weeks and 6 months.
• The incident will be recorded and filed in the Blood Exposure binder, and a copy will be sent to the HR and Safety Officer.
• After completing the 6-month follow up of the HCW, the completed paperwork packet will be forwarded to HR.

Please exercise the utmost caution when working with blood, body fluids, or needles in the course of your daily routine.

 Case Manager Highlight

With multiple responsibilities that focus on the many aspects of a patient’s stay, the position of Case Manager is indeed complex. Case Managers act as liaisons between the patient, the patient’s family, and the health care team throughout the duration of treatment. Though the primary function of the Case Manager is to support the physicians and interdisciplinary team in the provision of patient care, he or she must also keep a close eye on the underlying objective of enhancing the quality of clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction while managing the cost of care and providing timely and accurate information to payers. Doing so involves integrating and coordinating utilization management, care facilitation and discharge planning functions.

It is the role of the Case Manager to determine the necessity of health care services, which include a patient’s need for hospitalization, determining a patient’s level of care, assessing medical necessity for continued stay or readiness for discharge, and setting parameters for the transfer from Coast Plaza to post acute venues of care, if necessary. This emphasis on transitional planning is essential for both the patient’s well being and the productivity of the hospital. Case managers work directly with all hospital interdisciplinary teams. In conjunction with Social Services, they serve as go-betweens for processing issues such as guardianship, power of attorney, health care surrogate, advance directives, and financial/health program coverage. I extend my gratitude to our Case Managers for making the day-to-day performance of such a complex position appear so easy.