Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is an integral component of the multidisciplinary neurological care at Maine Medical Center. Through its Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, the medical center offers the largest, most experienced team of inpatient physical and occupational therapists and speech language pathologists in the state - including certified brain injury specialists.

Early physical therapy and rehabilitation intervention is vital to the Neuroscience Institute's approach to care, based on a growing body of research showing that when functional deficits are addressed early on, long-term outcomes are improved. Inpatient physical therapy consults are completed within 24 hours for patient's admitted with a neurological injury or disorder. For patients in the ICU, neurorehabilitation often starts while patients are still sedated and intubated in order to prevent contractures, keep joints and muscles limber and to keep the patient accustomed to being upright. As a result, when patients are ready to transition from acute care to rehabilitation, they are ahead of the curve.

 The transition from acute care to rehabilitation is made seamless by MMC's strong collaborative relationship with New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland (NERHP). The only freestanding acute rehabilitation hospital in Maine, NERHP is a joint venture of MMC and Healthsouth, LLC, the nation's largest provider of physical rehabilitation services. It has specialized programs that provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation to patients with stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and other neurologic impairments. Its stroke program, in fact, was developed in conjunction with MMC to address the physical, cognitive and emotional changes that take place after a stroke, and has earned NERHP accreditation by the Joint Commission with a disease-specific certification in stroke care. Most recently, they have received recognition as a Stroke Rehabilitation Center of Excellence; one of only 15 hospitals to do so in a network of 90.

Together, MMC and NERHP offer a continuum of outstanding rehabilitative care for individuals with neurological injuries and conditions. While rehabilitation services are tailored to each patient's unique needs and goals, the goal is always the same: to help patients achieve their highest level of independence at home, at work and in the community.