Acute Therapy Services Assessment

All Medical Center inpatients referred for acute therapy services are assessed by a therapist before treatment begins. This in-hospital assessment determines specific areas of functional deficit resulting from the individual's disease, surgery or injury. Therapists are often called upon to help patients in the medical unit and surgical unit with problems associated with acute pain, trauma or neurologic impairments. Oftentimes, therapists help patients with pain management techniques, management of open wounds, identification and treatment of swallowing problems and improvement of mobility following surgery.

Therapists focus on preventing complications, work with patients to improve their level of function and prepare patients for discharge from the Medical Center. The therapy staff provides training to the caregiver, develops home exercise programs (including range-of-motion exercises), determines home equipment needs and orders home equipment. In addition, the therapists identify patients' needs for the next level of care.

Due to prolonged periods of bed rest, therapists are often consulted because extended bed rest may bring on difficulty breathing, poor respiratory capacity, cardiovascular problems, bed sores or problems with skin integrity, decreased strength and decreased tolerance to perform activities. Because Cedars-Sinai Medical Center performs a wide variety of unique and innovative surgical procedures and programs, therapy services provide state-of-the-art therapeutic activities to meet the needs of these patients. Once problem areas are identified, the therapist designs a treatment program to return the patient as much as possible to his or her pre-hospital level of function. Each program is tailored to the individual patient. This program may call for physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or neuropsychological services depending on the individual's needs and condition.

Pediatrics

Acute Therapy Team

• Physical Therapist (PT)
• Occupational Therapist (OT)
• Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)
• Neuropsychologist