WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Rehabilitation Services at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center hosted its 24th Annual Rehab Reunion on Sept. 22. About 60 former patients and family members attended the event to celebrate their successes and capabilities with their rehabilitation team.
The reunion was part of the 2006 National Rehabilitation Awareness Celebration, Sept. 17-23. The annual celebration is designed to promote the value of rehabilitation, highlight the capabilities of people with disabilities, and honor professionals who work with people with disabilities.
The Medical Center provides inpatient rehabilitation services at the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation and outpatient services at CompRehab Plaza. Patients referred to rehabilitation include adolescents and adults who have experienced traumatic injury, debilitating disease and surgery. Examples includes people with spinal cord injury, stroke, neuromuscular diseases, orthopedic conditions or head injuries, who have the potential to regain independence and re-learn self-care activities.
Rehabilitation team members include rehabilitation nurses, occupational, physical, speech and recreation therapists, physiatrists (physicians trained in rehabilitation medicine), psychologists, social workers, registered dieticians and others. Additional services, such as the Assistive Technology Center, are also available to help enhance patients’ independence and quality of life by identifying physical and environmental aids that can assist with activities of daily living, recreation and leisure.
The inpatient rehabilitation unit at Wake Forest Baptist treats about 500 patients each year. In addition, outpatient rehabilitation services are provided to more than 8,000 patients annually.
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Media Contacts: Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu; or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.