“Once people know about us, they want all their family members to come here if they need rehab,” said Amy Mooney, supervisor of YNHH’s Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at Milford Hospital. “People just want to feel safe and well taken care of, and they can count on that here.”
It’s been 10 years since the Yale New Haven Hospital Rehabilitation and Wellness Center opened its doors at Bridgeport Hospital’s Milford Campus.
While some employees may be unaware of this inpatient rehabilitation center – often referred to as the Milford IRU – center supervisor and physical therapist Amy Mooney has witnessed the great work being done there every day since it opened July 1, 2015.
“It’s clear that everyone who works here loves what they do,” said Mooney. “Our staff really gains a lot of satisfaction working with the patients we serve and seeing their progress.”
Approximately 500 patients are cared for annually in the 23-bed unit, located on the second floor of Bridgeport Hospital’s Milford Campus. About half have neurologic conditions such as stroke, traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury or neuromuscular diseases such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis.
The unit also sees patients after other types of injuries, such as fractures, multi-trauma, car or motorcycle accidents. Some of these patients have sustained a brain injury on top of orthopedic issues. In addition, certain patients with generalized debility from prolonged hospitalizations might qualify for admission to the unit, Mooney said.
The unit is staffed by a hospitalist, physiatrist, and a host of consult services – physicians and advanced practitioners – that support patients medically while they start their rehabilitation. Other staff include nurses with specialty rehab certification and therapists with specialty brain injury and stroke rehab certifications. Speech-language pathologists help patients to regain their ability to swallow safely and improve voice quality, cognition and language skills if they have aphasia.
“Often, our patients have significant, devastating medical events that the family is just starting to cope with and learn about, so we encourage family participation from the very beginning,” Mooney added.
Interest in the rehab unit has continued to grow along with its services. Unit technology includes body-weight support for walking and electrical stimulation units to re-engage a weak arm or leg.
In addition to innovative research and a new residency program for physiatrists, the unit offers support groups for post-stroke patients and for amputees. Wellness offerings include therapy dog visits, art therapy, Reiki and therapeutic gardening, in which patients relearn how to balance as they water flowers and pull weeds.
“It’s a very positive place,” Mooney said. “We really enjoy our patients and their families. In most situations, people get better - whether they return to their prior level of function or make a full recovery – but they get such a great start here, and a lot of them come back to visit and thank us.”
