NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Chris Ast with the Inpatient Rehab Center at Hutchinson Regional is committed to making his department the last stop for as many patients as possible.
"We want to get you back functioning as safely as you can, so we can get you back home," Ast said. "First, I run every patient by our doctor. She's what's called a physiatrist, so that means she specialized in rehabilitation in medical school. I'll review all the medical notes, therapy notes by her. If she thinks it sounds like a good case, then we'll make sure, with whatever insurance you might have, that we get approval for that or you meet their criteria. Some of them require prior authorization, some of them it's more just kind of check the boxes and make sure you meet it. Part of that piece is make sure you have a medical need."
The main goal of rehab is three hours of therapy a day, five days a week, to get you back up to speed as quickly as possible.
"Physical therapy, they'll work with more of the leg strengthening, transfers, walking, balance, just trying to build that activity tolerance and safety back up," Ast said. "Occupational therapy, they kind of focus more on upper extremity strengthening, core strengthening, then also your self-care that you have to do to be able to go home. How do you get dressed not being able to move your leg as much, or having weight bearing restrictions, those kind of things, then toileting, showering, just making sure you can move. We also have a kitchen and need to cook your own meals, we can walk you through that."
The department has received an award for how many of its patients go from there to home.
"We did win an award for 2021 through the rehab data management system," Ast said. "We have to plug in all your diagnosis, therapy scores, where you discharged to after us. For 2021, we were at 88% discharge back to home, which was well above the national average and it got us a top performer award."
Call 620-513-4162 for more information.