Miracles Happen Here

Most folks in the Napa Valley aren’t aware that Queen of the Valley Hospital has its own Acute Rehabilitation Center on site. But for those who’ve had a stroke, been in a car accident, or suffered some other major trauma, the services offered by the Acute Rehabilitation Program can add not only years to their lives, but vastly enhance the quality of those years.

Acute Rehabilitation is a 14-bed unit with 24-hour physician supervision and the ability to manage acute medical rehabilitation problems. It offers therapeutic programs where patients relearn such basic functions as walking and feeding and caring for themselves.

“We have literally seen miracles happen here—people walking who never thought they would walk again and people talking who never thought they would talk again,” says Corby Kessler, MD, the unit’s medical director. “That is what is so rewarding about this kind of work.”

Those staying in Acute Rehab receive care from a team that includes physicians who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation, rehabilitation nurses, psychologists, therapists, and case management and social service staff. The core of the program is an intensive regimen of various types of therapies. For example, occupational therapists teach the safe and independent performance of daily living skills, including while using a walker, a wheelchair, or other adaptive equipment. Physical therapists help patients improve their ability to walk and climb stairs and their balance, strength, and endurance. Speech therapists treat deficits not only in speech, but also in associated areas such as comprehension, memory, and eating and swallowing.

Even fun becomes part of the therapeutic process. Activities such as cookie-baking, making crafts, and browsing on the computer help restore a range of cognitive and physical skills. There are even visits from certified “social therapy” dogs whom unit residents enjoy petting, playing with, and talking to.

The program stresses early intervention, in order to maximize independence and restore as much function as possible. Having an acute rehab unit as part of the hospital, rather than in a far-away city, makes it easier to get patients into rehabilitation quickly. The unit’s location here in the community also encourages the involvement of family and friends, a key ingredient in successful rehabilitation for many patients.

“Any one of us could be hit by a car or suffer a stroke and find ourselves needing these services,” says Program Director Liz Glenn-Bottari. “It’s very important that we have those services here in Napa, so that families don’t have to go far away to get excellent care.”