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Physical therapy and rehabilitation

Rehabilitation refers to the process of helping a patient recover from a serious injury or illness. Patients often have to regain strength and learn new ways of completing normal, daily activities. Physical therapy, a branch of rehabilitation, focuses on building strength and mobility after disease, injury or surgery.

Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers in Fort Walton Beach, Florida

We offer inpatient and outpatient rehabilitative care to help you restore your abilities, regain your independence and recover fully.

HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital provides this care via our physical, occupational and speech therapy services. Additionally, ours is the only inpatient acute care rehabilitation facility — HCA Florida Northwest Rehabilitation Center — in the area.

Rehab Outcomes

Find out our 2022 rehab outcome metrics.

Find out our 2022 rehab outcome metrics.

Conditions we treat with rehabilitative therapy

Our rehabilitation team has experience treating many conditions and disorders, including:

  • Amputations
  • Bowel and bladder management
  • Brain injuries
  • Cognitive and perceptual deficits
  • Hip fractures
  • Impaired mobility, balance and coordination
  • Joint replacement surgery
  • Limitations in self care
  • Limitation in strength and range of motion
  • Major multiple traumas
  • Neurological disorders
  • Speech and communication problems
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Strokes
  • Swallowing disorders

Our rehabilitation services

We offer comprehensive rehabilitative care to help you recover abilities, gain strength and maximize independence.

Accredited rehabilitative care

HCA Florida Northwest Rehabilitation Center, our inpatient rehabilitation center, is recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities International (CARF International) as a Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehab Program. CARF International also designated our facility as a Specialty Stroke Program.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy helps restore the abilities needed to return to work, school and activities of daily living. To help you adapt to any permanently changed abilities, our occupational therapists may help with home modifications or wheelchair fittings.

Occupational therapy can also help with:

  • Activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing or homemaking
  • Cognitive performance
  • Lymphedema management
  • Splinting
  • Upper extremity function (strength, range of motion)

Physical therapy

Our licensed physical therapists provide individualized programs to help you regain strength, mobility and independence after an illness, injury or medical procedure.

On your initial visit, your therapist will perform a comprehensive evaluation and customize a treatment plan to meet your needs.

Some of the physical therapies and rehabilitative techniques we offer include:

  • Balance and coordination training for vestibular problems
  • Cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation
  • Fall prevention and recovery
  • Injury prevention
  • Physiotherapy
  • Postoperative rehab
  • Strength and endurance programs
  • Wound care

Speech-language therapy

Speech-language therapy helps restore your speech and language skills and oral motor function skills.

Our speech therapists are trained to help with:

  • Aphasia (trouble using or understanding words)
  • Apraxia (trouble producing speech)
  • Cognitive-linguistic communication (trouble with communication)
  • Dysphagia (trouble swallowing)

Some of our speech, language and swallowing therapies and services include:

  • Alternative communication devices
  • Modified barium swallowing studies
  • Neurological rehabilitation
  • Neuromuscular therapy
  • Swallowing therapy
  • Voice therapy

Our specialized rehabilitation programs

We also provide specialized programs, including:

Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab)

We offer an outpatient cardiac rehab program through our cardiology program. Cardiac rehab helps patients improve their cardiovascular health after a heart surgery, heart attack or heart disease diagnosis.

Our hours of operation for cardiac rehab are Monday through Friday, from 7:00am to 3:30pm. For questions about cardiac rehab, please call us at (850) 315-7870.

Lymphedema management

Lymphedema is the swelling of a body part, most often an arm or leg, caused by the abnormal accumulation of lymph fluid. It can be both debilitating and disfiguring. People with lymphedema can experience swollen limbs and body parts, a worsening condition, repeated infections and thickening skin.

Our lymphedema management program is a nonsurgical and highly effective combination of the following techniques:

  • Bandaging — Bandaging provides constant gentle pressure, helping to maintain the reduction of swelling achieved during manual lymph drainage treatment. Bandaging is done daily while the limb size is changing.
  • Custom-fitted compression garments — Once fluid reduction is achieved, you may receive custom compression garments for long-term use to maintain circulation.
  • Exercise — The lymphatic system is stimulated by using muscle contraction as a pump for the lymph vessels. Exercises to reduce edema (swelling) may be done while wearing the compression bandages to maximize lymph drainage.
  • Manual lymph drainage (MLD) — MLD is a gentle manual massage treatment that improves the function of the lymphatic system throughout the body. MLD reroutes lymph fluid around blocked or damaged areas to decrease swelling in the affected area.
  • Skin care — Good hygiene and skin care are essential to eliminate bacterial and fungal growth and prevent infection within the affected body part.
Neurological and stroke rehabilitation

Our neurological rehabilitation program helps patients recovery from head injuries, spinal cord disorders, genetic diseases, strokes and other neurological conditions.

Our inpatient rehabilitation center also offers the Active Adult Stroke Program. This specialized program helps patients recover their abilities after receiving initial stroke treatment.

To aid in a full recovery, you gain access to a range of rehabilitative therapies and advanced equipment, including:

  • Body weight supported exercise equipment
  • Family and caregiver training
  • Fully equipped kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and laundry environments for therapy training
  • Neuromuscular retraining
  • Neuropsychological testing
  • One-on-one therapy available with physical, occupational and speech therapists
  • Stroke prevention education
  • Vital stimulation therapies provided by a certified therapist
  • Vocational, family, financial and intimacy counseling
Orthopedic pain management

Our full continuum of orthopedic care includes orthopedic rehabilitation. We focus on managing pain in the low back, neck and extremities. Additionally, we provide therapies to help you recover from a joint replacement surgery or to relieve pain caused by an injury.

Our physical therapy treatment centers

Our inpatient and outpatient physical therapy programs take place at separate locations. For any physical, occupational or speech therapy needs, contact your physician to receive a prescription for your evaluation and treatment.

Inpatient physical rehabilitation center

Inpatient therapy programs are provided at Rehabilitation Institute of Northwest Florida. This is a campus of our hospital located in Destin, Florida.

This newly renovated facility offers patients private rooms, larger areas for rehabilitation and an upscale dining area. Patients receive proactive, around-the-clock care with the primary goal of restoring abilities and regaining independence.

For more information about our inpatient rehabilitation center, please call (850) 863-7651.

Rehabilitation Institute of Northwest Florida is located at:

Rehabilitation Institute of Northwest Florida
996 Airport Road
Destin, FL 32541

Outpatient physical rehabilitation center

Outpatient physical therapy is provided through our partnership with PT Solutions, located next to our hospital. Outpatient therapy can help you continue making steps toward a full recovery.

For more information about outpatient physical therapy, please call PT Solutions at (850) 863-7580.

The outpatient physical therapy center is located at:

Outpatient Physical Therapy Center
928 Mar Walt Drive, Suite 103 (Building E)
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547

Neal Barlow — Patient testimonial

For 62-year-old Neal Barlow, the services he received through Fort Walton - Destin Hospital's Trauma ER, Surgical and Inpatient and Outpatient rehab got him back to a new normal.

Northwest Rehabilitation Center, A part of HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital

Northwest Rehabilitation Center is the only inpatient acute care rehab facility in the area and the only CARF accredited rehab facility in the entire Panhandle. At the newly renovated Northwest Rehabilitation Center, our 24-hour care means you have the time, space and supportive staff you need to grow stronger everyday…step by step…day by day, getting you better and returning you home.

Our Physical therapy and rehabilitation Locations

Currently Viewing:

Fort Walton-Destin Hospital
1000 Mar Walt Dr
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
 (850) 862 - 1111

Currently Viewing:

Fort Walton-Destin Hospital
1000 Mar Walt Dr
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
 (850) 862 - 1111
Twin Cities Hospital
2190 Highway 85 N
Niceville, FL 32578
 (850) 678 - 4131

9.8 miles

Twin Cities Physical Therapy
550 Twin Cities Blvd
Niceville, FL 32578
 (850) 678-2004

10.0 miles