Physical therapy and rehabilitation

HCA Florida Mercy Hospital’s 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.

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)

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 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

We also provide specialized programs, including:

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 patient's recovery from head injuries, spinal cord disorders, genetic diseases, strokes and other neurological conditions.

Our inpatient rehabilitation center also 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 and bathroom 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.