January 2008 – December 2008
Riverside Rehabilitation Institute has an outstanding Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Program and we want you to know how our patients compare with patients nationwide.
Patients Admitted to RRI’s Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Program
Compare Well to the National Average
(Includes traumatic, non-traumatic and spinal cord injury/amputation)
- Spinal cord injured patients are admitted an average of 13 days after their injury. The national average is 23 days.
- The average age of a patient admitted to RRI after a spinal cord injury is 58. The national average age is 58.
- During their stay here, patients usually progress from needing a maximum amount of help for tasks such as bathing, dressing, and walking/wheelchair use to needing a minimal to moderate amount of help for the same tasks. This is the same throughout the nation.
- About 70% of patients admitted to RRI are discharged back home. The national average of patients returning home is 67%.
There are some things that affect length of stay and discharge
Spinal cord injured patients are not all alike. Some patients have only a mild injury while other patients have a more severe injury. The length of time a patient usually stays at RRI after having an injury of this type can vary from 18 days to 22 days depending on how severe the spinal cord injury is. The national average length of stay is 17 to 25 days.
Spinal Cord Injured patients are admitted with a goal of returning home. Most often, patients make progress and are able to return home with the help of their families and outpatient or home health therapies.
Some things increase the possibility of not returning home. These things include:
- Patients whose injury is severe
- Patients who live alone
- Patients who have no family to provide help
Outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy may be ordered after discharge, however, in some instances a few patients may need home health services. Your doctor and rehab team will recommend to you the services that will best meet your needs. Your Care Coordinator is available to help you with your discharge needs.
By working with patients and their families, we carry out our mission of
“Rebuilding the lives of the physically impaired”…every day.
