COVID-19 Restrictions
Click here for our latest visiting hours and policy updates.
Whether you’ve experienced an injury, illness or disabling condition, research shows the sooner you begin rehabilitation, the better your recovery will be.
Mary Free Bed offers inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation to help you recover safely and quickly. There are several types of therapies and the benefits of each vary from person to person. The main types include:
-
Occupational Therapy
-
Recreational Therapy, including music therapy
-
Speech-Language Pathology
While each one serves a specific purpose, they all share the same goal – to help you get better so you can enjoy life.
What’s occupational therapy?
Let’s start by explaining what an occupation is, because it’s not just what you do for work. Occupations are everyday activities – showering, dressing, brushing your teeth, making meals, doing laundry …
It’s managing your medications. Participating in school. Doing your job. Caring for others. It’s what matters to you.
Occupational therapy helps you accomplish these things when an illness, injury or disability has made it difficult. It helps restore your independence.
For example, occupational therapy can:
-
Teach you how to get ready for the day.
-
Provide the skills your child needs to participate in school.
-
Help you regain the skills you need to return to work.
-
Offer adaptations to make daily tasks easier.
Who’s eligible?
If you’re recovering from an injury or illness, occupational therapy can help you relearn basic skills. If you have a disability, you’ll learn modifications to live as independently as possible. Occupational therapists work with patients of all ages, from children to older adults.
You may benefit from occupational therapy if you’ve experienced, among others:
- Stroke
- Amputation
- Brain injury
- Cancer
- Spinal cord injury
- Orthopedic conditions caused by injury or surgery
- Chronic pain
- Functional limitations anywhere from the shoulder to the fingers
- Lymphedema
- Musculoskeletal conditions, such as back and neck pain
- Neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or neuropathy
- Balance issues
- Burns
- Diabetes
What to expect
Our occupational therapists have extensive training and experience treating patients with a variety of conditions. Many hold specialty certification in specific diagnoses.
You’ll work closely with an occupational therapist with expertise in your condition to identify goals and craft a customized treatment plan to meet them. This includes:
-
Evaluation of your skills
-
Restorative therapeutic techniques to improve range of motion and coordination
-
Use of specialized rehabilitation technology
-
Therapeutic exercises to improve strength and flexibility
-
Recommendations for adaptive devices and strategies to accomplish tasks
-
Education for loved ones
Services also may include recommendations for home adaptations, if necessary.
Did you know?
Mary Free Bed is a teaching hospital and home to a Neurologic Occupational Therapy Fellowship that provides advanced post-professional clinical training for occupational therapists. Many members of our occupational therapy team serve as faculty.