Rio Grande Regional Hospital offers a full spectrum of rehabilitation services to provide a continuum of care throughout a patient's treatment and wellness journey. Working in multidisciplinary teams, including one-on-one physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology, provides a greater depth of expertise and offers enhanced communication among healthcare professionals. The goal is the superior quality of care and better patient outcomes. Rio Grande Regional Hospital offers full-service acute care therapy, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient services.

Acute Care Rehabilitation

Following any medical emergency, you or your loved one may be admitted to the hospital. We offer physical, occupational, and speech therapy services for adults, children, and infants experiencing a range of illnesses and injuries in this acute care setting.

Our professionally licensed therapists provide the highest levels of care to speed recovery, prevent decline during the acute stage of illnesses, and help transition to the next level of care as appropriate.

Areas of rehabilitation include:

  • Spine rehabilitation after neurosurgery and spine surgery
  • Traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury
  • Cancer rehabilitation
  • Critical care
  • Medical/surgical rehabilitation
  • Neonatal rehabilitation
  • Orthopedic rehabilitation
  • Stroke rehabilitation
  • Trauma rehabilitation

Outpatient Rehabilitation

For those who live in the community, but are managing an injury or disability, our professionally licensed physical, occupational, and speech therapists may be able to aid your recovery.

We treat various conditions, including orthopedic and neurological disorders, with patients of all ages. Comprehensive evaluations are performed to create customized treatment plans in physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

To get started, please call (956) 632-6426. You must have an order from your physician for outpatient services before being scheduled.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapists (PTs) are movement experts who improve functional abilities and quality of life through exercise, hands-on care, and education. Services include:

  • AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill
  • Back and neck dysfunction
  • Balance and fall prevention
  • Certified Hand Therapy
  • Dry needling
  • Gait evaluation and training
  • Lymphedema therapy
  • Manual therapy
  • Post-surgical rehabilitation
  • SLVT-BIG treatment—Parkinson's specific exercise treatment program
  • Total joint replacement rehabilitation

Disorders and conditions treated:

  • Amputation
  • Cancer and lymphedema
  • Joint replacements
  • Muscular and neuromuscular conditions
  • Neurological disorders, such as stroke & Parkinson's disease
  • Orthopedic conditions
  • Sprains and strains

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists (OTs) help people through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations), emphasizing upper body, arm strength, hand strength, fine motor coordination, and cognition for self-care and household management. Services include:

  • Activities of daily living
  • Community re-entry issues
  • Energy conservation
  • Environment barriers
  • Functional strategies
  • Manual therapy
  • Neuromuscular re-education
  • Post-surgical rehabilitation
  • Upper body aerobic conditioning

Disorders and conditions treated:

  • Cancer and oncology
  • Neurological disorders
  • Stroke and traumatic brain injury

Speech Therapy

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) treat many types of communication and swallowing problems, including speech intelligibility, articulation, language skills (expressing, understanding, reading, writing), social communication, vocal quality, fluency (stuttering), cognition, and swallowing. Services include:

  • Cognitive rehabilitation
  • Evaluation of alternative augmentative communication (AAC) device
  • Modified Barium Swallow Studies (MBSS)
  • Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
  • Speech and language rehabilitation
  • Swallowing therapy
  • Voice therapy

Disorders and conditions treated:

  • Aphasia
  • Apraxia of speech
  • Dysarthria
  • Dysphagia
  • Dysphonia
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Neurological conditions

Inpatient Rehabilitation Center 

The Inpatient Rehabilitation Center at Rio Grande Regional Hospital is committed to the highest level of excellence in the care of every patient. As a hospital-based program, our rehabilitation center offers a continuum of care that meets the needs of the patient as they progress. Our Inpatient Rehabilitation Center provides a multidisciplinary approach through a dedicated and highly-experienced team of occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, nurses, social workers, and nutritionists.

A dedicated unit within an acute-care setting, the Inpatient Rehabilitation Center is equipped with every service you need on your journey to recovery, including:

  • Self-contained gym and exercise area, as well as a training kitchen and bathroom
  • 24/7 access to supplementary care, including imaging, emergency, dialysis, and pharmacy
  • Access to in-house diabetic and ostomy education services

A multidisciplinary team approach to care may include interventions to address difficulties or challenges in areas such as:

  • Mobility
  • Self-care
  • Activities of daily living
  • Independent living skills
  • Bowel and bladder management
  • Swallowing
  • Communication
  • Cognition
  • Behavior
  • Wheelchair management
  • Adjustment to disability

Our rehabilitation team is dedicated to working with you every step of your recovery and includes:

  • Board-certified doctors in neurology and internal medicine
  • Certified rehabilitation registered nurses
  • Specialists in physical therapy and rehabilitation
  • Physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language therapists
  • Licensed dieticians to maintain nutritional needs that support healing
  • Social workers to ensure a smooth transition back to the community
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation services

Patients may require inpatient rehabilitation for reasons spanning from treatment for stroke, amputation, spinal cord, hip fracture, burns, severe multiple trauma, and brain damage.

The team works together to provide services that range from conditions resulting from brain dysfunction or injury, heart conditions, cancer, lung diseases, neurological disorders, and neuromuscular diseases.

We provide patients with one-on-one service, three hours a day, five days a week, in at least two of our three modalities. Eligible patients must present the following:

  • Have a written referral from a physician
  • Require at least two disciplines of therapy (physical, occupational, and/or speech)
  • Require 24/7 nursing care
  • Be medically stable
  • Probable improvement in function and/or mobility
  • Tolerate three hours of intensive therapy each day
  • Potential for discharge into the community after rehabilitation

The rehabilitation team is available for tours from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, please call (956) 632-6360.