Restore
February 22, 2017

The Johns Hopkins Rehabilitation Network is expanding services to help patients in the outpatient, in-hospital and the post-acute care settings. “Delivering rehabilitation care across the continuum is our goal,” says Pablo Celnik, the director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Started in 2016, the network encompasses rehab services across the Johns Hopkins Health System. One example of the program’s efforts: Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center now has 28 inpatient rehabilitation beds to accommodate complex patients who benefit from inpatient rehabilitation after their medical or surgical treatment.

Those who are taking advantage of this care include patients recovering from stroke, brain dysfunction, neurologic conditions, spinal cord injuries and more. In fact, 30 percent are post-stroke, and 20 percent are recuperating from other neurological issues, such as brain tumors.

The greatest advantage that patients have when they choose one of the inpatient rehabilitation facilities within the Johns Hopkins Rehabilitation Network is the on-site availability of world-renowned medical and surgical specialist expertise.

“For example, if someone has a change in neurological status, we can almost immediately get a CT scan, have a neurosurgeon review the images and give a treatment recommendation while the patient is in rehabilitation,” says physiatrist Krishnaj Gourab. “If the patient was sent to a rehabilitation facility outside the hospital, it is almost impossible to get this level of care expeditiously.”

By 2018, the goal is to deliver seamless, value-based rehabilitation care across the continuum from acute care hospital to inpatient rehab, subacute rehab, home care and outpatient. “We want to expand care,” says Gourab, “so patients can benefit from Johns Hopkins expertise at every point in their recovery.”