A message from Nurses Week supporting sponsor Rehabilitation Hospital of Northern Arizona

The Rehabilitation Hospital of Northern Arizona offers a unique setting for nurses. We specialize in providing a short term, intensive rehabilitation program in order to return maximum function to patients in a relatively short amount of time. The average stay for a rehabilitation patient is about two weeks. In that two weeks, the patient receives 3 hours of intensive therapy (a combination of physical, occupational and speech) 5 days each week.

Nurses at our hospital are part of a multidisciplinary team consisting of a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, nursing sta , dietary sta and case managers. This team collaborates on a daily basis to ensure each patient’s care is tailored to their specific needs during their stay.

In addition to the collaborative nature of this setting, nurses have the opportunity to care for a wide variety of patients. Stroke, brain injury, major multiple trauma, amputations, along with various neurological disorders like Parkinson’s, MS, Guillain-Barre are some of the many diagnosis treated in this setting.

The most rewarding part of Rehabilitation Nursing is getting to take an active part in helping patients make significant gains in a short amount of time.

“The thing I like most about being a rehab nurse is seeing our patients arrive on a stretcher or in a wheelchair, put in the hard work of therapy every day and then often walk out a couple of weeks later. It brings a smile to my face every single day”, says RN Sara.

“Seeing patients get well and get back to their lives after going through rehab has always been a satisfying and rewarding feeling. You know that your e orts and experience have had a direct impact on that person’s life and their wellbeing”, says Tim, RN manager.