Photo from: @iStock.com/VBaleha
Perspective from
Physical Therapy
The facility in which I work has a ratio of
about three long-term care (LTC) patients
to one short-term rehab (STR) patient. STR
is covered under Medicare Part A and has
a limit of 100 days. It normally is utilized
when a patient is released from an acute
care hospital and requires therapy for postsurgical rehab or assistance in Activities of
Daily Living (ADL). In the therapy world,
the general rule of thumb is that anything
above the waist is the realm of the OT
and anything below the waist is Physical
Therapy. This is true of LTC/SNFs, but
not a well-accepted generalization in other
venues. In outpatient, I treated as many
shoulders, elbow problems, neck problems,
and carpal tunnel, as I did knees. In many
instances, three therapists work with a
patient with the inclusion of a speech
By James Davis, LPTA
Current Pedorthics January/February 2016
33