they knew before their injury or illness.
“Our job is to help patients re-learn
how to live,” says Geoffrey Christian,
director of regional rehabilitative
services for Baylor Scott & White
Health, Waco Region. “We need to get
them back to functioning.”
A unique national and
regional presence
Research shows that the sooner
patients begin rehabilitation after the
initial trauma or medical diagnosis,
the better their long-term results will
be. Patients admitted to an inpatient
rehabilitation facility also fare better
than those released to a skilled nursing
facility after acute care treatment. They
return home sooner, and experience
fewer hospital readmissions.
The inpatient rehabilitation facility
(IRF) at the Scott & White Center
for Rehabilitative Medicine surpasses
the national average when it comes to
expertise. In 2013, almost 500 patients
were treated, and when the IRF was
compared to more than 800 facilities
nationwide, the data revealed that
this facility cares for more complex
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THE CATALYST December 14 | sw.org
patients, who were discharged back to
their communities faster. Also, patients
were moved to the IRF from the
acute inpatient setting sooner than at
the other facilities, underscoring the
expertise within the Scott & White
Healthcare system to get patients to
the rehabilitation setting as efficiently
as possible. Another benefit to the IRF
is physician oversight, compared
to other settings that may not have
physicians checking on patients most
days of the week.
David Boman, interim entity
director of rehabilitative services at the
Scott & White Center for Rehabilitative
Medicine, says, “We’re the hope side
of the healthcare equation. We take
people with serious issues and play a
part in putting them back together,
because their illness or injury affects
many parts of their lives. We have to
tell people, ‘We’re going to help you
move,’ and then redefine who they are.
It’s an awesome privilege.”
The inpatient rehabilitation facility
is spacious, with mostly private rooms,
(and some rooms to accommodate
“Our job
is to help
patients
re-learn
how to live.”
—Geoffrey Christian