Day Rehabilitation Team
We provide a number of day rehabilitation programs designed to assist you in optimising your functional recovery and independence. Our mission is to provide an expert multidisciplinary team environment where you can achieve your rehabilitation goals. We use the latest evidence based practice and quality care, to achieve the optimal outcomes for our program participants in a friendly, supportive environment.
The Day Rehabilitation team work Monday to Friday. Your Rehabilitation Physician, along with the team, will discuss with you the structure of your individualised program. For details on the programs we offer, please look under “Our Services”.
Depending on your goals and needs, you may work with team members from the following areas who work in the Day Rehabilitation team.
- A physician will oversee your rehabilitation program and monitor your progress in conjunction with other team members. Our Rehabilitation Physicians have a breadth and depth of medical expertise including general rehabilitation, orthopaedics, neurology, reconditioning, geriatrics, pain management, dementia, falls management and spasticity management.
- After receiving a copy of your referral to Donvale, the team at reception will book your initial appointment with a Rehabilitation Physician. They will ask you to sign in each time you attend your day rehabilitation appointments. Please contact them if you need to cancel or change any of your appointments.
- The physiotherapists will assist you in improving your balance, strength, movement, flexibility, endurance, mobility and reviewing any mobility equipment if required. The physiotherapists will design a home exercise program for you to continue with when you are at home.
- Physiotherapists use many techniques including exercise prescription to maximise your potential and aim to return you to functioning at as close to your pre-existing physical level as possible.
- The Allied Health Assistants (AHAs) work closely with the physiotherapists and supervise and assist with individual and group therapy sessions, including in the hydrotherapy pool.
- The primary focus of our exercise physiologists is to prescribe exercise to prevent, manage and treat medical conditions. The aim is to assist you to manage your health independently through the utilisation of exercise prescription and education on lifestyle and behaviour change.
- Our occupational therapists support you to participate in everyday activities and create an individual program to enable you to safely return to your previous lifestyle. Everyday activities, or “occupations”, can include things such as taking care of yourself or others, domestic tasks, community activities, working, driving, and participating in hobbies or social events.
- Our occupational therapists focus on what occupations are important to you, any current issues you may have in doing them, and then work with you to ensure you can participate in these.
- Your program may consist of individual or group sessions and could include education or practical skills.
- Our speech pathologists assess, diagnose and treat disorders of swallowing and communication. This includes speech, language, reading, writing, fluency, voice and changes to thinking and memory – all of which affect communication.
- They will work closely with you and your family to set goals that match your needs.
- Treatment may include education, strategies and exercises to help manage any identified difficulties you may have.
- Our dietitian can help you to understand the relationship between food and health by assessing your nutrition needs and providing individualised nutrition advice, taking into consideration medical conditions and personal circumstances.
- Our dietitian can help treat a wide range of conditions including malnutrition/deconditioning, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other neurological conditions, cancers, gastrointestinal diseases, wound management, food allergies/intolerances, kidney disease, and weight management.
- Psychologists working in a health setting specialise in helping you to understand the interaction between physical, psychological and behavioural factors which can impact on your health, illness and recovery.
- Psychologists teach skills and strategies to aid in mood management. They can also assist with pain management. This includes goal-setting, building self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as helping you to learn effective stress management techniques to promote well-being.
- Through supportive counselling and empathic reflection, psychologists are often able to assist in dealing with grief and loss issues that can arise following illness or injury.
- We have highly skilled post graduate qualified cardiac and pulmonary nurses who co-ordinate our Cardiac and Pulmonary Day Rehabilitation Programs.