Human Performance and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc.

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Welcome Back Patrick!

HPRC, Inc. is having a good day.

Patrick D. Graham, PT, MBA, our President and COO, returned to work this morning after more than a year’s absence due to illness. Patrick is six months post liver transplant and is obviously doing remarkably well. His journey and story is one that miracles are made of. Needless to say, we are thrilled he has returned to us.

The past year has been challenging. Other than Patrick, HPRC lost two senior leaders and executives to retirement. Henry McRae and Joyce Duncan retired in June 2014 and February 2015, respectively, after remarkable careers and contributions to HPRC. Patrick’s return today marks a new beginning for our company, a new chapter.

As I reflect on the past year and what Patrick and the company have been through, I am reminded of several important lessons:

1) Failure is nothing to be feared. I don’t know who performed the first successful liver transplant, but I know one thing about them – they were not afraid to fail. You simply cannot achieve anything great in this life without failing first. As HPRC faces its future in the difficult landscape of healthcare, we must take strong and confident steps forward.

2) Live today. As I understand Patrick’s disease, the day he was born his liver began dying. He was destined to have a liver transplant at some point in his life. We often have our eyes focused so far in front of us that we forget to enjoy today. Our planning for tomorrow trumps the possibilities today offers. Patrick was born with a diseased liver, he was never promised a second one. He was fortunate. Enjoy the people in your life today.

3) Miracles happen. Patrick’s story is the story of a miracle. My theology is far too amateurish to explain his healing. I just know that legions of faithful people were prayerfully thinking of Patrick every day. His work is not complete.

Welcome back, Patrick Graham! Even in your absence, you taught us all.

Brian S. McCluskey, Ph.D.
Chairman/CEO
HPRC, Inc.

Student Blog

Upon entering the HPRC main office, I was bombarded with joy, excitement, and warmth, mostly my own, but I knew that I was in good hands. This is my first long-term rotation, building relationships with patients, seeing their growth, and facing their challenges. I have been nothing but thankful to my patients, my Clinical Instructor, and the organization for the experiences I’ve had thus far and those that are yet to come.

The training and education that I’ve received has proven to be valuable every day. I have been trained to view each person differently, evaluating their symptoms and impairments, and using the findings to reach their personal goals. Even after such a short period of time in clinic, I’ve grown to love this profession even more (which is reassuring after dedicating so many resources to my education).

So what makes a PT’s education and training unique? Physical therapy school is a professional program that focuses on human anatomy and ultimately how the body moves. We consider ourselves the experts in human movement, recognizing abnormalities that are either contributing to an injury or inhibiting a person’s function. This includes three years of continuous learning divided between the classroom and clinic. There, we are subjected to a combination of written and practical exams testing our knowledge and competency in skills. You grow to rely on your PT family, a group of adults gathered with the same passion of bettering people’s lives by utilizing our extensive knowledge of human anatomy, kinesiology, and proper motion.

It should also be known that all physical therapy students graduate with a DPT, or a doctorate of physical therapy degree. The emphasis on higher education has come to light by including differential diagnosis (acknowledging other causes with similar symptoms), pharmacology, among other courses. This is all in preparation of treating patients directly, without the gate of a physician. Every state has some form of direct access of offering services to patients. This assists in cost savings through the elimination of an extra co-payment.   In addition, direct access allows patients the opportunity to have an individualized exercise plan, addressing muscle imbalances, and to provide relief from injury.

While we like to think we are ready to practice right at the start of school, we need guidance and practice to develop our skills, exercise progressions, and patient handling skills. If you ever have the pleasure to work with a student, make sure to maintain open communication. If something is uncomfortable, doesn’t seem to be improving your overall function, or you have a question about your condition or therapy, express your concern. You will improve your therapy as well as future experiences for other patients who are too timid to express their concerns.

Just remember, you are helping to mold the newest member of the healthcare team. Every therapist has memories from their clinical experiences that will affect how they treat and in what specialty they will dedicate their time. Be patient and open. But, most importantly, be an advocate for yourself. This will lead to better overall care for our future patients.

 

Frozen Shoulder

I just found out that I have a frozen shoulder. My friend said that therapy for this is very painful. Is that true?

Frozen shoulder is a painful condition in which the shoulder loses the ability to move normally.  Often, patients’ shoulders can be painful at night and also hurt when reaching overhead, behind their back, or in other extremes of motion such as putting on a jacket.  Some therapists do take a “no pain, no gain approach”. However, at the St. Francis Rehabilitation Center, in helping patients with this condition, we prefer the slogan “you don’t get a sore thumb better by hitting it with a hammer”.  While you will need to do exercises that gently move the shoulder, we carefully choose exercises that are friendly to your shoulder and teach you to perform them in a very comfortable manner that is NOT painful.  This gradually improves the movement in your shoulder while decreasing pain and inflammation.  Frozen shoulder can typically get better with exercises done primarily at home – only a few visits to see a therapist are usually necessary.  This approach is supported by multiple studies published in medical journals demonstrating that home based comfortable stretching guided by skilled therapists provides superior results compared to highly painful stretching.