The Bone and Joint Center
The Bone and Joint Center at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center provides an environment that emphasizes wellness and maximizes patient recovery efforts through education, a culture of early mobility, family involvement and group interaction.
We believe that patients undergoing joint replacement surgery recover faster if they see themselves as healthy individuals who are coming to the hospital not because they are sick, but because they want to live a better quality of life. Patients who have their joint replacement surgery at hospitals that partner with their physicians to develop structured programs around this fundamental concept of wellness have better outcomes, quicker recovery and a quicker return to home.
The Bone and Joint Center features include:
- Dedicated Unit (with private rooms): All activities - physical therapy, group lunches and nursing care - take place on a unit dedicated exclusively to hip and knee replacement patients. Large, motivational posters are located throughout the halls of the center.
- Dedicated Staff: All staff on The Bone and Joint Center has been chosen specifically because of their positive, upbeat nature and high motivational skills.
- Care Coordinator: A dedicated care coordinator oversees the patient's entire stay and is their resource before, during and after discharge.
- Street Clothes: Patients do not wear hospital gowns. They are expected to bring comfortable clothes - sweats, shorts, etc. - to wear during the day, further encouraging our program's fundamental concept of wellness.
- Aggressive Schedule: Patients are up and dressed by 7 a.m., starting the day after surgery. Two group therapy sessions are held daily - one in the morning and a second in the afternoon, along with individual in-room sessions and education.
- Daily Newsletters: Each morning patients receive a daily newsletter with their breakfast, letting them know what is on the agenda for the day along with tips for caring for their new joints.
- Ambulation Board: Patients compete with other patients on distance walked each day. All progress is tracked on a large board posted on the wall. This board provides visual reinforcement of goals met each day.
- Guidebook: Education begins in the physician's office where patients are given a guidebook, explaining their upcoming surgery and providing a list of activities, including pre-operative strengthening exercises that they need to begin six weeks prior to surgery. This guidebook also serves as a clinical diary that patients bring to pre-operative class, all appointments and to the hospital.
- Pre-operative Class: All patients and their family members are required to attend a preoperative class two weeks prior to surgery where they meet their team, learn in detail about the procedure, what to expect in the hospital and how to care for oneself after discharge.
- Coach: Each person chooses a coach - usually a family member or friend - who is an active participant in their loved one's care before, during and after discharge from the hospital. Coaches learn the program right along with their loved one, and provide encouragement and support.
- Group Lunches: Group lunches are held in the center's group room for patients, coaches and staff, which encourages camaraderie and shared experiences.
- Support Program: Graduates receive calls from The Bone and Joint Center at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center staff within 72 hours of discharge. Reunions for graduates and their coaches are held quarterly with surgeons and their entire team.
- Advanced Analgesic and Rapid-Recovery Surgical Techniques: Surgeons are trained in analgesic and minimally invasive surgical techniques that often result in less pain and a quicker recovery for patients.
- Measured Outcomes: We evaluate each patient on multiple clinical, functional and patient satisfaction criteria. These outcomes are analyzed during monthly performance improvement team meetings and enable us to become masters of teamwork.
To contact the bone and joint care coordinator, please call (573) 776-9346.