Outpatient Rehabilitation

Our individualized physical therapy treatment services help optimize muscle control, balance, flexibility and mobility; they also build strength and endurance.

Our highly-trained physical therapists evaluate and treat the complex physical and functional challenges that result from spinal cord, orthopedic or brain injury, stroke, amputation, a musculoskeletal condition or neurologic disorder.

In addition, physical therapy is effective in treating a wide range of conditions that result from sports- or work-related injuries and common medical conditions including strains and sprains; muscle, tendon and ligament tears; arthritis; bursitis; tendonitis; joint inflammation; fractures and breaks.

In occupational therapy, we help you develop the skills required for basic everyday life and ultimately, work. Our occupational therapists use a patient-centered approach to address functional, cognitive and visual weaknesses. We employ evidence-based techniques and advanced technologies — functional electrical stimulation and virtual reality — to help you achieve as much independence as possible.

Our therapists develop custom treatment plans that meet your individual needs following neurologic injuries such as stroke or traumatic brain injury as well as limb loss, orthopedic and medically complex conditions.

If you are experiencing problems with communication, language, cognition and swallowing, you may benefit from the speech therapy services and specialized attention offered at Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital. Our certified speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat a wide variety of disorders resulting from stroke, brain injury, cancer or neurological conditions, including Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Speech therapy usually involves individual or group training and education to help you overcome or compensate for any difficulties. Our speech professionals have experience in treating a wide spectrum of disorders, including:

• Aphasia – Impaired or absent comprehension and/or communication skills that result from an injury to the brain's language center. Aphasia can apply to spoken or written words and numbers and is most commonly associated with stroke and brain injury.
• Apraxia - An inability to execute purposeful, coordinated body movements even though muscular strength and mental capacity remain intact.
• Dysarthria - Difficulty in articulating words due to a disturbance in the central nervous system. Speech is characteristically slow and slurred. It is commonly associated with stroke and traumatic brain injury. Treatment involves intensive speech therapy focusing on oral-motor skill development.
• Dysphagia - Limited ability to swallow food, liquids and even saliva due to muscle weakness or paralysis. Dysphagia is most commonly associated with stroke, traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury. While eating or drinking, individuals may experience mild to severe difficulties such as coughing, choking or throat-clearing.
• Cognitive impairment - Usually results from brain injury or a stroke and typically causes difficulty with attention to tasks, memory, reasoning, problem solving and executive functioning, such as goal setting, planning, initiating, self-awareness, self-monitoring and evaluation.
• Voice disorders - Disorders characterized by the abnormal production and/or absence of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance and/or duration, which is inappropriate for an individual’s age and/or gender.

We also offer Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD®). A program used to treat soft, monotone, hoarse voice quality and imprecise articulation, together with lessened facial expression that is seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease. LSVT LOUD® is a treatment program proven to be effective in restoring oral communication in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions beyond what current pharmacological and surgical interventions can offer.

The LSVT LOUD® approach centers on a specific therapeutic target: increased vocal loudness. This key target acts as a trigger to increase effort and coordination across the speech production system.

Lymphedema is a chronic lymphatic disease that occurs when any part of the lymphatic system is damaged, causing swelling in another part of the body. There are several causes of lymphedema:

• Surgery used to treat cancer such as a mastectomy or lymph node removal
• Radiation therapy
• Other disease processes such as peripheral vascular disease

Symptoms of lymphedema can include feelings of fullness, heaviness, aches or discomfort, obvious swelling in a part of the body, skin changes or tightness with swelling. People usually notice this when clothing or jewelry doesn’t seem to fit the same or is too tight over a particular area. These symptoms may affect mobility or the ability to perform activities of daily living or work responsibilities.

Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital delivers high level care in managing lymphedema. Our therapists have received specialized training and are skilled in decongestive therapy, the therapy program utilized by our team to manage all stages of lymphedema in any part of the body.

Decongestive therapy includes:

• Manual lymph drainage — a highly specialized technique to redirect the flow of the lymph (fluid) to unaffected areas of the lymphatic system
• Decongestive exercises
• Skin care for the affected area(s)
• Multi-layer compression bandaging — use of short stretch bandages to effectively manage later stage lymphedema
• Compression garment fitting and selection
• Education on lymphedema prevention and risk reduction

The comprehensive Neuro Day Program at Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital’s outpatient center offers the advantages of living at home while receiving the benefits of a full-day rehabilitation program with a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to recovery.

The goal of the Neuro Day Program is to maximize personal and functional independence in order to re-establish a daily routine and ultimately, allow you to actively participate in community and life roles. The program is geared to patients who will benefit from high-intensity rehabilitation services, but do not require 24-hour nursing care in a hospital setting.

Admission criteria:

The following guidelines are used by the clinical team to help determine an individual’s appropriateness for admission into the program:

• Referral for at least two disciplines of therapy (any combination of physical, occupational or speech therapies)
• Goals to achieve independent functioning in the community
• Ability to tolerate six hours of activity per day
• Ability to attend the program Monday through Thursday

Program components:

In addition to physical, occupational and speech therapy, our program includes recreational therapy, group treatment, community outings and independent work time.

During recreational therapy, your therapists will work with you on meeting your goals on community reintegration and participation in leisure and recreational activities.

Group treatment includes working with other patients on functional tasks or projects, based on each participant’s goals. Groups can be cognitive-based and/or physical-based and include:

• Meal planning
• Cooking
• Community outing planning
• Problem solving activities/games

Community outings allow you to practice skills and strategies that are learned in physical, occupational, speech and/or recreational therapy while participating in activities  such as:

• Grocery shopping
• Visiting a local park or community center
• Playing miniature golf/bowling
• Going to a local museum
• Working out at a local fitness center

Independent work time includes activities to help you establish independence based on your personal needs and goals, such as:

• Use of exercise equipment
• Functional electrical stimulation (FES) bike/Bioness®
• Self-stretching or strengthening exercises
• Speech therapy homework or worksheets
• Therapeutic rest time

The Neuro Day Program may be the first step in your rehabilitation or it may be the next step in your continuum of care, as you transition from hospital to home. Either way, we’re here to help. 

Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital’s outpatient center offers specialized services through the ReVital™ Cancer Rehabilitation program. ReVital™ is a cancer rehabilitation program developed by Select Medical. It offers physical, occupational, speech and cognitive therapies with a goal of making cancer rehabilitation the standard of care for cancer patients.

We work closely with your physician and cancer team to provide high-quality rehabilitation services from diagnosis through survivorship or palliative care.

To find out more about our ReVital™ Cancer Rehabilitation program, or to make a referral, please call 717-833-5300 or visit the ReVital website.

Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many individuals are also compromised by a variety of acute and chronic conditions, such as emphysema, after effects of the flu and cardiovascular disease.

Recovering from COVID-19, or other debilitating illnesses and conditions, may leave you with varying levels of deconditioning and weakness making it difficult to resume your activities and routine. We understand this is a scary and challenging time. Our compassionate team of clinical experts can help you continue to heal through our Recovery and Reconditioning Program.

Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital’s comprehensive program will help you with:

• Balance and stability
• Cardiac issues
• Consequences of clotting disorders, including stroke and amputation
• Cognitive or memory impairments
• Decreased endurance and limited breathing capability
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Functional mobility and activities of daily living issues
• General fatigue
• Musculoskeletal pain and soreness
• Range of motion limitations
• Weakness

Why is therapy important?

Our Recovery and Reconditioning Program was developed in partnership with leading physicians, including physiatrists, infectious disease specialists and physical and occupational therapists. It focuses on identifying key areas of physical weakness in patients recovering from COVID-19 as well as other illnesses and conditions. Our licensed physical, occupational and speech-language therapists will develop a plan of care tailored to your specific needs and goals.

Throughout care, we will monitor your vital signs and symptoms to ensure your safety. Working together, we will increase your tolerance based on activities so you can start to get back to the things that you enjoy.

Depending on your condition, physical ability and comfort level, we are able to treat you in our centers, or virtually via telerehab. In-person appointments will follow CDC, state as well as our own clinical guidelines to ensure safety while progressing toward your goals.

We also follow CDC, state and local guidelines specific to hand hygiene, disinfecting and wearing masks. Telerehab sessions are delivered one-on-one in real-time and are HIPAA compliant. 
Our goal is to help you feel better physically while making sure you’re comfortable and an active partner throughout your treatment.