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5| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,F ebruary 1,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca • Free Blood Glucose Monitor & Teaching • Free Blood Pressure Check • Compounding Friendly Professional Team... where your total health is our goal! hours Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat. 9am-4pm 519-747-0320 373 Bridge St. Waterloo www.thpharmacy.com 85 BRIDGEPORT RD. E. WATERLOO (Across from the Bridgeport Rd. Plaza) SINCE 1971 519-893-8118 MON., TUES., WED. 10 AM - 6 PM THURS., FRI. 10 AM - 8 PM SATURDAY 9 AM - 5 PM SUNDAY 12 PM - 4 PM FURNITURE & MATTRESSES SINCE 1971 ONDISCONTINUED MERCHANDISE AND SELECTED DISPLAY MODELS 60%UPTOSAVE JANUARY CLEAN SWEEP EVENT MIDWINTER A new physiotherapy care centre to help patients recovering from hip or knee surger- ies get moving again has been launched in Waterloo. The partnership between the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Net- work and CarePartners is unique in the province in that it brings patients together at 490 Dutton Dr. in Waterloo in a communi- ty setting and has them go through rehab in groups over a 12 week period. The patients are all recovering from simi- lar procedures but may be at different stages of recovery, so they can ask each other if what they're going through is normal and how they are coping with things like pain. Research has shown when patients recover in a supportive model of care with other peo- ple experiencing the same trials and tribula- tions, they recover faster and the outcomes are much better. "There's a lot of benefit in getting the peer support of other people," said Cheryl Mitch- ell, manager of rehab services with Care- Partners which works closely with the LHIN to provide physiotherapy services. The centre has four stations for partici- pants in the program to regain their mobil- ity after surgery as soon as possible. They include strength training, balance training and range of motion in addition to direct physiotherapy on the recovering joint. Sta- tions feature things like a stationary bike, a balance bar and even a set of therapeutic stairs all to help restore a normal range of motion. "Any of those functional movements that people were doing prior to surgery, we're re- teaching them how to do it post-surgical," said Mitchell. "We treat them over a period of 12 weeks, and the goal is that they've re- turned to full function at home, they're pro- vided with a full home program, and it really is a teach and self-management model to continue on afterward." Mitchell said the biggest issue is pain postsurgery. After pain management, it is important to reteach the muscles and joints to remember those small movements that were second nature to the patient before sur- gery. "This gets them better able to deal with home and getting back out in the communi- ty," she said. "They have all this access to this specialized equipment that is a great benefit and not necessarily available in a home setting." Helen Janzen, operational lead for spe- cial projects with the LHIN, said they've al- ways co-ordinated care after joint surgeries but wanted to pilot a more community- based model as the population who comes for elective surgery and joint replacement continues to grow. With 30 to 40 joint re- placement surgeries a week at Grand River Hospital, there is a steady stream of people who will need those rehab services and this is a way to help speed their recovery. "We want to reintegrate people into the community sooner so they aren't isolated," said Janzen, about the program that has been open since November but celebrated its grand opening last week along with its first class of patients. "We have great out- comes and good pace of recoveries, and it gives people the flexibility to book their own appointments. "Some of these patients are still working ... so to have this option is a great service to have for the community." Linda Knight, CEO of CarePartners, said they hope this program becomes a model of care around the province. "To our knowledge this program is com- pletely unique," she said. "It doesn't exist in any other location that we know of. "This is an innovative model of care deliv- ery ... and there are a lot of eyes across the province watching this and excited about how we do, and the feedback from the pa- tients so far has been really, really positive." HEALTH CARE Newly launched physiotherapy centre is helping joint surgery patients get back on their feet BOB VRBANAC bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca