On November 3rd and 4th, in Dnipro, a two-day workshop “Development Strategy of the Rehabilitation Department as a Part of the Hospital” took place at the city hospital for the management teams of multiprofile hospitals with rehabilitation departments.
Ten medical teams from various regions, including Zhytomyr region, Kyiv region, Ternopil region, Cherkasy region, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Odessa region, and others regions, gathered to develop plans for the development of rehabilitation departments based on international standards and evidence-based rehabilitation principles in the medium-term perspective.
The event was ceremoniously opened by Tetyana Lomakina, the Presidential Commissioner for Accessibility, Boris Filatov, the Mayor of Dnipro, Natalia But, the General Director of the Dnipro City Hospital, Alla Pivnik, the Head of the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at the Dnipro Rehabilitation Center, and Maria Gryshina, the Operations Director of the charitable organization “Charitable Foundation “Patients of Ukraine.”
“The evidence-based rehabilitation system is not yet fully operational; it is still in the process of formation and development. However, it is important to note that positive changes have already begun. Today’s workshop, as part of the “War Trauma Rehabilitation in Ukraine” project, is one of the elements that helps develop this system,” noted Tetyana Lomakina.
During the workshop, participants were given a tour of the rehabilitation department, where they had the opportunity to interact with patients and rehabilitation experts. Hospital staff demonstrated the use of equipment for active evidence-based rehabilitation.
Throughout the workshop, participants, along with speakers, discussed the following topics:
- The roles of physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team.
- Factors determining the effectiveness of a hospital’s rehabilitation department.
- Assessment of the hospital’s capacity to open a rehabilitation department.
- Identifying common problems faced by hospitals when opening a rehabilitation department.
Medical team participants began developing their own action plans for opening rehabilitation departments. Using the example of the Dnipro hospital, they observed the success of evidence-based rehabilitation and learned about the organization and operation of a modern rehabilitation department.
The Dnipro Rehabilitation Center was established in 2020 to provide specialized rehabilitation services in acute, post-acute, and long-term rehabilitation periods and meets the requirements for a post-acute and long-term rehabilitation ward.
The department operates with a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team composed of physical and rehabilitation medicine doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, physical and occupational therapist assistants, speech and language therapists, psychologists, medical rehabilitation nurses, social workers, and prosthetists-orthotists under a cooperation agreement.
The “War Trauma Rehabilitation in Ukraine” project is implemented with the support of Switzerland, the European Union, and Nova Ukraine. The project’s goal is to build a modern evidence-based rehabilitation system, which is crucial for the effective recovery of Ukrainian military and civilians after injuries and traumas.
