Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Oct. 04, 2019

Mayo Clinic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) in Rochester, Minnesota, has opened a newly constructed facility within Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus. The custom-designed space combines many of Mayo Clinic's rehabilitation programs and the Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center into one convenient location.

Facility highlights

Designed with patient care needs prioritized, the new facility provides specialized inpatient and outpatient clinical rehabilitation services, including:

• An inpatient rehabilitation unit with 36 private rooms and facilities tailored to the needs of both pediatric and adult patients with a wide variety of conditions, including amputation, brain injury, cancer, neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury, stroke and wounds.
• Four patient care rooms equipped with eye-gaze, voice or touch-panel controls to manipulate window shades, TV, room temperature and nurse call.
• A new physical, occupational and speech therapy space outfitted with advanced equipment, including:
  • Body-weight support gait systems
  • Interactive technology for cognitive and visual training
  • Robotic exoskeletons for gait training
  • Video capacity for patient education
  • Assistive technology and "real-life" home spaces, including a kitchen, a bedroom and a bath
  • Large multipurpose rooms for patient family space and education

Why was the move and remodel initiated, and what new services will the new facility help your team deliver more effectively and efficiently?

"The expansion and PM&R practice consolidation was an institutionally directed initiative to allow for the growth in the range of acute care hospital services that Mayo Clinic now provides," says physiatrist Erica Bellamkonda, M.D., PM&R practice chair at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minn. "The move has allowed our diverse practice to come together into a single space, which has given us the opportunity to enhance multidisciplinary relationships, improve communication, and more effectively identify opportunities for collaboration and innovation."

What new thinking or new approaches to rehabilitation do the new physical structure and features reflect or support?

"The new space has an open office layout that supports team visibility, collaboration and communication," says Dr. Bellamkonda. "As our staff settles in, we are optimizing workflow efficiencies and strengthening relationships between intradepartmental practice areas.

"The new space also has our Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center located in close proximity to our patient care areas, which lends itself to improved integration of research and clinical practice. For example, patients with spinal cord injuries now have access to therapy incorporating exoskeleton technology that our Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory research team has used in clinical trials."

How does this new facility strengthen and reflect Mayo Clinic's commitment to leadership in the field of PM&R?

"By bringing our researchers and clinicians together under one roof, the new facility creates an environment that nurtures synergy and collaboration," explains physiatrist Carmen M. Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., chair of PM&R on Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, campus. "This teamwork will support our efforts to develop multiple rehabilitation research programs that, in turn, advance the scope of rehabilitation care provided at Mayo Clinic."

Are there any specific research efforts that you expect to expand?

"We continue to expand our research across three primary focus areas: assistive and restorative technology, functional outcomes of rehabilitation, and regenerative rehabilitation. The new facility also provides the space in which to expand our hospital-based procedural practice — which includes ultrasound-guided injections, regenerative medicine and wound care — and to broaden the range of outpatient rehabilitation care and wellness programs and service lines we offer," adds Dr. Terzic.

For more information

Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory. Mayo Clinic.