Q. Do I need occupational therapy?

Mr. McPhaden: Occupational therapy is rehabilitation that lets a patient return to daily activities after a serious injury, illness or surgery. The occupational therapist uses a variety of restorative techniques such as exercise, assistive devices and adaptive techniques to improve the patient’s ability to dress, bathe, do housework and return to work.

Q. I’ve had joint replacement. Can St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center help me?

Mr. McPhaden: An aging population, advanced surgeries (like bilateral joint replacements) and medical advancements in cardiac and cancer care all mean that more people need specialized rehabilitation services. To keep up with this growing need, we have been expanding the number of beds devoted to rehabilitation patients.

Q. Does St. Lawrence offer rehabilitation services for brain injury?

Mr. McPhaden: Our brain injury rehabilitation program is unique to the area. If it were not for this program, patients with severe brain injury from trauma or vascular disease would need to leave the community for these specialized services. The program has even more relevance to the region now that neurosurgical brain surgeries are routinely performed in Trenton. These complicated cases require a very specialized rehabilitation approach typically available only in larger metropolitan areas.

Bill McPhaden, MA, OTR /L, Director of Occupational Therapy at St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center.