Teamwork at Rehabilitation Services

Helping patients back to active lives

Are you recovering from a sports injury or accident or coping with a chronic condi­tion? Your road to recovery may hinge on the therapy team at JMHS Rehabilitation Services.

The department, headed up by Bonnie Will, PT, DPT, ATC (physical therapist), is rich with talent, including Rachel Hakan­son, PT, DPT, OCS, (physical therapist); Justine Swenson, OTR/L (occupational therapist); Gretchen Reeves, MA, CCC-SLP (speech-language pathologist); Jill Matthies, PTA (physical therapy assistant), and Nathan Carter, MT (massage therapist).

Starting at birth, the JMHS therapy team can handle anything. The JMHS therapy team works with clients of all ages from infants to geriatrics. Physical therapy can help your baby meet motor milestones like rolling, crawling and walk­ing if there are developmental delays. Occupational thera­py can help with fine motor skills that are necessary for grasping, feeding and writing, as well as assessing and treat­ing for sensory concerns.

As children become more ac­tive, the team can assist with strains, sprains, injury preven­tion and return to sport. “The goal of athletes is to return to sport as quickly as possible, we can help them do that safely, to minimize additional risk of injury. Whether it’s an ankle sprain, to an ACL recovery or rehabilitation for a softball pitcher, we are here to help,” says Will a 25-year veteran at JMHS. Concussion training is also crucial. “it’s working on eye exercises, balance, activi­ty progression, and returning to normal activity. For ath­letes, that’s a big deal,” says Will. “It means getting them back into their sport safely. “

“The majority of care is de­livered to adults,” says Will. “We deal with a wide variety of musculoskeletal issues like repetitive overuse injuries and injuries related to falls as well as neurological conditions like Parkinson’s or strokes.” There’s also help for the mom from a physical therapist to restore the pelvic floor and to address incontinence during pregnancy and throughout the life span.

Some conditions are unique to our agricultural com­munity, such as the farmer finding it more difficult to climb onto a tractor due to knee, hip, or back pain.

Will says that she feels lucky to practice at JMHS. “Our prac­titioners are very approachable. And they want what’s best for their patients,” says Will. “We as a team collaborate with peo­ple, educate, rehabilitate, and help motivate. It’s very excit­ing when somebody can meet their goals.” Even if you have surgery or see a specialist out of town, you can still do your therapy here,” says Will. Being part of the rural community here in Dawson, it is important to us that you meet your goals.

 WHAT TO EXPECT

Care in Rehabilitation Services begins with an evaluation to create an individualized treatment plan and estab­lish goals. Treatments may be scheduled over a couple days for a minor injury to a longer time period for those recovering from a major sur­gery or chronic condition.”

Will encourages patients to ask their primary care providers for a referral, or contact the rehabilitation services by calling 320-312-2128.