Director
Hitomi Akiyama

Outline of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic

We are an acute-stage rehabilitation unit, supporting patients who have suffered limitations to their daily lifestyle due to sickness or injury. We also assist patients before and after surgery, in an effort to help them maintain their previous level of daily functioning. The department’s main aim is to support the development and the return to independence for those patients who have restricted lifestyles.

In order to fulfill our role in supporting patients, this department is staffed with specialist physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and nurses. With co-operation with staff throughout Okayama prefecture, we are working to build upon the response to rehabilitative treatment needs in the region, including utilizing the approaches below:

1. Our physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists are assigned in teams to internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurology (including the stroke unit) and the pediatrics department.
2. Clinical pathways have been introduced for all conditions in rehabilitation, with treatment plans being devised individually to provide the most appropriate treatment for patients.
3. Prescriptions for rehabilitation are managed through consultation with the attending physician of the patient from each relevant department, providing a specialized and real-time response to patient needs.
4. Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists work as a member of teams within the hospital (deglutition/nutrition service team/bedsore prevention/palliative care) to improve and contribute to treatment outcomes.
5. Forming links with institutions that have recovery-stage rehabilitation facilities, with regular conferences being held in order to foster staff development and form a close-knit regional network.

Outside of this, we provide rehabilitation from an appropriate early-stage to maximize patient outcomes in the intensive care unit.

To maintain a high-quality standard in the providing of rehabilitation treatment, functional quality assessments are performed by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care, with accreditation obtained from this organization. Furthermore, as an accredited training facility for The Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, we can contribute to the training of junior physiotherapists; occupational therapists; and speech and language therapists on their path to becoming accredited clinical physicians and specialist physicians.

This department has quite a wide scope of patients, as anyone with impairment on their usual lifestyle is suitable for treatment. Basically, any patient who is hospitalised at Kurashiki Central Hospital is a possible candidate for treatment with us. The main conditions that receive treatment with us are:

• Cerebrovascular and other cerebral conditions (e.g. head trauma, brain inflammation)
• Spinal injuries and conditions (myelitis)
• Cerebral palsy and other pediatric conditions (asthma)
• Neurological and muscular conditions (MS, Parkinson’s disease, spinocerebellar ataxia)
• Motor disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, bone fractures, amputation, osteoarthritis, following orthopedic surgery)
• Respiratory conditions (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction)
• Metabolic disorders (Diabetes)
• Post-operation (thoracotomy, laparotomy)
• Mid-treatment of malignant tumors, post-operation
• Burn injuries
• Prolonged disuse syndrome