RUSK - Spring 2012

RUSK REHABILITATION IN CHINA

By Geoffrey Hall, MBA, MSW, LCSW, Administrator, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine

China is an ocean away and a world apart, but the connection between the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and China is closer than many people would imagine. Dr. Howard Rusk and Dr. Mathew Lee helped to establish the first rehabilitation facility in China in 1982 and laid the groundwork for Rusk’s efforts in China today.

In the spirit of developing quality rehabilitation programs around the globe, Rusk recently sent an interdisciplinary clinical team consisting of rehabilitation medicine physicians, physical therapists and rehabilitation nurses to Qingdao Municipal Hospital to begin a year-long training program in sports medicine and rehabilitation.

This team delivered more than 20 lectures to Chinese physicians, nurses and rehabilitation therapists on the concepts and practices of Western-style rehabilitation medicine and consulted on numerous patients during the 10-day visit, with some remarkable and inspiring results.

In the United States, our medical practices have long demonstrated
the need to ambulate patients soon after surgery, and we recognize
the importance of rehabilitation medicine as a means to help the
patient return to their home or community as quickly as possible. In
China, for a variety of reasons, it remains fairly common to prescribe
bed rest following surgery and patients are admitted to hospitals
for much longer inpatient stays. In this context, the healing power
of rehabilitation medicine can be awe-inspiring. Our clinical team
assisted numerous patients in leaving bed to walk or exercise for the
first time in weeks/months post-surgery. Seeing the response of the
patients, their families and our Chinese counterparts was a reminder
of why we chose healthcare as a profession.