Orange Regional Medical Center Enhances Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation Program With New Body-weight Support System

Only hospital in Orange County to offer this new technology

Orange Regional Medical Center is pleased to announce a new body- weight and balance support system that advances and accelerates positive inpatient physical rehabilitation outcomes and protects patients from falls by helping to compensate for weakness and decreased balance.

The recently-installed system offers fall protection and dynamic body-weight support, allowing patients to practice functional activities such as walking, sit-to-stand, getting up from the floor and climbing stairs.

“I’m thankful to Orange Regional Medical Center for having such advanced technology,” said inpatient physical rehabilitation patient, Yrma Paredes-Flores, who was among the first to use the new system. “It restored my confidence and allowed me to heal faster so I could get home to my family sooner.”

Orange Regional Medical Center is the first hospital in Orange County to offer this technology.

The system is used for inpatient physical rehabilitation sessions by therapists within the Hospital’s 24-bed acute rehabilitation unit.

The new technology was funded by the Orange Regional Medical Center Foundation and assists with treatment of stroke; neurological disorders; orthopedic and trauma injuries; post-surgical; limb loss; head injury; spinal cord injury and medical decondition.

“We’re proud to offer state-of-the-art equipment to our patients,” said Orange Regional Medical Center Foundation President William Dauster, CFRE. “We believe this technology is going to help accelerate therapy and maximize outcomes.”

How Does it Work?

Therapists assist patients to comfortably harness them into the body-weight and balance support system. During a rehabilitation session, the harness moves along a ceiling-mounted track to provide fall protection and dynamic body-weight support, all while monitoring the patient’s movements. Dynamic body-weight support can be set to offload the person’s weight by up to 200 pounds, making them feel lighter in a “reduced gravity” environment. This allows them to practice therapy at higher intensity levels soon after an injury. As patients progress, the amount of dynamic support can be decreased, demanding more of the patient under their own capabilities. Because the system protects patients from falls, they are encouraged to push their limits without fear and have the confidence to push further than they would without the assistive technology.

In addition, the system has a built-in feature that delivers controlled balance disruption of varying strengths to patients during ambulation or stationary activities. This is a critical feature designed to safely train patients to develop compensatory stepping responses, which may improve their stability and reduce the risk of falls. As part of its monitoring capacity, the system records data from each patient’s training sessions so that therapists can assess functional progress and continually tailor plans to appropriately facilitate ongoing rehabilitation.

To learn more about the body-weight support system, visit www.ormc.org/inpatientrehab.