Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute Established at Boca Raton Regional Hospital

Construction is progressing on one of the finest rehabilitation facilities in the southeastern United States. Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s new Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute will showcase state-of-the-art technology, advanced therapies, innovative research, and clinical trials.

The Institute was established with a lead gift from Elaine J. Wold in honor and memory of her good friend Gloria Drummond, the founder and First Lady of Boca Regional. This gift will provide excellent rehabilitative care into the future and will greatly expand the Hospital’s Davis Therapy Centers, with specialized treatment programs aimed at helping individuals preserve their health and independence. The 40,000-square-foot facility is being built on Boca Regional’s Sandler Medical Plaza on Glades Road opposite the entrance to FAU.

A Growing Demand for Rehabilitation and Therapy Services

Physical therapy is typically used as treatment after a serious accident, injury, or condition such as a stroke, but is also used to treat everything from ankle sprains to chronic and debilitating diseases and complex neurological conditions. It is imperative for improving strength, balance, mobility, and overall fitness.

In South Florida, as well as the nation, the population age 65 and older is expected to double in the next 25 years due to increased life expectancy and the aging of the baby boomers.

The number of individuals suffering from chronic diseases is staggering:

• More than 50 million adults (22 percent) have doctor-diagnosed arthritis, and 21 million (9 percent) have arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitation.
• In 2010, there were 258,000 hospital admissions for hip fractures among people age 65 and older. By 2030, the number of hip fractures is projected to reach 289,000.
• Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke—a leading cause of serious, long-term disability.
• In the United States, chronic wounds affect approximately 6.5 million patients.
• More than 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3 percent of the population—have diabetes.
• According to the Institute of Medicine, 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain conditions.

Chronic diseases can be reduced and the health of the aging population can be preserved by promoting healthy lifestyles and broadening the use of clinical rehabilitative services. At the Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute, patients with all types of conditions will benefit from individualized treatment by highly skilled clinicians utilizing state-of-the-art equipment in a comfortable, inviting environment that promotes well-being and vitality. The Institute will offer a comprehensive array of services and programs, including:

• Davis Therapy Centers, Boca Regional’s outpatient rehabilitation program, provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy, working to return the patient to the highest level of independent function as possible.
  • The Howard & Barbara Farkas Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center specializes in comprehensive musculoskeletal care, with a full range of services in the prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation of skeletal, joint, and muscular injury and disease. The Center administers the Sports Medicine Student Athlete Programs in partnership with FAU and Lynn University.
  • The Dodson Family Foundation Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center is a customized program of exercise and education often recommended by physicians following a heart attack, angioplasty, bypass, or other procedure.
• The Center for Wound Care’s comprehensive outpatient wound management program employs state-of-the-art healing technologies. The Center’s multi-disciplinary team collaborates to heal chronic, non-healing wounds such as diabetic, venous stasis, pressure, trauma, and ischemic wounds.
• The Diabetes Education and Nutrition Department provides an extensive ADA accredited program covering physiology, home glucose monitoring and management, exercise, medications, insulin therapy, insulin pump instruction, and diet.
• In collaboration with the Marcus Neuroscience Institute, outpatient Neurorehabilitation Services will be available. They are an integral part of the treatment process, helping patients with complex neurological conditions regain function and achieve independence.
• The Aquatic Therapy Center will allow patients in initial stages of rehab the ability to begin therapy sooner due to the buoyancy of water. Utilizing the multi-depth capabilities of an aquatic therapy pool, therapists can transition the patient from nonweight-bearing activities through various levels of partial weight-bearing exercises and later extend into a full range of training and conditioning.