A Bright Future for Rehabilitation

When Doug Mataronas was 21-years-old, he suffered horrific injuries in a truck crash, including a broken neck.  Doug arrived at Newport Hospital’s Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center with splints on his hands, dressings below each knee where his legs had been amputated, and severe burns.  Doug’s mother, Margaret Mataronas, credits the whole team at Vanderbilt for helping her son come back from the accident. “They are just top of the line. I can’t say enough about how much they meant to our family and to the community.”

The center’s therapists and nurses worked together seamlessly to ensure Doug’s recovery Day by day he made progress. “They did so many things to help him along,” Margaret says. The Vanderbilt rehab staff worked hard to ensure his physical recovery—and to help his emotional recovery, they made sure he was able to participate in the pet therapy program. The staff even fought for an extended stay, which Margaret says “made all the difference in the world.”

Nearly two years later, Doug is mobile, comfortable and even driving. 

Located on the sixth floor of Newport Hospital, Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center is a compact unit. New patients are welcomed by the center’s caring staff and the rehabilitation team makes sure patients are comfortable and feel right at home. The rooms are private and families are encouraged to participate in the rehabilitation of the patient.

The three most frequent reasons patients come to Vanderbilt are stroke (55 percent), orthopedic problems (18 percent) and brain injury (14 percent). They also care for patients with diagnoses of neurological problems, spinal cord injury, amputation, brain injury, medically complex conditions, multiple trauma, and debility.

The rehabilitation team meets weekly to review and plan each patient's treatment, led by the physiatrist (a doctor specializing in rehabilitation medicine). Estimated discharge dates and discharge needs for services and equipment are also discussed. The case manager communicates the results of this meeting to patients and caregivers. In addition to the case manager, the team consists of a rehabilitation nursing, physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, a speech language pathologist, a therapeutic recreation specialist and a neuropsychologist. Each discipline involved in a patient's care spends individual time nurturing the recovery of the patient and their loved ones.

Missy Fournier, director of rehabilitation inpatient services for Newport Hospital says that former patients often come back to visit the center to update everyone on their lives, and also send letters, notes and pictures.

Margaret Mataronas says simply, “I don’t know where we’d be without them.”

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