ABSTRACT
ABOUT HOSPITAL REHABILITATION Patients who have been treated for a given medical condition and need additional rehabilitation before they can be transferred home or to a long-term care facility utilize the rehabilitation unit in a hospital. The goal of a rehabilitation unit is to restore patients to their former capacity of functioning. Patients placed on the unit may have a variety of illnesses, but the three main types are stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury. A brief overview of these three illnesses and the psychosocial impact on both patient and family follow. Although these are three distinct disabling illnesses, a good deal of overlap exists among the conditions and the impact of the medical conditions on the patient and family.
