St. Bernards Total Joint Advantage Jonesboro, Arkansas

WHAT IS TOTAL JOINT ADVANTAGE?

Total Joint Advantage is a comprehensive education and rehabilitation program for patients undergoing total joint replacement surgery at St. Bernards. Participating can both ease the anxiety one may experience prior to surgery and accelerate the rehabilitation process, enabling a timely return to an active lifestyle.

This unique program incorporates a team approach to treatment following a patient from the time he or she elects to undergo surgery all the way through rehabilitation. The patient's surgeon, primary doctor, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, joint coordinator plus the patient's own "coach" are all involved in his or her preparation and progress. This support system is further strengthened by coordinating the education and rehabilitation of a number of patients simultaneously undergoing joint replacement.

THE HOSPITAL STAY

Following surgery, you will be encouraged to get up and walk the very next day. As a participant in Total Joint Advantage, you will have the opportunity to wear your own clothes rather than a hospital gown and will attend daily group therapy sessions while in the hospital. Sharing the rehabilitation process with others in similar situations is motivating and has been shown to aid in healing.

POST-SURGERY

You should expect to be discharged approximately four days after surgery. Your joint coordinator and physician will help you decide whether to go home or to a rehabilitation facility. You and your coach will receive complete instructions on medications, follow-up care and your exercise/therapy program. Your joint coordinator will be in contact to monitor your progress.

THE OUTCOME

For patients suffering from severe arthritis, joint replacement surgery can be life-changing. Participating in the St. Bernards Total Joint Advantage can make the entire surgical experience less frightening and facilitate a faster recuperation, restoring you to a more active level of activity.

GETTING STARTED

Before your surgery, the joint coordinator--the nurse responsible for organizing your care--will contact you to schedule your Total Joint Education Class. You'll receive information on the surgery itself, what you can expect during your hospital stay, and have the opportunity to view equipment, discuss treatments and therapies, and meet representatives from nursing services, physical and occupational therapy. Any necessary lab work*, x-rays or pre-admission testing will be scheduled at this time.

* If your doctor sends you to a different lab for additional testing, please bring your lab reports with you to the education class. This will help speed up the admission process.

YOUR COACH

You'll be asked to bring along a family member or friend who will assume the role of "coach" through your preparation and rehabilitation. Your coach should be available to accompany you to the Total Joint Education Class and post-operative therapy sessions, as well as assist you at home throughout your recovery. Your coach will serve as your primary support encouraging you, monitoring your progress and helping you resume normal activity.

YOUR JOINT COORDINATOR

Your joint coordinator is a nurse who will help organize and schedule your care. Your coordinator will schedule your education class and organize your care in hospital. You may contact your joint coordinator at 870-897-6817.