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St. Louis Rehab Hospital Patient Information

Rehab Hospital Admissions

Choosing the right inpatient rehabilitation facility can be a stressful task. The staff at Mercy's Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Louis are here to help by making your transition into our facility seamless.

The admissions process requires a referral and begins with a phone call to our admissions coordinator. A referral can be made from the following sources:

  • Acute-care hospitals
  • Long-term acute-care hospitals
  • Skilled nursing facilities
  • Assisted living facilities
  • Home health agencies
  • Emergency rooms
  • Family or friends

Once you’ve been referred to our facility a clinical liaison will be sent to complete a free clinical evaluation to determine your medical stability and suitability for admission. Our admissions department will then work with your referral source, insurance company, physician, and the discharge planner to coordinate your transfer to our facility.

Upon your arrival, you will be greeted by a nurse and introduced into your new surroundings. Various staff members will stop by and introduce themselves to you and your family within the first 24 hours of your arrival. Our therapy staff will begin their evaluations to complete your plan of care, specifically designed to meet your personal rehabilitation goals. Also, our dietitian will meet with you to prepare a meal plan that meets your nutritional needs.

This process is designed to help us determine your specific level of injury and coordinate a plan of care that will allow you to reach maximum functional independence.

Admission criteria:

  • Patient must have an appropriate rehab-related diagnosis as determined by the admitting physician and accepting administrator of the hospital.
  • Patient must be medically stable and able to participate in three hours of therapy a day, or 15 hours of therapy each week.  
  • Patient must require the skilled services of at least two therapy disciplines (physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology).
  • Patient must require the specialized care of a physician with expertise in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
  • Patient must have the potential to participate and benefit from therapy.  
  • Patient must have the potential to achieve measurable rehabilitation objectives.
  • Patient must exhibit the desire to participate in therapies.
  • Patient must have an appropriate, realistic, post-rehabilitation discharge plan.
  • Patient must be at least 18 years of age.

Rehab Hospital Rules & Regulations

  • Patients are expected to participate in 15 hours of therapy each week (usually three hours of therapy per day, five days a week).
  • Tobacco use is prohibited.
  • Patients are not permitted to leave the hospital with family or friends unless ordered by the physician in the medical record.
  • Offensive or disruptive behavior not related to the patient's medical diagnosis is not permitted.

What to Expect During Rehabilitation

We’re here for you and our focus is to provide you with the appropriate level of care to help you reach your maximum potential. 

We offer three hours of therapy, five days a week, with additional therapy offered on weekends. Please keep in mind that our patients are periodically in and out of their rooms throughout the day. Here is what you can expect on a typical day at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital: 

  • In the morning, patients prepare for their first rehab session. During this time they receive scheduled medications, have vital signs recorded, get assistance with personal hygiene, dress and have breakfast.   
  • After the first rehab session is complete, it’s time for lunch.  We encourage our patients to come to our dining room to have lunch, but they are more than welcome to have lunch in their rooms and get some extra rest before going to their afternoon therapy session.
  • In the afternoon, patients participate in their second rehab session of the day. Once therapy has been completed for the day, patients are assisted back to their rooms for some additional rest prior to dinner.

Plan of Care

Your plan of care is built around your personal goals and abilities. The doctors, nurses and therapists will collaborate with you to develop an individualized plan of care. Frequent treatment team conferences will review how your plan of care is progressing and if any of your goals have changed.

If there is a family member, friend or caregiver who should be part of your plan of care and treatment team, please let the rehab team know.  For example, that person could participate directly in therapy sessions, learning skills that can help bridge the transition from inpatient rehabilitation to home.

Daily Schedule

Your daily schedule will include several or all of the following therapies:

  • Physical therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • Speech therapy

Your schedule will be available daily and may change from day to day. Therapy will begin the day after you arrive at our facility.  Sometimes therapy may start before breakfast, but it will always be completed by dinnertime. Practicing what you have learned in therapy sessions will help your rehabilitation progress. Your nursing staff will assist you in this follow-up practice. Upon completion of the day's activities, you can expect to be tired. In the evenings you will find time to rest, relax and visit with your family and friends.

Support Person

A support person is defined as a family member or loved one who is actively assisting in our patient’s care and well-being.  In some cases a support person may be necessary for our patients to return home.  At Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital we allow one support person to stay the night with their loved one. Support persons should not hinder the rehabilitation process, but rather assist in the care and have the capacity to be trained to support the patient they are staying with.

Visiting Hours

Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital encourages family participation in the rehabilitation program, with the goal of returning the patient to their former community.

General visiting hours of the Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital are 4 to 8 p.m. Immediate family may be present throughout the day and one primary caregiver may spend the night. There are no age restrictions on visitors. This additional access to the unit for primary caregivers allows them to observe care and learn to assist the patient to care for himself. Observation of therapy may be scheduled with the patient’s therapist.

The plan of care that started the day you arrived at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital extends through your transition from acute inpatient rehabilitation to home. Your home medications and their potential side effects will be carefully explained. We will help you update or develop your personal medical profile. If after discharge you need assistive devices like a cane or wheelchair, we will help you identify providers and costs. If you need continuing therapies, we will provide you with choices that suit your preferences and match your insurance coverage.

Leaving Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital

The plan of care that started the day you arrived at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital extends through your transition from acute inpatient rehabilitation to home. Your home medications and their potential side effects will be carefully explained. We will help you update or develop your personal medical profile. If after discharge you need assistive devices like a cane or wheelchair, we will help you identify providers and costs. If you need continuing therapies, we will provide you with choices that suit your preferences and match your insurance coverage.

Discharge criteria:

  • Patients will be discharged from inpatient rehabilitation when one or more of the following criteria are met.
  • Treatment goals are met.
  • Our rehab team determines that the patient has only a limited potential to benefit from further treatments and rehab services.
  • The intensity of our inpatient rehabilitation services is no longer required.
  • The patient fails to make measurable functional progress.
  • The patient is unwilling to fully participate in the program (i.e., refuses therapy).
  • A medical condition, or treatment for a medical condition (e.g., daily chemotherapy, radiation, etc.), excludes the patient from full participation in the program.
  • The patient requires surgery.
  • The patient’s funding source denies further coverage and the patient and family decline to pay out of pocket.
  • The patient and/or significant other declines further service.

Getting Your Feedback

We hope your stay at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital is a healing and supportive one. Let us know what we can do to make you comfortable. Our No. 1 priority is to offer you physical, mental, emotional and spiritual care that will help you deal with the rehabilitative challenges that you face. You may receive by mail a survey asking you for feedback on your Mercy Rehab stay. We ask for your feedback so we can continue to strengthen and further refine our patient centered care.

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