Living on Easy Street

Step off the elevators at Trinity onto the 11th floor and you're greeted by a starry sky of twinkling white lights against a mural photograph of the Birmingham skyline.

The rest of this life-size replica of a city street is paved with a yellow stripe down the center.Stops along the road include centers where patients in need of physical therapy can practice shopping in a grocery store, getting around a shop in a wheelchair, going to the bank, maneuvering through a stadium to find a seat and getting in and out of a car.

The Easy Street simulation modules take situations that we find ourselves in everyday and enhances them to train stroke, orthopedic surgery, multiple trauma and other patients to regain independence.

The visually appealing and thoroughly practical environment is one of about 70 in the country and the only one of its kind in the state to offer skill-specific physical therapy in a one-stop setting. The 27-bed unit features two "transitional living suites," rooms with living and sleeping areas for patients and their families that reinforces Easy Street's goal to get patients back to their day-to-day routines. Patients ranging from 17 to 104 have stayed on the unit, usually between three and eight days, though some patients do stay longer.

Individualized Treatment

Easy Street rehab services provide individualized treatment to patients needing varying levels of treatment and therapy.

The unit gives patients access to a full service medical center. You will find that your involvement, treatment and procedures in a rehabilitation unit are quite different from those in an acute care setting. Patients receive individualized treatment while in the comfortable setting of our modern, specialized rehabilitation facility.

Our staff of caring professionals will guide you through every step of your treatment process to help you successfully achieve your rehabilitation goals. You'll become part of a team that is focused on improving your quality of life.

Who Are the Rehabilitation Team Members?

Physicians
Easy Street's Medical Director, who is a neurologist, will prescribe your medical treatment, and provide daily supervision of your total rehabilitation program. We will provide regular reports about your progress to the physician who referred you for rehabilitation. In addition, you will return to the continuing care of your regular physician when you leave the unit.

Occupational Therapists
Occupational therapists help you return to the most normal daily life possible. The therapists will work with you on daily activities, including personal hygiene, eating, dressing and getting to the bathroom. If needed, training in kitchen safety, light meal preparation and homemaking is provided.

Physical Therapists
Physical therapists help you overcome your injury or recent surgery so you can become as physically independent as possible. An individualized treatment program is developed to help you reach your personal goals related to walking, using a wheelchair and regaining your overall mobility.

Rehabilitation Nurses
Our nurses have specialized skills and experience in rehabilitation nursing. They are like personal coaches, concentrating on helping and encouraging you to help yourself. The goal of the rehabilitation nurse is to guide you toward improved function and increased independence, while reinforcing the efforts of the entire rehabilitation team.

Discharge Planner
On the day you come to Easy Street as a patient, the discharge planner will begin working with you and your family. The primary responsibility of the discharge planner is to serve as your individual program manager, which means making sure all the services you receive are well coordinated and that you and your family's concerns and needs are addressed and met in the treatment program. The discharge planner will maintain frequent contact with your family to keep them updated on your progress, and will help with your discharge plans. The discharge planner can also answer questions you may have or communicate concerns to other Easy Street staff.

Speech and Language Therapists
The speech and language pathologists conduct a variety of tests to determine the exact nature of your communication barrier. Once these specialists determine any disorder, they design programs to improve or restore the impaired function.

Recreation Therapist
Our recreation therapist has designed a program to treat your functional limitations in physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioral capacities to help you reach independence in recreation or leisure activities. This is accomplished through functional capacity evaluation.

Chaplain Services
Chaplains are specially trained ministers who provide pastoral care to patients and family members. The role of the chaplains includes visiting, leading worship services, counseling, consultation, performing spiritual assessments, providing support, and serving as a liaison to congregations. The goal of the chaplain is to encourage patients to use their source of spiritual strength in the healing process.