Patient Rehabiliatation Greenfield Health Systems has an ongoing, system wide rehabilitation program as part of the dialysis services provided to their patients. Greenfield's goal is "restoration of the whole person" so patients can live long and well on dialysis.

Programs are designed which will help patients carry out their usual roles and experience positive relationships with family and community. They are educated about the benefits of exercise so they can maintain muscle strength and tone to allow them to continue doing activities they enjoy. And patients are encouraged to retain their job, go to school, engage in volunteer work or hobbies so they keep active and involved in life. Rehabilitation allows End Stage Renal Disease patients to live their life, not have a life of dialysis. GHS's Rehabilitation Program empowers patients so they can live their life with improved clinical outcomes, improved well-being and improved quality of life. Greenfield's rehabilitation program uses the five E's of rehabilitation to teach patients how to go on with their life. The tools of rehabilitation are: education, encouragement, exercise, employment and evaluation. These tools, which are bridges to overcome barriers to rehabilitation, were created by Life Options Rehabilitation Advisory Council to help dialysis patients live long and well on dialysis. Our unit rehabilitation committees use these five E's to design programs to improve clinical outcomes and patient quality of life. A Rehabilitation Coordinator oversees the system-wide rehabilitation program. At GHS rehabilitation for patients is an expectation not an option. Rehabilitation is a crucial part of treatment for the ESRD patient if they want to lead long and productive lives. Staff is encouraged to: avoid assumptions about what patients can and cannot do; create an environment that promotes wellness not illness, ability not disability, achievement not stagnation and; encourage patients to determine their limits then improve upon them. Greenfield is on the cutting edge in health care programs--going the extra mile to help patients live long and well in spite of their need for life saving dialysis treatment. Rehabilitation Information for Patients Each year more than 60,000 people must begin dialysis as a result of kidney failure. Many are frightened and fear the worst about what lies ahead. The good news is, there are many things that people with kidney failure can do to successfully fit dialysis into their lives. If you are on dialysis, or know someone who is, here are some keys to success: Keep a Positive Attitude: Time and time again, people on dialysis say that the single most important key to a long, happy life is attitude--something each person can control.   Find Answers: People who do well on dialysis learn all they can about kidney failure, medications, dialysis treatments, and diet. They go after the answers themselves by asking questions--of doctors, nurses, social workers, dietitians--even one another.   Take Action: People on dialysis can stop feeling helpless by getting involved: in their medical care, in their dialysis treatments, in exercise, and in every decision about their lives on dialysis. Taking action helps them regain control over their health and their lives.   Make Adjustments: People who succeed on dialysis are willing to make adjustments so that they can do the things that are important to them. They get the medical care they need, but they also go on with their lives. From Life Options Rehabilitation Advisory Council.   To learn more about dialysis and rehabilitation visit their website at: www.lifeoptions.org