Inpatient Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Inpatient Rehabilitation is a program designed to provide multidisciplinary care to children and teens who have experienced a significant change in their functioning as the result of an injury, complex surgery, and/or serious or long-term illness. The inpatient rehabilitation program at Gillette Children’s is designed to work closely with your family to improve your child’s independence and return them to their home, school, and community as soon as possible.

Gillette Children’s inpatient rehabilitation program has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for our pediatric and brain injury programs since 1995. This accreditation demonstrates our commitment to fostering an environment that improves functional independence through evidence-based practices and family-centered care.  

After certain severe injuries or complex surgeries, a child or teen may need to stay in the hospital to recover and restore their strength, cognition, and/or mobility. These individuals may come to our rehabilitation hospital through Minnesota’s first Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, which we operate in partnership with Regions Hospital, while others may transfer from different facilities as soon as they are medically stable.

We admit patients with a wide variety of medical conditions. Some of the areas we see are listed below, however this list is not exhaustive: Though not an exhaustive list, below are some of the most common conditions that bring patients to inpatient rehabilitation: 

• Brain injury and related neurotrauma.
• Neuroimmunological conditions such as transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, or Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM).
• Surgery to remove tumors of the brain or spinal cord.
• Injury to the brain from lack of oxygen  
• Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery.
• Single event multilevel surgery (SEMLS).
• Spinal cord injury and related neurotrauma.  
• Infections such as meningitis or encephalitis
• Deconditioning (reduced stamina and muscle strength) following a significant medical illness or surgery 

At Gillette, your child will be in the care of some of the nation’s top providers of comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation care for children and teens. Our pediatric rehabilitation program is one of the largest in the Upper Midwest. We also offer the nation’s highest concentration of board-certified pediatric rehabilitation medicine specialists, all in a family-centered environment.

Some of the spaces in our inpatient rehabilitation facility mimic environments kids encounter in their everyday lives, such as the kitchen and the playground. This helps get ready for the transition home.

Our inpatient rehab unit and therapy spaces are specifically designed to support the needs of patients who have disabilities and complex injuries. We have 3 rooms on the inpatient rehab unit with environmental control systems. These technologically supportive rooms allow individuals to engage with some of the items in their room using an alternative manner such as switches, voice control, or eye gaze.

If your child or teen needs rehabilitation care, our pediatric rehabilitation medicine physicians will create a custom treatment program involving specialists from a wide variety of disciplines. These specialists may include:

• Rehab therapies (occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy)
• Social work
• Therapeutic recreation
• School services
• Orthotics, Prosthetics and Seating
• Child life
• Psychology
• Music Therapy
• Chaplaincy

Your family will also have access to our vast array of medical and surgical specialties, including: 

• Audiology
• Craniofacial
• Neurology
• Neuropsychology
• Neurosurgery
• Nutrition and feeding
• Orthopedics
• Pediatric intensive care (critical care)
• Pediatrics
• Radiology and imaging
• Rehabilitation medicine
• Sleep medicine