Chief physician Prof. Dr. Dieter Köhler d.koehler@noSpam.fkkg.de	Senior physician Dr. Karsten Siemon k.siemon@noSpam.fkkg.de

Secretariat: Fon +49 (0) 29 72 / 791-2501 • Fax +49 (0) 29 72 / 791-2526

After the intensive-care acute treatment the patients will continue to be cared for in the department of early rehabilitation after long-term respiration. The early rehabilitation department has been in existence since March 2005 and offers 20 beds.

It is often not yet possible to move the patients to further rehabilitation clinics owing to the seriousness of the disease and/or owing to the respiration. To a large extent, the success of the therapy depends on the rehabilitation therapeutic measures beginning as early as possible after the event which triggered off the condition.

From the start, our team, which covers several specialist fields, starts out with individually coordinated therapy measures parallel to the comprehensive medical therapy. Our team is composed of specialist doctors, specialist nurses, especially trained physio-, logo-, ergo- and wound therapists as well as a specialist in nursing transition.

Psychologists, psychotherapists, neurologists, ear, nose and throat specialists, etc. will be consulted if required. An efficient therapy plan is drawn up in dialogue with the patient and in coordination with his social environment. Extensive rehabilitative measures are carried out by using special aids. If required, modern medical technology (e.g. monitor supervision or respiratory devices) will be used.

Relatives are integrated into the rehabilitation process and can also be accommodated in the patient's room. The necessary therapy measures, which are required at home, will be explained in detail (e.g. handling of respiratory devices, cough-up techniques, assistance in the daily routine). Safety and independence can thus be conveyed for the home environment. The aim of these measures, which cover several specialist fi elds, is to discharge the patient into an independent and self-determined life as far as this is possible in his or her condition.