Physical therapy protocols

The University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital’s Department of Physical Therapy

consists of eight separate units that serve the inpatient needs of the John Sealy Hospital, the Child Health Center, the Rehabilitation Unit, the Texas Department

of Criminal Justice Hospital, and the Geriatric Unit. We provide outpatient services

to the Geriatric Day Hospital and the Ambulatory Care Center. Our staffincludes

physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and supportive staff, for a total

of thirty patient care providers. We are a teaching institution and routinely train

affiliating students from physical therapy programs all over the country. Our

clinical education needs, our large volume and variety of patients, and the periodic

turnover of staff have led us to establish standards of care based on diagnostic

categories. To create these standards, we developed a set of protocols in conjunction

with the physicians from each specific medical team. Protocols are made available

to all patient-care personnel and are revised regularly to accommodate changes in

surgical and treatment techniques