Northern Utah Rehabilitation Hospital ranked in the top 10 percent of inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States for 8 years.

The ranking is by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR), a not-for-profit corporation that was developed with support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation research, a component of the U.S. Department of Education.

The UDSMR ranks rehabilitation facilities based upon care that is:

1. Patient-Centered
2. Effective
3. Efficient
4. Timely

This means that through services at Northern Utah Rehabilitation Hospital, our patients are receiving the highest level of rehabilitative care available – without having to leave the area.

UDSMR, which administers the world’s largest medical rehabilitation database, provides common language and measurement tools to monitor patient results.

Through UDSMR, our hospital collaborates with peers throughout the United States to share information and establish best practices for patients. This helps us elevate rehabilitative care for everyone across the United States.

The ranking was provided by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR), a not-for-profit corporation that was developed with support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation research, a component of the U.S. Department of Education. The UDSMR maintains the world’s largest database for medical rehabilitation outcomes. Through UDSMR, the hospital collaborated with peers throughout the United States to share information and establish best practices for everyone across the nation.

One of 20 in nation – and first in Utah – to be nationally certified in Parkinson’s disease

Northern Utah Rehabilitation Hospital is the first hospital in Utah – and one of 20 nationwide – to be certified as a Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s disease by The Joint Commission.

Certification is voluntary and given after a rigorous on-site review of the hospital’s practices, programs, and outcomes in treating patients with Parkinson’s disease. It is available only to acute care hospitals that are accredited by The Joint Commission.

Although there is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease, research has shown that a combined focus on medical management and intensive rehabilitation can dramatically improve function and quality of life in individuals living with the disease.

When an individual has Parkinson’s disease, vital nerve cells in the brain – called neurons – malfunction and die. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls the body’s movement and coordination. The amount of dopamine decreases as Parkinson’s disease progresses, which causes difficulty for an individual to control his or her body movements.

A key component of our hospital’s Parkinson’s disease program includes having an interdisciplinary team that coordinates patients’ therapy and medications to gain the best results. Members of the healthcare team – including nursing staff, physicians, pharmacists, and therapists – work together to ensure medications are delivered in a timely manner to maximize the functional benefits of aggressive therapies, and to minimize the impact of possible medication side effects. The patient’s response to medication adjustments are closely monitored by all clinical staff and communicated back to the patient’s treating neurologist, thereby allowing for increased accuracy of “fine tuning” of any medication changes that need to be made.

This approach helps to provide patients with:

• Improved “on-time” of medications throughout the day where the medication is working well, making it easier to move and function
• Decreased “off-time” where movement is more difficult
• Improved muscle function
• Improved tremor/dyskinesia management
• Less rigidity and increased mobility
• Increased independence in performing everyday activities
• Better management of non-motor symptoms like cognitive disorders and sleep disturbance