MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center
at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
Cruising to Recovery
The MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center takes most patients in need of hip and knee replacements through surgery and into rehabilitation, while promoting wellness and an active hospital stay – an average hospital stay is two to three days. The Center features private rooms, a group room for therapy, education and group lunches all in one exclusive area for joint replacement patients. Patients, their family, volunteers and staff work together after surgery as the patient starts Cruising to Recovery at the cruise ship-themed Joint Replacement Center. With a dedicated team of joint replacement specialists, Long Beach Memorial offers the latest and most effective treatments for joint replacement.
Education plays an important role in achieving successful rehabilitation outcomes. Patients and their families attend educational classes prior to surgery to help them understand what to expect at the Joint Replacement Center, including the importance of immediately beginning therapy as soon as the day of or day after surgery. The education doesn’t stop there, it continues into the therapy and post operative sessions to learn what patients need to do to recover as quickly as possible and how family members/friends can help them get back to their daily activities.
Group settings are another key component of the Joint Replacement Center that sets it apart from a typical hospital visit. Patients participate in group therapy, have lunch with fellow patients and attend educational classes together. Since the experience at the Joint Replacement Center is unlike the traditional hospital setting it is important for patients to know what to expect and understand what the experience will be like.
Highlights of the Joint Replacement Center include:
- Patients are encouraged to be dressed in clothes such as, gym shorts and a t-shirt, not a hospital gown.
- Therapists visit patients the day of or day after surgery to begin the recovery process.
- The Joint Replacement Center is in a dedicated area of the hospital for patients enrolled in the program and includes 15 private rooms.
- A group room used for therapy, group lunches, weekly pre-operative classes and discharge planning classes for patients.
- Patients receive Guidebooks as part of the education process. These books include information about the Joint Replacement Center, surgery, rehabilitation and what to expect at home.
- A daily newsletter of encouragements and helpful information about what to expect throughout the day, exercise tips, lunch information and a little about the following day is distributed from the Joint Replacement Center to patients while in the hospital.
- The walls are lined with educational posters to answer some most frequently asked questions.
- A family member or friend participates in the joint replacement program with the patient as their coach – they attend therapy and educational sessions with patients.
- A cruise ship themed “Walking Board” tracks the number of steps a patient takes each day. The more steps a patient takes the further they go on their journey around the world.
