Background: The physical therapy (PT) department at a level 1 trauma center identified vendor delivery delays of off-the-shelf (OTS) spinal orthoses that delayed patient mobilization.
Objective: This study aimed to identify improvements in mobilization times, discharge times and reduction in the cost of care after centralizing the management of orthoses within the therapy department.
Method: The centralized management of OTS spinal orthoses included stocking three adjustable lumbosacral and thoraco-lumbosacral orthosis sizes and ensuring that all personnel received training to appropriately fit the orthoses to patients.
The study first assessed comfort levels of physical and occupational therapists who provide burn care prior to a hands-on intervention, then assessed therapists' confidence levels following an educational intervention. Physical and occupational therapists who previously treated burn survivors were invited to complete a preworkshop confidence level survey. From this information, four burn rehabilitation interventional categories were identified: positioning and exercise, compression, wound healing, and burn resources.
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