St. Joseph Regional Burn Center joins military study
Please note—this article originally appeared in the March 5, 2010 edition of the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly. Original Web site linkSt. Joseph Regional Burn Center will participate in a military-commissioned, nationwide study to determine if the U.S. Army has enough physical therapists to adequately treat burned soldiers, local site clinical investigator Paul Young said.
St. Joseph, part of the Lutheran Health Network, is one of about a dozen medical facilities in the country participating in the three-year study.
Young, a physical therapist, said St. Joseph will provide researchers at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, with information involving about 30 local patients.
The information will include the number of days, minutes and hours physical and occupational therapists work with patients on such things as flexibility, strength, ability to walk, and ability to maintain cardiovascular reserve. That information then will be compared with the condition of the patient upon discharge.
Young said that, if the Army determines the discharge condition is an acceptable threshold, it will have its answers on the physical therapist output needed to ensure a successful outcome.
The regional burn center admitted 177 patients in 2009, and 2,262 patients received care at the St. Joseph Burn and Wound Clinic.
"Research is a big component of what our hospitals do," said Lutheran spokesman Geoff Thomas. "This is just one example of the countless studies that Lutheran Health Network facilities are involved with."
