New physical medicine and rehabilitation services clinic opens

“This new location is one Veterans are going to feel better about visiting,” said Dr. Evan Rivers, TVHS Interim PMRS Service Chief.

PMRS entails different modalities of care including physical therapy, occupational therapy, kinesiotherapy, and physical medicine rehabilitation. Physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians and therapists focus on supporting Veterans’ whole-body health to improve their pain management, independence, and overall quality of life.

“When we are faced with physical, mental, or medical issues, we sometimes will lose our ability to do important things in our life. Whether that’s putting on and taking off clothes, taking baths, walking, or even interacting with other people,” said Rivers. “We are focused on helping people preserve and regain function that they have lost.”

The clinic offers new equipment and resources to assist Veterans in working through their issues for a better life, including state-of-the-art equipment like special treadmills and weights to electro diagnostics. According to Rivers, the benefit of the new clinic is combining the latest technology with a staff of highly skilled and compassionate health care professionals to provide the best care for Veterans’ needs.

“We just have fantastic, dedicated providers who are doing really good physical therapy and occupational therapy and kinesiotherapy here,” said Rivers.

PMRS supports Veterans who are inpatients and outpatients. For inpatient Veterans at Alvin C. York VA Medical Center, the clinic offers new equipment allowing Veterans to regain their independence and prevent them losing strength. For Veterans who are outpatients, the clinic space offers tools that PMRS therapists can use to demonstrate exercises and resources for them to use to work toward their goals at home.

With the opening of the clinic, all physical medicine and rehabilitation services will be consolidated into one convenient location at Alvin C. York VA Medical Center. This centralized location will make it easier for Veterans to access care they need and improve their overall experience.

The newly renovated physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic treated 30 Veterans on opening day.

“I think it creates a healing space for our Veterans as well,” said Rivers. “We just couldn’t be happier to be here.”

For more information on physical medicine and rehabilitation services visit here.