Oncology Rehabilitation

• Medically stable with no significant fluctuations in medical status within 72 hours
• Motivated to participate in rehab, has active rehab goals
• Patient's cognitive abilities and state of mental health support participation in active rehab
• Able to participate in 2 sessions of active rehab therapy 5 to 7 days a week
• Able to sit unsupported for a minimum of 30 minutes
• Completed or on hiatus from radiation and IV chemotherapy (oral chemotherapy accepted)
• Positive prognosis

Special needs accommodated include the following:

• Intermittent oxygen therapy/home oxygen
• Tracheotomy (must by corked)
• Intermittent tube feeds (PEG tube only)

To help ensure accurate assessment, please provide the following information about the patient, prior to, or upon admission:

Patient Profile

• Allergies
• Anti-coagulation profile (recent blood work; Coumadin/Fragmin doses: up to 4 days)
• Diet information with orders including formula, rate, # hours of feed, water flushes
• Medication Administration Record (MAR)
• Prescribed Activity levels for upper and/or lower (weight bearing; restrictions), (order to be signed by physician)
• Special needs (egs. infusion therapy, oxygen, Ostomy)
• Wound management orders
• Follow up specialist appointments

Work-Up

• Behavioral assessment/management (if applicable)
• Consult reports
• Discharge summary
• ECG/Echocardiogram (if applicable)
• Infection control screen results (MRSA, VRE, and others)
• Lab results (most recent copy)
• Names and contact information for all physicians, surgeons specialists
• Other tests results (including video fluoroscopy)
• Physician acute care admission report
• Surgical procedures and dates of surgery
• X-ray, CT/MRI (if applicable)
• Social Work summary

1. For seamless continuum of care, please ensure patients have had the following arranged before, or upon transfer:
   • Clinical follow-up appointments
   • Diagnostic (acute) appointments
   • Transportation for off-site tests/treatments

2. St. John’s Rehab is a rehabilitation facility and does not have the following services:
   • emergency services
   • mechanical ventilation, total parenteral nutrition, and nasogastric feeding
   • dialysis service
   • isolation or secured units

Download our Outpatient Referral Form on our referral information page.

Please include all relevant medical/therapy reports with your application

• Has active rehab goals and is able to participate and tolerate increasing amount of rehab therapy.
• Has adequate cognitive communication abilities for rehab.
• Has a reliable means of transportation.

St. John's Rehab's Oncology Rehabilitation Program was developed to meet the recovery needs of patients who have undergone major surgeries and a long post-operative recovery period as a result of abdomen, gastrointestinal and other cancers.

• The short-stay, intensive program was officially launched in April 2006, with the first patients admitted during its pilot phase in November 2005.
• Referrals to the program are accepted from hospitals and physicians throughout Ontario.
• The oncology program's major acute care referring partner is Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Our alliance expedites the referral process to give patients the care they need sooner and in the right place.
• The St. John's Rehab clinical team is specially trained to care for the unique physical and psychosocial needs of cancer survivors.
• As part of the Complex Rehabilitation Program, we also provide rehabilitation for surgeries where cancer is a secondary diagnosis, such as major orthopaedic reconstruction and neuro-oncology.
• Rehabilitation treatment is designed to help patients regain physical strength and mobility. Individualized, customized rehabilitation care rebuilds lives by ensuring maximum recovery, improved quality of life and a smooth transition into the community.
• The program involves multidisciplinary assessment, treatment and support focused on the whole person - body, mind and spirit.
• The health care system also reaps the benefits of rehab. Moving appropriate patients to a specialized rehab facility frees up urgently needed acute care beds at our partner facilities.
• Our multidisciplinary clinical team includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, nurses, speech-language pathologists, pharmacists, physicians, dietitians, psychologists, pharmacists, physiatrists and spiritual care.
• Inpatient and outpatient teams each work collaboratively with patients and their families to design individually customized rehabilitation programs and to monitor progress towards each patient's specific goals.