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Clinical Services

The Department at Penn is committed to an academic mission in which clinical service, education and research share equal billing. Because of its situation within a large research university and medical center, it has ready access to remarkable resources in the form of professional talents and facilities. As a result if its central location, the Department has been able to take advantage of remarkable opportunities for interdepartmental activities in clinical practice, education and research.

The Department plays a pivotal role in providing rehabilitation services throughout the University of Pennsylvania Health System. This system, which is centered in Philadelphia, extends for many miles in each direction into adjacent Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The core facilities in Philadelphia consist of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital and Presbyterian Medical Center. In addition to these hospitals which are owned by the Health System, many other facilities are affiliated with the System. Penn Medicine at Radnor provides a beautiful, fully-equipped building for delivery of outpatient clinical services under optimal conditions. At strategic sites, free-standing clinics render services in physical and occupational therapy. Orthotics & Prosthetics is centered at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Nearly 300 primary care physicians are part of the Health System contributing in a variety of ways to its mission.

The core of activities in rehabilitation medicine is made up of the 3 proximate hospitals: the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital and Presbyterian Medical Center - each of which serves a somewhat different patient population. The HUP features a 24-bed acute rehabilitation facility ("the Piersol Unit") which is fully staffed and equipped to function as a team effort lead by a physiatrist and including a wide variety of allied health professionals, e.g., nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, vocational rehabilitation personnel and recreational therapists. The outpatient services, housed in a recently reconstructed and redesigned facility ("the Erdman Center") feature the multidisciplinary, interdepartmental Penn Spine Center along with other specialized rehabilitation activities, such as pain management, acupuncture, intramuscular stimulation, an amputee clinic and a chronic wound clinic. Orthotics & Prosthetics also operates in its own facility at the HUP.

Subacute beds are in active use at Pennsylvania Hospital along with consultation and outpatient services. The Penn Musculoskeletal Institute, involving several departments, is under construction there. A new outpatient facility is nearing completion at Presbyterian Medical Center. Penn Therapy & Fitness, a large, modern facility for physical and occupational therapy is housed at the Science Center at 3624 Market Street, about half way between the University and Presbyterian Hospitals .

Two other on-campus rehabilitation facilities warrant mention: (1) Children's Seashore House, which provides pediatric rehabilitation and (2) the Veterans' Administration Medical Center. Faculty members of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation run rehabilitation services at both institutions.

These extensive clinical resources and the rich academic environment enable the health professionals in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to provide optimal care for patients with a wide variety of disabilities. The physiatrists and other health professionals are well-trained and highly-experienced in both general and specialized services which enable patients to achieve maximal comfort, functional capacity and quality of life.