Edinburg Regional Rehab Center is the only inpatient acute care rehab center certified to treat pediatric patients.

Children are not simply smaller people. Their physical and emotional needs are different. So when they need medical care, such as rehabilitation, it is nice to know that a program geared toward children is available.

Edinburg Regional Rehab Center -- located within Edinburg Regional Medical Center -- offers intensive inpatient rehabilitation and nursing care to children and adolescents.

"We're the only inpatient acute care rehab center in the Rio Grande Valley that is certified to treat pediatric patients," says Roxanna Godinez, assistant administrator at the center.

Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and certified in pediatrics by Medicaid, the center offers pediatric therapeutic services for children recovering from:

• Amputation (traumatic/malignant)
• Brain injury
• Multiple trauma
• Neuromuscular disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Spinal cord injury
• Stroke

The gymnasium at Edinburg Regional Rehab Center is designed to accommodate pediatric patients.

"There are just too many children being injured in motor vehicle accidents," says E. Linda Villarreal, MD, medical director at Edinburg Regional Rehab Center. "Traumatic brain injury is just too common in our area right now.

"In the past, we were not able to accommodate treatment of these acute injuries," she continues. "We did not have the availability of so many services, such as neurosurgeons and inpatient rehabilitation. Now, we do."

Services available
At the center, the patient is treated by a complete team, including a doctor, 24-hour nursing care, case manager, social worker, dietitian, and occupational, physical, recreational and speech therapists. All these people work together to offer children three hours of daily, intensive rehab services through the day and comprehensive medical care. A pediatric physical therapist -- specially trained in caring for children -- also is on staff.

The rehab center's rehabilitation gym is equipped for children and teens.

"The beauty of the gym is that we designed it to accommodate the pediatric patient," says Dr. Villarreal. "Some might think there aren't significant differences between pediatric and adult patients, but there are. Children have different needs depending on their ages, development and cognitive function."

E. Linda Villarreal, MD, Medical Director, Internal Medicine

The gym is equipped with appropriately sized rehab equipment, including toys, to help children and teens progress through their therapy more quickly than they would in a gym equipped for adult patients.

To prevent children from falling behind in their schoolwork, arrangements are made for teachers from their school districts to teach them at the center. Once they are released from the center, the team will refer children who require additional rehab services to an outpatient rehab center or to home-based therapy as indicated.

For more information, please call Edinburg Regional Rehab Center at 956-388-6200.

c/o Marketing Department 1400 W. Trenton Rd. Edinburg, Texas 78539