Page 5 - Nursing Scope Number 2

MRU Medical Rehab
Unit 8 North
Written by: Melinda Brennan, RN MRU Nursing Team Leader
An MRU is a Medical Rehab Unit that offers an amazing opportunity for patients that are leaving the acute side of
the hospital and need intense therapy and rehab nursing services before transitioning to the next level of care, which is
a subacute rehab or possibly home. Medical Rehab is a part
of the hospital that works in a team environment. Everyone from the doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, hospital aides, rehab technicians, physical, occupational, recreational, and speech therapists, ACC clerks, and even the housekeepers and nutrition staff work together to give the patients an opportunity to increase their ability to function in a day-to-day integrated environment to eventually return to the community. Founded
in 1963, as the rst trauma rehab in WNY, our MRU here at ECMC has been performing at the Top 1% in both regional and national case mix index (CMI). We also are scored in the Top
1 % for our discharge FIM scores and FIM Ef ciency for (TBI) Traumatic Brain Injury and Burns. This means that our patient outcomes, by diagnosis, are some of the best in the entire country! Additionally, the MRU 2017 Press Ganey mean score is 84.4% which is one of the best scores in the hospital.
The MRU typically has patients that have experienced some type of trauma from spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, motor vehicle accidents and even transplant patients. The typical stay for a patient in the MRU can be from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. During this time the patients advance and improve abilities they may have lost during the trauma they have experienced. The MRU patients participate in a minimum of three hours of therapy a day
on top of the rehab nursing care. The team encourages the patients to do as much as they possibly can independently to
improve their functional abilities. The MRU also offers recreational activities that promote community integration for the patients and their families. Our recreational therapist helps the patients relearn how to cook, clean, go to the cafeteria, perform money exchanges,
how to use NFTA buses for transportation,
spa days and also coordinates pet therapy. When patients arrive
to the oor they have been through a lot and it takes a toll on the patient. Psychology and grief services are also provided as needed on an individual basis. When they leave the MRU to go home or to another facility they are so thankful and gracious for all the hard work the team and others have performed.
The MRU is part of the hospital where all the hard work of others from the ER, Trauma and the Medical Surgical oors comes together. We help the patient improve and go forward with their journey of healing, to return home with their loved ones and become better able to function independently.
5