Dr. Ostola is taking on the role of medical director from his practice partner Dr. Carl Eiben. Dr. Eiben will continue seeing outpatients and will provide consultation in partnership with Dr. Ostola- along with Bonita L. Moisio, Nurse Practitioner at their private practice –Upper Peninsula Rehabilitation Medicine Associates. “We also provide rehab consultation to local nursing homes, Eastwood, Norlite, and the Marquette County Medical Care Facility,” he said. 

 “It’s always good to have a new challenge,” Dr. Ostola said. “Preparing for this has been a large part of my residency training. To actually step into the driver’s seat will be interesting, for certain.” Dr. Ostola explained physical medical rehab has been a specialty since World War II, but not a lot of people know much about it. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, also known as physiatrists, treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. 

In the new hospital which is under construction, there will be an Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit with 16 private rooms and a specially designed floor plan offering a state of the art rehabilitation gym. 

To qualify for Inpatient Rehabilitation, each candidate has to be thoroughly assessed by the medical team and our Clinical Liaison which is led by the Medical Director to determine if he/she qualifies for this service.

Dr. Louis Ostola

“We are working to transition the patient successfully home with this intensive post-acute care,” Dr. Ostola said.

 Since February, Valerie Gallagher, OTRL, MHA, has been Director of Acute and Inpatient Rehabilitation at UPHS-Marquette.  “Our Inpatient Rehabilitation program provides a comprehensive, hospital-based physical rehabilitation program exclusively for the treatment of those who have experienced a disabling injury or illness,” she said. “Patients at Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities experience shorter lengths of stay, on average 12 days. There is also daily rounds by our physician who is trained in the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

 Many have learned about the UPHS-Marquette Inpatient Rehabilitation program through family members using the service. “Until you or a loved one needs it, you might not know about the Inpatient Rehabilitation program,” Gallagher said. 

“Our Inpatient Rehabilitation Program typically treats between 330 to 375 patients per year and 64 percent of those are patients with neurological diagnosis such as stroke.”  Other admission diagnoses include brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputations, neurological disorders, arthritis, cardiac, pulmonary conditions, orthopedic injuries and debilities and other diagnoses for medically complex conditions.

 The Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit is an important resource for the community and the hospital, Dr. Ostola said.  “We provide the best delivery of rehabilitation one can receive in the shortest amount of time,” he said. “All of the resources at UP Health System are available to patients within the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. This includes physician and specialist involvement. Extensive 24/7 nursing care and smaller nurse to patient ratios. All of that sets this program apart.”

“We have a great follow-up after the patient leaves the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit,” Gallagher said. “We set up all primary care and specialist appointments prior to discharge home. We also call back in the first week and check on how the patient is as they settle back into living at home.  “This service is such a wonderful resource for the Upper Peninsula.”

 For additional information about admission to UPHS – Marquette Inpatient Rehabilitation, call our Clinical Liaisons directly at 906-360-9939.

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