Background: Disposition planning is a vital part of clinical care in the hospital setting and requires a collaborative multidisciplinary approach. Physical therapy (PT) assessments are often a key part of this process but due to staffing shortages and high acuity – both of which were exacerbated by the COVID pandemic – therapists at a large [...]

Background: Hospital immobility is highly prevalent and known to cause various complications including deconditioning, pressure injuries, venous thromboembolism, readmissions and mortality(1). Due to the known consequences of immobility, there has been an increased emphasis on identifying patients at highest risk of immobilization and focusing efforts on maintaining function. Increasing patient mobilization has the potential to [...]

Background: Lack of mobility amongst inpatients is prevalent and deleterious. Hospitalized patients have been shown to spend an average of 83% of their stay in bed, leading to complications including loss of independence in activities of daily living, lower rates of discharge to home, worsening length of stay, and increased mortality. Programs to increase inpatient [...]

Background: The hospital discharge represents a time-dependent and vulnerable chapter in the patient pathway. Approximately one-fifth of hospital discharges suffer delays due to non-medical reasons with one major factor being inadequate assessment and recognition of barriers to discharge when first admitted. Promising work in the existing literature demonstrates a relationship between a measure of patient’s [...]

Background: Despite 80 years of documentation of the “evil sequellae”(1) of immobility for inpatients, lack of ambulation remains prevalent and deleterious. Hospitalized patients have been shown to spend an average of 83% of their stay in bed(2), leading to complications including loss of independence in activities of daily living, higher rates of discharge to facility, [...]