Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation - Saddle Brook

10/23/2025

Behind every patient with a spinal cord injury is a licensed pharmacist. The pharmacist—an essential member of the physician-led multidisciplinary team—helps to manage the patient’s pain, prevent secondary complications, and assists with transition and discharge planning.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) patients require a complex level of care. Pharmacists play an integral role in a patient’s care journey, providing expertise on SCI pain management, secondary complications, avoidance of adverse drug effects and a safe discharge to home.

10/15/2025

Charles Schembri, 42, a devoted husband and father of four from Long Island, New York, was traveling for business in Austin, Texas, when a scooter accident left him near death. Charles sustained a traumatic brain injury as well as lung, kidney and liver failure. He was unable to walk, communicate or care for himself. After three months in a Texas hospital, Charles stabilized and was able to be flown back to the east coast but still had a long recovery road ahead. For that, he chose Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation - West Orange where he relearned how to walk, talk and take care of his daily personal needs so he could return home.

Read more about Charles’ amazing recovery: https://bit.ly/4oju881

10/15/2025

When a patient is admitted to one of our specialty hospitals, a case manager is present to help coordinate care while guiding families and caregivers throughout the recovery journey. Serving as a central point of communication, case managers support patients as they transition to the next level of care or when preparing to discharge.

10/13/2025

After a stroke left 69-year-old Joseph McNeill, Jr., unable to walk or care for himself, he turned to Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation - Saddle Brook to regain his independence. He progressed from not being about to get out of his bed without a mechanical lift to walking with a rolling walker. Joseph also learned how to speak more clearly and compensate for memory deficits caused by the stroke. Joseph is ready to get back to life at home and eager to return to church.

Read more about Joseph’s stroke recovery:
https://bit.ly/470036v

10/13/2025

One of the case manager’s key responsibilities is looking around corners—determining a patient’s medical and social service needs after they leave the hospital. Our case managers coordinate meetings with patients, their families and the clinical team, explaining the various levels of care and verbally reviewing what to expect. Additionally, case managers can assist with ordering medical equipment that the patient needs for their return home.

10/02/2025

Steven Ryan, a home improvement business owner from Old Bridge, drove himself to the hospital after he started feeling off during a quick trip to Home Depot. He never thought that short trip would turn into a three-month hospital stay. Steven had a heart attack that required open heart surgery to repair the damage. He’s now back on his feet after a stay at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation - West Orange. There, the care team helped him regain strength, independence and hope. He is glad to be at home with his wife and his dog and is gaining more strength and function as an outpatient at Kessler Rehabilitation Center.

Read more about Steven’s recovery: https://bit.ly/4mEnJTD

10/01/2025

It’s National Physical Therapy Month. Our theme throughout October is, “Your future is better with PT!” We will highlight how physical therapy can lead to a better, stronger tomorrow.

Our physical therapists are here to guide patients through every step of recovery, from hospital to home. For our patients, that means helping them return to the moments that matter. For our physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, it means making a difference and helping people move forward.

Join us throughout the month as we highlight the power of physical therapy.

09/30/2025

For patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and their families, discharging from the hospital is a critical period. The process can be emotional and overwhelming for some with lots of information to absorb.

The goal of the discharge process is to help patients and families navigate the medical, functional and psychosocial aspects of life after SCI. Patients are provided individualized training sessions, home exercise programs, education on bowel/bladder management and daily care materials. Physiatrists – medical doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) – welcome the support of family and friends as part of a compassionate transition.

Among these resources is the Community, Healing, Education and Training (CHET). It provides straightforward education guides about SCI and other conditions and what to expect throughout a patient’s recovery journey: https://chetcommunity.com/recoveryGuideDetails/EQEXAYWiliIR4sfxw20La

09/27/2025

Michael Scott has a lot of faith in physical therapists. And he has a lot of faith in himself. When a motorcycle crash paralyzed his legs, it didn’t take long for the 29-year-old to move from acceptance to adapting to and overcoming his spinal cord injury. A physician-led team of physical, occupational and recreational therapists from HonorHealth Rehabilitation Hospital were there to help, with innovative technology and helping him develop strategies for everyday tasks like dressing himself.

To learn more about Select Medical’s network of hospitals, visit: https://www.selectmedical.com/about-us/

Lying in his hospital bed moments after a doctor gave him some of the worst news of his life, Michael Scott found solace.

09/26/2025

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) demand highly specialized care. At Select Medical specialty hospitals, an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, therapists, and dietitians and others collaborate to address the complex challenges patients’ face – from blood pressure fluctuations and pain, to muscle loss, pressure sores and digestive issues that can lead to malnutrition.

“Good nutrition plays a supportive role in recovery,” said Camilla Johnson, clinical dietitian, Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation. She supports and educates patients with SCI during their rehabilitation. “In the hospital, good nutrition reduces the length of stay and … it enhances overall outcomes,” she said.

Here are four ways our dietitians contribute to patient care to promote healing and prevent complications.

09/25/2025

Laz Reeder checked into a hospital for hernia surgery, but aspirated during anesthesia and went into respiratory failure. The 35-year-old Florida man needed two life support machines to survive. A month later when Laz had stabilized, his wife Sierra turned to the continuum of care at Select Specialty Hospital - Pensacola and Select Medical Rehabilitation - Pensacola to continue his recovery and rehabilitation. Laz had mountains of motivation waiting for him at home: his baby daughter, Nyla.

Read his full story: https://bit.ly/3IEJZPj

09/25/2025

Life changes with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Nurses play an important role in supporting patients with an SCI and their loved ones as they navigate their recovery journey.

As instrumental players on our physician-led multidisciplinary care team, nurses direct care and advocate for their patients’ physical and emotional needs as they recover and prepare to return home after rehabilitation.

Our Registered Nurses (RNs) provide 24-hour hands-on care, tending to a range of needs from administering medications to monitoring patients’ bowel and bladder functions to ensuring patients change position frequently to avoid pressure wounds. Nurses also reinforce therapy, helping patients put into practice exercises to strengthen deconditioned muscles and new ways of dressing and grooming.

Additionally, nurses offer emotional support to their patients with an SCI – problem-solving with them as they work through challenges. In preparation for discharge, nurses also ensure patients and their loved ones are aware of community resources to support their independence and well-being.

09/24/2025

Pain is a significant problem for patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and can come in many forms. Working closely with the patient’s physician and therapy team, the pharmacist will develop a comprehensive pain management plan that helps mitigate and manage pain throughout the patient's journey.

Pharmacists regularly review medications to help these patients manage their pain, calibrating dosage and mitigating side effects. Here are the types of pain experienced by patients with an SCI.

06/20/2025

CNA Week may have ended Wednesday but our nursing assistants and patient care technicians are still excited to share their passion.

“[I chose nursing] due to my strong desire to help people during difficult times. I want to make a real difference in people’s lives.” - Zahnieyrah Gooden, N.A.

“My passion is to help people and provide compassionate care.” - Verna Fields, N.A.

“I’m passionate about helping others and wanted a career where I could make a real difference in people’s lives every day.” - Chloe Giannone, N.A.

Left to Right: Zahnieyrah Gooden, N.A.; John D. Kim, R.N.; Verna Fields, N.A.; Jared Arteaga, R.N.; Mary Jane Mallari, R.N.; Ashley Fajardo, R.N.; Maria Cleto, R.N.; Yvonne Grant, N.A.; Colita Mathews-Byrd, unit secretary; Taisha Castro, N.A.; Tiffany Coronado, R.N.

Bottom left to right: Chloe Gannone, N.A.; Paul Reyes, R.N.

To join our nursing team, please visit our current job openings: https://bit.ly/4lcHhOP