June 29, 2023
Restorative care is a term that is often misunderstood as rehabilitation therapy. While therapy and restorative care complement each other, they are not one and the same. They occupy different spaces in the continuum of care, and each has its own separate and distinct goals and objectives.
What is Restorative Care?
Restorative care focuses on maximizing an optimal level of function, enabling clients to retain their independence following the effects of an illness or injury. Restorative nursing programs in long-term care provide interventions promoting a patient’s ability to adapt and adjust to living safely and independently.
What is Rehabilitation?
Physical rehabilitation is the process of restoring, compensating or adapting the person to their highest level of function. In physical rehab, trained professional therapists are responsible for evaluating patients and their needs and then designing plans of care that will meet those goals.
Restorative vs. Rehabilitation
Restorative
- Restoring and maintaining
- Long-term, ongoing process
- Improves skills lost through illness/injury
Rehabilitation
- Retrain and education of new skills
- Fast-paced and progress documented
- Triggered by acute illness/injury
Therapy is based on the medical model, and restorative programs are based on the nursing model. Restorative is mostly started when the skilled therapy (physical, occupational, speech) is discontinued. Restorative nursing programs may include a toileting program, range of motion, ADL or walking programs to prevent decline and maximize quality of life.