Banner Health Washakie Medical Center physical therapy/rehab department has a lot to offer

WORLAND – The Banner Health Washakie Medical Center physical therapy/rehab department in Worland has received a facelift enabling them to offer more services.

"The main changes are that we opened up the exercise area by removing the offices in the front and now the cardio pulmonary department is no longer in the back of the gym. We also redid the floors and walls giving the gym a lighter, brighter, cleaner and crisper feeling," Banner Health Washakie Medical Center rehab services manager Welton Wittwer said. "Moving the cardio pulmonary department into where the offices used to be gave the department more room for equipment specific to the department's needs and opened up space for the fitness and wellness area," he added.

The remodeling has allowed new services to be offered. "We now have a wound care room where we have a wound care specialist in a centralized place. We also have a band station now, which is an area where people can use exercise bands for all kinds of things, from sports injuries to strength gain," Wittwer said.

Women who are concerned with issues such as bladder leak may be able to find relief with the new women's health service. "Women's health deals a lot with incontinence or for better terms leaking urine when you cough or sneeze. Prolapse and pelvic pain are also issues that the women's health department is trained to deal with," Wittwer stated.

Acupuncture or dry needling is another service that the P.T./rehab department offers. "Dry needling is placing a needle in trigger points in the muscle to treat many different conditions or just pain in general," Wittwer explained. "You do not need a doctor's referral for dry needling, we are considered a primary care provider in the state of Wyoming for that," he added.

The wellness program is another program that is offered and has been offered for many years. "The wellness program is a monitored program. We have a wellness specialist; she's a personal trainer, who monitors blood pressure, oxygen saturation and heart rate. She creates a personalized program tailored to meet your needs, from losing weight to strength training," Wittwer said.

Kris Cheadle, a wellness program participant, stated, "I moved back from Gillette to start back up in the wellness program because due to health issues I may go into AFib (atrial fibrillation) or get dizzy while exercising and this is a safe place. I have been in the program this time for over a year and to date have lost 110 pounds. I will never get completely well but this program is helping me get as well as I can be."