New rehabilitation centre, a first for North Canterbury

North Canterbury’s first dedicated physical rehabilitation centre has opened this week in Ohoka.  The new facility specialises in tailored rehabilitation for people who have been in hospital but aren’t quite ready to return home.
 
North Canterbury Rehabilitation Centre has been spearheaded by Lucie Hartfield, Managing Director of Hartfield Physio, which has been providing physiotherapy services for North Canterbury people for the last four years. “While I have been out in the community, I have noticed a real need for around the clock care and rehabilitation for people who need a transition between hospital and home,” Lucie says.  
 
“Our sole focus at North Canterbury Rehabilitation Centre will be on enabling people to resume life as independently as possible.”
 
Lucie says she and her team have worked hard to make the centre a family-friendly, home- away-from-home for those recovering from significant injuries and illnesses. “Whether you’re recovering after a heart attack, stroke or a fractured hip, it will be a great place to recuperate and regain your strength. You couldn’t get a better setting than the beautiful Ohoka countryside,” she says.
 
The facility is staffed by a clinical nurse manager; registered nurses; physiotherapist; occupational therapist; speech and language therapist; dietitian; rehabilitation assistant; support workers; and other support staff.  Private outpatient services can also be provided at the Centre or in your home.
 
Treatment is available to anyone over 18 years-of-age with access to private or public funding.
 
As a New Zealand registered physiotherapist, Lucie leads regular exercise groups in Oxford and Rangiora for people who have had strokes or are living with neurological conditions. She is also actively involved in the region’s falls prevention programmes. Before moving to New Zealand from the UK in 2008, Lucie worked as a physiotherapist with a special focus on neurological rehabilitation for people with conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease or those recovering from a stroke.