Sharon Berglund, director of Cook County North Shore Hospital’s physical therapy department, recently updated the hospital board on the services her department offers the community. She is excited about the wide range of specialties among her staff.
What can a physical therapist do for you? According to Sharon Berglund, director of the physical therapy department at North Shore Hospital, the list is long. On Thursday, October 21, 2010, Berglund gave the hospital board an overview of what her department does.
Berglund started here over 26 years ago when the physical therapy department did not have five therapists and one physical therapist assistant as it does now. Berglund specializes in geriatrics and works mostly with Care Center, hospital, and swing bed patients.
Berglund also offers in-home care in which she can assess a patient’s home environment and suggest improvements for mobility and safety. The department tries to limit home visits, however, because it cannot be reimbursed for staff travel time and because a much wider variety of equipment is available in the P.T. department in the lower level of Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
Each P.T. on staff specializes in certain treatment areas, but they can all work with any of the patients who come to them for treatment.
Peter Igoe has worked for North Shore Hospital for 19 years and specializes in orthopedics and vestibular (inner ear) and balance disorders. Berglund said Igoe can figure out even through a phone interview with a patient whether his or her problem is vestibular. “I worry about the day he retires,” she said.
Lee Bergstrom, employed by the hospital for 11 years, specializes in sportsrelated therapy. She is a certified athletic trainer and spent 15 years at the Institute of Athletic Medicine in Minneapolis. She is paid by ISD 166 to be on hand at football games. Her newest training is in Egoscue (muscular stretching and strengthening to bring the body into proper alignment and relieve pain) and posture analysis and treatment—something several of the doctors have seen her for. Bergstrom uses a computer program to design specific treatment protocols.
Treg Axtel has worked for the hospital for over six years and specializes in orthopedics and mobilization, particularly with backs, necks, and shoulders. He also offers service at Grand Portage Health Services.
Margo Furcht has recently returned to the department as a casual employee after having worked there for three years previously. She specializes in fitness, women’s health, geriatrics, and yoga and has now received training in increasing bladder control with pelvic floor exercises. Lots of people have bladder control problems, Berglund said, not just the elderly. Some women experience problems after having babies. Research indicates that 10 percent of people entering hospitals have bladder control problems, but 25 percent of people leaving hospitals have them. “I’m kind of excited that that’s something new we can offer,” Berglund said. “We’re always trying to offer new things.”
Berglund said they each try to keep each other apprised of new developments in the field. “Whenever we go to a class,” she said, “we try to in-service each other.”
Berglund said she would love to see a podiatrist set up shop in Cook County, but in any case she hopes her department can develop more expertise in treating foot problems. “That’s a next area that I think we could focus a little more on,” she said.
The physical therapist assistant on staff is Faith Sjoberg.
“I feel really fortunate with our department,” Berglund said. “We’re really proud of what a nice department we have.” She said Lee Bergstrom has commented that we wouldn’t find a better physical therapy facility in the Twin Cities.
Most people feel good about the service they receive, Berglund said, although some people don’t like their bills. Board member Kay Olson said she compared her husband’s physical therapy charges here with those in Duluth, and the charges from North Shore Hospital were only a bit higher. Berglund said pricing their services can be tricky because they cannot ask other providers what they are charging.
On staff, Berglund said, are people with a variety of personalities and ages so patients can find a physical therapist they feel really comfortable working with, she said.
Berglund would like to be able to offer P.T. services at the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic branch at Birch Grove Community Center in Tofte. Hospital board member Tom Spence said that some people on the West End view services in Grand Marais as being very remote and would be unlikely to travel there for physical therapy.
Berglund finds the hospital’s swing bed helpful for people to recover and receive physical therapy following surgery or hospitalization. It is a resource that could be used more, she said.
Brochures on determining risk for falls are available in the P.T. department. Berglund said she could recommend simple exercises to lower that risk.
The department schedules an hour for the first appointment and half an hour for appointments thereafter. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The department’s phone number is (218) 387-3284.
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