The Joint Academy is a specially-designated unit at Cleveland Regional Medical Center for joint replacement surgery patients who are willing to work hard and push themselves so they can return to normal activities as soon as possible. Surgeons use joint replacement surgery to help patients with severe orthopedic problems get their bodies back in working order. And at Cleveland Regional Medical Center, The Joint Academy helps many of these patients get their entire lives back in working order as well.

The program is based on wellness. Patients are not treated like they are sick. They are told all about the program ahead of time, so they all know what to expect. The Joint Academy serves four patients a week in the special unit on the hospital's fifth floor.

After a preoperative exam, tour and orientation about 10 days before surgery, the patients enter the hospital on a Monday for surgery, and for the next five days, spend their time together in intense physical therapy and group interaction to promote healing. Many are out of bed on their first day of surgery.

On Tuesday morning, patients must rise early, bathe and put on their street clothes. After an evaluation for physical therapy, they will begin their own physical therapy sessions that afternoon. They will attend physical therapy class twice a day for the rest of the week. Also on Tuesday, the Joint Academy participants begin eating as a group instead of in their own individual rooms. Wednesday through Thursday, Joint Academy patients are allowed to have a family member or friend join them for meals.

On Wednesday, the patients participate in a miniature golf competition featuring a putting green. The winner gets a special trophy. This is therapy in disguise because it helps them with their balance. On Thursday, the Joint Academy staff sets up a portable beauty shop for setting and styling hair. At the end of the week when the patients are discharged, they receive a graduation certificate and the confidence that they are ready to re-enter the real world.

The Joint Academy opened in August of 2000. The program was started for patients needing hip or knee replacement surgery, and recently expanded to include patients needing total shoulder replacement surgery. The Joint Academy served 37 patients in 2000 and 115 in 2001. Patients are referred by Shelby Bone and Joint and Miller Orthopedic clinics, and come from Cleveland and surrounding counties. Patients have ranged in age from 34 to 84.

The Joint Academy is not for all patients facing joint replacement therapy. Patients are referred to the Joint Academy program by orthopedic doctors who feel they would benefit from the program and who feel they can withstand the fast pace and comprehensive treatment. For more information about the program, contact Cleveland Regional Medical Center or the orthopedic surgeons at Shelby Bone and Joint or Miller Orthopedic Clinic.