Pulmonary Rehabilitation

If you’re hospitalized with a pulmonary (lung-related) problem, your doctor will refer you to the pulmonary rehab program. While you’re in the hospital, we focus on:

• Gradually building up your activity level so you can feel stronger and more comfortable resuming daily tasks.
• Helping you understand your condition and what contributed to it.
• Teaching you about your medications and how to take them correctly.

When you first leave the hospital, your doctor will likely suggest taking it easy for a while. But at your first follow-up appointment, you can discuss a referral to our outpatient rehab program.

Many experts have roles in pulmonary rehab at Beverly Hospital. These include pulmonologists, nurses and exercise physiologists. You may also meet dietitians, pharmacists, respiratory therapists and behavioral health specialists. These experts work with your doctor to design a program that aligns with your needs and abilities.

Major health insurance companies cover most components of outpatient pulmonary rehab, but it’s always a good idea to check with your insurance plan and verify coverage.

When you complete our outpatient program, we can help you continue your exercise program at home or a local health club or gym. We’ll give you the tools you need to monitor yourself so you can exercise with peace of mind.

Once you’re accepted into our rehab program, our team will do a comprehensive evaluation to determine your needs and how we can best help you. This will include:

• A clinical assessment
• A pulmonary function test
• A six-minute walk test
• The results of this evaluation help us develop an exercise program that’s just right for you.

We offer both structured therapeutic exercise sessions and educational classes. These sessions and classes are held twice a week for up to 12 weeks.

The exercise sessions will include:

• Stretches and strength training.
• Warm-up and cool-down stretching exercises.
• Dynamic aerobic exercises. These may use a variety of equipment, including treadmills, StairMasters, cycles, recumbent cycles, rowing machines and arm ergometers.
• During your sessions, we will continuously monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels. Your safety and comfort are our top concerns.

In some cases, we will do a follow-up exercise test or walk test to assess your progress. If necessary, we may make changes to your exercise program.

Helping you understand the risk factors for lung disease is an important part of our program. These may include:

• Allergies
• Environmental pollution
• Heredity
• Lung infections
• Occupational dust and fumes
• Secondhand smoke
• Smoking

Once you better understand what may contribute to your lung disease, you can take steps to avoid triggers and breathe easier.