by Taryn Brown

Unity Health recently became the first facility in the state and the first in the southern region of the country to add the G-EO System to the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Center, as well as the first in the state to implement SafeGait 360.

The G-EO gait trainer, manufactured by Reha Technology AG, is a robotic-assisted gait training system that assists patients in re-learning to walk after neurological, neurodegenerative and orthopaedic circumstances. A harness is used to relieve patients of their body weight while simulating walking on level surfaces, slopes and climbing or descending stairs.  

Gorbel Medical developed the SafeGait 360 Balance and Mobility Trainer to improve patient recovery and safety. According to Gorbel Medical’s website, SafeGait 360 is an overhead, dynamic body-weight support and fall protection system that promotes patient confidence and faster recovery and enables safer patient handling.

Unity Health Director of Rehabilitation Services C.W. Siler said the machines provide increased safety for both the patient and clinician, while allowing the therapists to provide a more intense approach to therapy; patients are able to start therapy sooner and have an earlier discharge at a higher functional level. 

Both the SafeGait 360 and G-EO can help reduce a patient’s fear of falling. The SafeGait 360 prepares patients for everyday challenges and the G-EO improves their ability to walk, while both allow patients to gain confidence throughout their treatment plan. Unity Health installed two SafeGait 360s and the G-EO as part of phase one of the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Center renovation; the current Unity Health Foundation capital campaign.

Unity Health is also the only Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation facility in the area. The facility provides physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy seven days a week. Patients receive therapy customized to their condition for a minimum of three hours at least five of every seven days of their stay, and the Inpatient Rehabilitation physician is available on a daily basis. 

For more information about Unity Health’s Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Center, please visit unity-health.org/rehab-services. 

As the leading healthcare provider in an eight-county area, Unity Health and its associates strive to improve the quality of health and well-being for the communities it serves through compassionate care. Unity Health is the largest employer in an eight-county area with more than 2,300 associates. The Searcy facility has a combined total of 438 licensed beds and a medical staff of 150 physicians that specialize in various areas of healthcare.