Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy in McAllen

Our team of physical rehabilitation professionals is dedicated to improving our patients' quality of life by helping them achieve optimal health and reach their full functional potential. We provide comprehensive patient evaluation and treatment, educate patients and families and consult with other healthcare providers. Therapy services include physical, occupational and speech therapy.

Stroke and Cardiac Rehab Certification

The joint commission gold seal of approvalThe STHS McAllen Physical Rehabilitation Unit has earned The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Stroke and Cardiac Rehabilitation for demonstrating outstanding performance.

The unit has also ranked in the top 10% of inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) in the United States for the third year in a row, according to Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR), a not-for-profit organization considered a leader in medical rehabilitation outcomes data.

Learn more about this recognition →

For more information, please call 956-566-4347.

Specialized Physical Rehabilitation Programs

Our inpatient physical rehabilitation unit is designed to help you rebuild your strength and endurance and achieve your highest level of recovery after a debilitating injury or illness. We have specialized programs for a wide range of conditions, including:

  • Stroke
  • Amputation
  • Brain injury and head trauma
  • Fractures
  • Major multiple trauma
  • Medical deconditioning
  • Neurological conditions
  • Rheumatoid arthritis and polyarthritis
  • Serious orthopedic conditions
  • Spasticity management
  • Spinal cord injury


Dedicated Physical Rehabilitation Team

Teamwork is the key to successful recovery. Getting you back to the normal activities of your daily life is our top priority and the focus of our physical rehabilitation efforts. Our inpatient physical rehabilitation team, led by a rehabilitation physician, includes:

  • Physical rehabilitation nurses who provide 24-hour care and support to you and your family
  • Physical therapists who develop programs to help you regain your strength, endurance, coordination and balance and improve your mobility
  • Occupational therapists who focus on activities of daily living (ADLs), bathing, dressing, and feeding and identify equipment you may need following discharge
  • Speech therapists who diagnose and treat speech, swallowing, voice and language deficits and identify treatments to help you enhance your verbal expression, listening techniques, comprehension, and reading and writing abilities
  • Social workers and case managers who act as your healthcare liaison, coordinate your care and communicate with your family and insurance providers

Advanced Therapies

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists at South Texas Health System McAllen evaluate patients on their ability to take care of themselves, work, and participate in play or leisure activities. A plan is then developed and implemented to help patients accomplish such daily tasks. In addition, therapists help people develop, recover and/or maintain their ability to perform the tasks of daily living, such as eating, dressing, bathing, performing in a work environment and more.

We also help patients compensate for the permanent loss of function through adaptive equipment, such as splinting or dressing equipment, including sock aids, long-handle shoehorns and more. Our staff helps adapt a patient's home or work environment to promote better performance in a safe and independent manner.

Speech Therapy

Our speech therapists evaluate each patient for any speech, language, swallowing, voice, cognitive communication, fluency or other related disorders that can result from disease or disability. They help improve the quality of speech production, speech comprehension, written and verbal communication and swallowing to provide an improved quality of life at home, work and in the community.

Patients and their families are educated on treatment techniques to use at home and on how to modify behavior that impedes communication.

Physical Therapy

During physical therapy, patients are evaluated for the range of motion in their joints, muscle strength and development and their functional level. After the evaluation, the therapist designs an appropriate treatment plan to help the patient achieve maximum physical restoration.

Physical therapists also help maximize physical ability such as transfers, balance, coordination, mobility, flexibility, posture, endurance and gait training. Patients and their families are educated on adaptive equipment such as braces, prostheses, crutches, canes and other equipment that can help increase function and independence. Physical therapists determine each patient's ability to be independent and reintegrate themselves into a work setting or the community after their injury, disability or disease.


Referrals and Admissions

We accept referrals from physicians, social workers, nurses, therapists, discharge planners and case managers, as well as self-referrals from patients and their families.

A rehab liaison will conduct an evaluation to assess your rehabilitation needs. If the evaluation indicates that inpatient rehabilitation is best for you, we'll work to make the admission process easy and comfortable. Our staff is here to answer your questions and provide any information you need about your rehabilitation.

We begin by developing an individualized treatment plan and establishing a tentative discharge date, and we keep everyone involved with your care informed of your current status and discharge plans.

We accept most major third-party insurance plans and can make special arrangements for private payers. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, age, sex, religion, national origin or disabling condition.