UNC Rehabilitation Center

The mission of the UNC Inpatient Rehabilitation Center is to improve, restore and maintain functional abilities and maximize quality of life in patients with disabilities; educate health care professionals in rehabilitation care and services; and advance rehabilitation research.

About Us

Rehabilitative care provides persons served with the skills and support necessary to function in an environment with as much independence and choice and as little supervision and restriction as possible. The totality of this care spans the rehabilitation continuum to optimize the functionality and quality of life and prevent and or treat conditions of physically disabled persons.

Inpatient Unit Features

The UNC Rehabilitation Center is a 40-bed Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) located on the fourth floor of the UNC Hillsborough Campus Hospital. The unit has 40 beds: all spacious private rooms.The UNC Rehabilitation Center is a 40-bed Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) located on the third and fourth floors of the UNC Hillsborough Campus Hospital. The unit has 40 beds: all spacious private rooms.

Treatment areas include:

large interdisciplinary gym with open and natural lighting
transitional living apartment
family dining area and lounge
recreational therapy spaces
online food ordering
state of the art therapy equipment

The UNC Rehabilitation Center strives to optimize each patient's recovery and independence. Our Center treats individuals with a variety of conditions including, but not limited to, the following:

Stroke (UNC Rehabilitation Center Stroke Program Scope) [PDF]
Brain Injury: Traumatic or Acquired
Spinal Cord Injury: Traumatic or Non-Traumatic, Complete or Incomplete (UNC Rehabilitation Center Spinal Cord Injury Program Scope) [PDF]
Amputation: Pre- and Post-Prosthesis
Burns: including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
Musculoskeletal Disorders: including Polyarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Post-surgical Patients: including Brain, Spinal, Orthopedic, and General
Neurological and Neuromuscular Conditions: including Brain Tumors, Transverse Myelitis, and Guillain-Barre Syndrome
See a full description of our Scope of Services [PDF] here

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The UNC Rehabilitation Center Advantage

The UNC Rehabilitation Center is a Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehabilitation Program (CHRP), designed to meet the inpatient rehabilitation needs of patients with temporary or permanent disabilities. Patients benefit from immediate access to UNC’s breadth of medical and educational services. UNC's department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) is an integral part of the UNC Health Care System and supports its philosophy of community service throughout North Carolina and beyond. Additionally, our rehabilitation team consistently receives national and international recognition for their excellence and commitment to patient-based clinical care and research.

The UNC Rehabilitation Center is certified by the Joint Commission and has been awarded accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International, a nonprofit accreditor of health and human services. Proudly, the Center has been CARF-accredited since 1998. This accreditation represents the highest level awarded in rehabilitation care and demonstrates UNC Rehabilitation Center's commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus

Professionals Who Support UNC Rehabilitation Center

An interdisciplinary team of competent, qualified professionals, under the direction of a physiatrist, provides rehabilitative services consistent with professional standards of practice. Team composition consists of representatives of each discipline based on the clinical needs of the person served. The team is typically comprised of:

Physiatrists from UNC’s department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R)
Rehabilitation Nurses
Physical Therapists
Occupational Therapists
Speech and Language Pathologists
Recreational Therapists
Care Managers
Pharmacists
Dietitians
Psychologists
Rehabilitation Counselors
Education Specialists
Audiologists
Chaplains
Other professionals as needed

Rehabilitation Hospitals Deliver Higher Quality Care, Better Results

Patients who need medical rehabilitation often must choose between receiving care at a rehabilitation hospital or at a nursing home. Although these two settings serve similar patients, rehabilitation hospitals provide a far higher level of care that leads to better outcomes. For additional comparison information about specific diagnoses please click the links below.

		Rehabilitation Hospitals	Nursing Homes/ Sub-Acute Rehab
	Close medical supervision by physician with specialized training in rehabilitation	Required	Not Required
	Multidisciplinary team approach that includes 24-hour rehabilitation nursing	Required	Not Required
	Three hours of intensive therapy daily	Required	Not Required
	Licensed and accredited for hospital level rehabilitation care	Required	Not Required
Strokes [PDF]	Spinal Cord Injury [PDF]	Amputation [PDF]	Brain Injury [PDF]