Joint Camp
Through our specialized Joint Camp Program, surgeons, nurses and therapists work collaboratively together to get patients back to their active lifestyles as quickly and safely as possible following a hip, knee or shoulder replacement surgery. The program begins with a required, informative preoperative video.
Having joint replacement surgery requires active participation from both the patient and their support person. During the preoperative online class, you will learn what to bring to the hospital, how to prepare for surgery, what each day will be like, how pain will be managed, and guidelines for discharge.
Required Online Joint Camp Class
In preparation of your upcoming joint replacement surgery, please follow these steps:
Step 1. Please watch the Preoperative Joint Camp Video
Step 2. Fill out the video completion verification form. Completion is required in preparation for your upcoming surgery.
What to Expect After Surgery
Following surgery, patients are transferred on a specialized bed to a private room on the Joint Camp floor. These beds are designed to help patients get in and out of bed more easily. Special reclining chairs also make it easier for patients to get up and about after surgery.
Occupational therapists are members of the Joint Camp team. They assist patients on how to use assistive devices, how to protect their new joint, conserve energy, and how to complete the activities of daily living. On the Joint Camp floor, patients will be with fellow patients who have had similar surgeries with the goal to return home as safely and quickly as possible following surgery.
Our Joint Camp core team of surgeons, nurses, and therapists work with each patient to help them become as mobile and self-sufficient as possible, as soon as safely possible. The special design of the Joint Camp floor enables patients and families to ask questions and talk with the staff at the open nurse's station on the floor. Patients are up and around within a few hours of surgery based on their surgeon’s recommendations. Physical therapy will start as soon as the day of surgery or the next day with a physical therapy evaluation. Depending on recovery patients may leave the hospital within two days of surgery. Upon discharge, physical therapy will continue at an outpatient facility or in your home.
The MyMichigan Difference
- Dedicated Unit – Each Joint Camp unit has its own staff, including nurses, therapists and social workers, who are specially attuned to the needs of joint replacement patients.
- Private rooms
- Qualification and Experience – Our board-certified orthopedic surgeons perform hundreds of joint replacements per year
- Preoperative classes – help you be prepared and know what to expect
- “Well” atmosphere – participants get up, get dressed and participate in group activities during recovery
- Proactive pain-management philosophy – participants, their physicians and family are involved in pain-management decisions
What is Total Joint Replacement?
Total hip replacement
Total knee replacement
Total shoulder replacement
