Camp— Not Just for Kids  

Joint Camp at Carlisle Regional Medical Center is not your average camp. Instead of creating arts and crafts and telling ghost stories around the campfire, Joint Camp attendees work side by side to achieve successful recovery from hip and knee replacement surgeries. 

Joint Camp is the most unique element of the only comprehensive joint replacement program in South Central Pennsylvania. Since implementation in 2004, Joint Camp has helped hundreds of patients navigate the joint replacement process through pre-operative information sessions, and individualized and group rehabilitation therapy after surgery and follow-up once camp concludes. Harold “Butch” Bricker of Carlisle appreciates the value of Joint Camp twice as much as most patients, because he has attended on two separate occasions. The 61-year-old retired educator and part-time student teacher supervisor at Penn State University had both knees replaced in a two-year span, thanks to arthritis and injuries from playing college football and living an active life.                                                         

Guiding Patients from Start to Finish                             
After medication and cortisone shots proved unsuccessful at alleviating pain, Butch had his left knee replaced in 2007 and the right one in 2009. A week or two before each operation, Joint Camp began with an information sessionin which Julie Miller, MSPT, acute care physical therapist at Carlisle Regional and a former student of Butch’s at Cumberland Valley HighSchool in Mechanicsburg, explained the operation and provided Butch with a 3-ring binder detailingeverything he needed to know about knee replacement.

“Patients are active, not passive, participants in Joint Camp,” Miller says. “We expect them to study their binders and know what exercises to complete pre- and post-operatively so they’re readyfor each step in the recovery process.”

After surgery,patients stay in a section of the hospital dedicated tojoint replacement patients and are encouraged to dress in their regular, comfortable clothes when able. Skilled physical and occupational therapists begin working with patients individually and in groups the day after surgery to help them regain mobility and function. When Joint Camp concludes two or three days after a patient’s operation, the staff helps coordinate the care he or she will receive after leaving camp.

Walking the Links Again
Knee replacement and Joint Camp have made big differences in Butch’s life. Whenever the golf lover gets out on the course these days, he’s able to walk at least half the course before using a golf cart.

“A special thank you to the staff at Carlisle Regional. From admittance to Joint Camp, the personal and specialized care they—especially Therapist Julie Miller and Nurse Samantha Strouse — provided made me feel like I wasn’t a number,” Butch says. “I particularly enjoyed the sense of camaraderie that came with undergoing rehab with patients in the same situation as me. Joint Camp was a wonderful experience, and I couldn’t be more pleased with my outcomes.”

Another Happy Patient 
“I had the opportunity to attend the Joint Camp at Carlisle Regional Medical Center in order to recover from a total hip replacement. I can’t say enough about the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff that cared for me on a 24/7 schedule for a full week. The personal attention and round-the-clock care I received was outstanding.”
—Robert Gerard, patient


Photo Caption: Harold "Butch" Bricker