What to expect

Support at each step

The joint care coordinator helps with your care needs from the time you schedule your surgery to the time you leave the hospital. This includes your pre-surgery class, helping with insurance questions, an evaluation ensure you are prepared for surgery, coordinating care between your primary physician and the hospital, and helping you plan for recovery at home.

What to expect after surgery

Day one: After you are bathed and dressed, you'll be helped out of bed and into your recliner by 7:30 a.m. The physical therapist will assess your progress and help you walk with a walker. You will be able to take pain medication. In the afternoon, you'll participate in group therapy. Your coach is strongly encouraged to participate. If you are having visitors, it is best for them to come in the late afternoon or evening.

Day two: Your day will start with an assisted morning walk to group therapy which will start mid-morning. Your coach is encouraged to attend as much as possible. On Sunday and Thursday, you'll have lunch with other patients and their coaches. In the afternoon, there will be another group therapy session. You may begin walking stairs with physical therapy. Your evening is free for visitors or relaxing. Some patients are discharged on day two (meeting therapy goals, medically stable, pain is controlled).

Day three: You'll be helped out of bed and dressed by 7:30 a.m. Most patients are able to go home mid-morning on day three.

Customized after-care: Your care team will work with you and your family to develop a personalized discharge plan. The majority of patients (nearly 80 percent) are able to recover in their own home, either with help from family and friends or with care providers who come into the home. Other patients will continue rehabilitation in a skilled nursing facility (or short-term rehabilitation center) where their medical needs can be monitored at all times and there are many types of help and services available.

Discharge instructions: Understanding and remembering all the information you need to know after being discharged from a hospital after surgery can be confusing. Allina Health account provides online access once you get home to view your discharge instructions, refill a prescription and more.