Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impacts in our region. Joining me today is Jeff Fujimoto, Director of Rehabilitation Services at San Antonio Regional Hospital. Thank you so much for being with us here today, Jeff.
Jeff Fujimoto
Thank you for having me.
Yvette Walker
So Jeff, for those listening, tell us, what is physical therapy and what are some conditions that you treat?
Jeff Fujimoto
Physical therapy focuses on restoring function. So that could mean anything from recovering from a surgery to restoring someone from a back pain or ankle surgery or, for example, like a stroke or a traumatic brain injury. So we really focus on restoration of that type of diagnosis to hopefully get that patient back as best as we possibly can.
Yvette Walker
And how long have you been a physical therapist, and what initially drew you to this career?
Jeff Fujimoto
Well, I've been a physical therapist since 2000, so about 25 years initially. I became very interested in physical therapy based on my own injuries that I suffered through high school and things like that. I had my own physical therapy experience, as well as my sister undergoing physical therapy in the hospital for a lot of months, and that also inspired me and motivated me and drew some curiosity to the program or as a field.
Yvette Walker
What have you seen within the Latino community in terms of injuries or chronic disease management? And can you give examples of exercises or therapies that you give to some of your patients?
Jeff Fujimoto
Sure. I mean, we see everything, again, from a minor ankle sprain all the way to stroke and everything kind of in between. So we've seen a lot of different types of injuries, and I would say that what we typically do is we evaluate the patient, we find what needs they have and address those needs. So for example, if I had a patient with a low back injury or a low back pain, I might give assess them, treat them in the clinic, and then what is successful in the clinic I might give them for home. So for example, whether it be exercises or stretching, or even things like taping, or things that you might not think of - using elastic bands so that they can use it very easily at home, and it fits into a suitcase or a purse so they can use it at any time. Things like that are situations that we come across every day.
Yvette Walker
And how do you ensure culturally sensitive treatment at San Antonio Regional Hospital? Do you ever see language barriers? Or how do you overcome those challenges?
Jeff Fujimoto
Yeah, we see that regularly, and I'm very proud to say that we hire multilingual, especially Spanish speaking therapists, so we try to have them in all of our different areas. And I would say the other benefit we have is an interpreting service called Martii, and we use that on a regular basis. Can be any language, but I personally use it for Spanish, and works really, really well. You have a live, personal interpreter on an iPad or a screen, and the three of us - patient, myself, the interpreter via Zoom or via screen, all speak together, and it's very comfortable. You can see the demeanor of the patient. They get very happy when they're speaking their own language, which for me, if I were to try to speak a different language, might not work so well, but with this interpreter in there, they're definitely well more engaged, and I think that helps in the success rate.
Yvette Walker
Wow, sounds like you have a great plan in place to overcome some of those major challenges. Which, number one is communication. And how many physical therapy locations does San Antonio Regional Hospital offer?
Jeff Fujimoto
So we do have physical therapy in the hospital, but we also offer outpatient services where patients, you know, who don't have to stay at the hospital can come for PT services. And we have four of those locations: two in Upland, one in Rancho Cucamonga, and one in Fontana.
Yvette Walker
Terrific. And so for those that are listening and they're thinking, wow, I could really benefit from physical therapy, what is the best way to obtain that treatment?
Jeff Fujimoto
In order to receive physical therapy services, you do need a physician referral. So my recommendation is, go to your physician, have them write a prescription for physical therapy, and at that point, you can call any of our sites and schedule an appointment, and we would take it from there. Our website is SARH.org, our contact numbers for outpatient sites for Rancho, Cucamonga and Fontana is 909-948-8080 and for Upland, it's 909-920-4920.
Yvette Walker
Thank you so much for sharing your work with us today, Jeff.
Jeff Fujimoto
You're very welcome.
Yvette Walker
Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/IELatinoVoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media, and is funded by generous support from San Antonio Regional Hospital. Here for life. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
