Advent Health Winter Park Hospital

New FLOAT Installation

Advent Health Winter Park Hospital, a leader in improving patient outcomes and advanced healthcare education through revolutionary thinking and innovation, is the first health care facility in the United States to install The FLOAT, a 3-Dimensional Body Weight Support System for helping neurologically impaired patients regain and improve their ability to walk.

The FLOAT is the world’s first 3-Dimesional overhead Body Weight Support System and can off-set a patient’s body weight by up to 200 lbs. The FLOAT allows patients who are unable to fully support their own body weight to safely practice and improve gait, general mobility, balance and other activities of daily living. Advent Health at Winter Park is first health care facility to provide this technology which eliminates the risk of falling while allowing patients to safely move freely and unrestricted while participating in their therapy exercises.

Multi-directional walking, including spontaneous planned or unplanned changes of direction, requires increased neuromuscular coordination and postural control that helps improve mobility and dynamic stability in patients who have suffered from Stroke, Spinal Code Injury, Brain Trauma or other neurological impairments. By allowing patients to move in a 3-D environment during therapy, patients can safely experience and practice the same activities they will face when discharged to the home and community. “This type of “Real-World” therapy helps patients reach a higher level of independence and quality of life” said Emily Neumann, Director of Rehabilitation Services at Advent Health Winter Park. By eliminating the risk of falls, “The FLOAT takes away the anxiety and the fear sometimes associated with the more challenging therapy tasks” Neumann said.

“We are very proud that Advent Health, a global leader in whole-person health care, is the first hospital in the United States to install this innovative technology” said Don Gronachan, Vice president of Reha-Stim Medtec North America, makers of The FLOAT.