Essentia Health-Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center

Facility Overview

Turn to the Essentia Health-Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center in Duluth, Minnesota, for specialized outpatient therapy services. We're a regional leader in providing treatment, education, and support to adults and children with disabilities. Our mission is to help each patient function at their highest level and gain independence. We offer four types of therapy, including physical, occupational, rehabilitation psychology, and speech-language therapy.

Our experienced team provides neurological rehabilitation services to both children and adults who have brain, spinal cord, or nerve conditions. We specialize in caring for children with special needs, ranging from neurological disorders to developmental delays.

We also offer:

• cancer rehabilitation
• dizziness and balance care
• support groups

As one of Essentia’s Catholic facilities, we strive to provide holistic healing for all human life.

Rehabilitation Services

Get a wide range of rehabilitation services from knowledgeable providers at our center, including:

• Cancer Rehabilitation
• Dizziness & Balance Care
• Mental Health Counseling (Outpatient)
• NICU Follow-up Clinic
• Occupational Therapy (Outpatient)
• Pediatric Physiatry (PM&R)
• Physical Therapy (Outpatient)
• Speech-Language Therapy (Outpatient)
• Transgender Care

Adult Rehabilitation Services

If you have an injury or disorder that affects your nervous system, rehabilitation may help. Your nervous system includes your brain, spinal cord, and nerves. We treat a variety of these conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, brain injuries, and strokes.

New Programming and Equipment for Adults

Our new location in the Miller Hill Health Plaza, allows us to provide new programming and equipment, such as:

• Driving simulator for a comprehensive driving assessment program
• Larger apartment to practice daily living activities such as cooking, bathing and dressing
• Computer/assistive technology lab
• Dynamic body weight support system for gait training
• Expanded psychology suite
• Expanded voice therapy
• Dedicated space for wheelchair and equipment assessments
• Larger waiting room with a resource library on community programs and services
• Access to the nearby Center for Personal Fitness for pool therapy as well as return to fitness activities after therapy

Children’s Pediatric Rehabilitation Services

Partner with us to help your child develop more independence. We see children with a wide range of conditions, such as autism, cerebral palsy, brain injuries, and developmental delays. Our team of therapists are experts at working with children and do their best to make therapy fun.

New Programming and Equipment for Children and Teens

At our new location in the Miller Hill Health Plaza, we’re able to provide new programming and equipment, such as:

• Indoor playground with equipment that matches local outdoor playgrounds so children can practice and learn skills that translate to their real-world experiences.
• Larger sensory gym with noisy and quiet zones for improved sensory integration therapy. Gym offers a climbing wall, larger ball pit with a zip line, and monkey bars for more opportunities to move in space and strengthen upper bodies
• Three smaller sensory gyms designed for specific ages: toddler, preschool and school-age
• Playrooms that can be observed from child psychology rooms to allow for parent-child interaction therapy as well as behavioral analysis and therapy
• Cameras in treatment rooms that allow caregivers to observe therapy from the waiting room on a computer tablet with headphones
• Larger kitchen for feeding groups, social groups and more interaction between children
• Improved infant feeding assessment area with a comfortable recliner for mothers and caregivers
• Incontinence program for children with biofeedback equipment
• Psychology suite for improved care in a quiet and calm environment
• Dedicated space for wheelchair and equipment evaluations
• Two ceiling lifts for more opportunities to walk along the floor and on the treadmill
• Music and lighting to create calming or alerting environments in gyms and main waiting room
• Private sensory-friendly waiting room
• Bathroom with adjustable changing table to aid caregivers and a private place for older children and adolescents
• Access to the nearby Center for Personal Fitness for pool therapy and fitness activities for teens
• Real-world training in nearby mall locations, which can be a challenge for children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or mobility differences

Collaborative Care

We pool the talents of many providers to help you reach your therapy goals, including:

• Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) doctors – Provide care that helps you maximize what you can do and adapt to what you can’t do
• Physical therapists – Improve your ability to move
• Occupational therapists – Help you build skills to do daily tasks
• Speech-language therapists – Treat communication and swallowing disorders
• Behavioral health care providers (psychologists) – Help you cope with physical, emotional, and social challenges and make choices to promote good health
• Social workers and case managers – Helps you and your family understand the rehabilitation process and connects you with community resources, such as school, transportation, and support services

Compliments & Complaints

If you’d like to share a compliment, concern, or suggestion, please contact our director Joan Jeanetta. You can also fill out our online compliments and complaints form.

Support Our Center

Have you been inspired by the care you or a loved one received? Support us by donating to the Miller-Dwan Foundation or the Essentia Health Foundation. Both foundations have funds that support the Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center with help from patients and family members like you.