Evo Terra (Host): One-On-One With Regional One Health is your inside look and how we are building healthier tomorrows for our patients and our community. Join us as we get to know some of the individuals who help provide life saving, life changing care for our community.

I'm E Terra, and today Dr. Danielle Hassel is here to introduce us to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Program at Regional One Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. Hassel.

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: Hello there. Thank you for having me.

Host: So tell me a little bit about your background and specifically why it is you chose to pursue a career in medicine and of medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation. Why?

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: Yes. So, I can take you back to childhood, with a desire to be a doctor. But once I was accepted into medical school, a classmate exposed me to the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Because I suppose the specialty being not very well known, I did have to spend some time in Dallas at one of the universities there basically getting exposure to the specialty.

And, while I was there, I had the opportunity to work with stroke patients and spinal cord injury patients who were in the recovery process of their condition, and I just felt connected to that to be able to work with patients who were basically relearning life and trying to get back home.

Host: Yeah. I have a friend of mine who's going through this right now. He's in his mid fifties and he hasn't really taken good care of himself over the years. And, he's been in a rehabilitation center for a, a solid week with people being not very nice to him, he said.

But he knows that they are making him stronger and better. So that is good news for him. So back to you for a second. What brought you to Memphis and Regional One Health?

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: So once I completed my training in physical medicine, I had a job opportunity here. So I moved to Memphis for that job. And, I would say I've been here about 15 years in the area of Memphis so I've seen different areas of physical medicine and rehab, including some time specifically doing spinal cord injury medicine.

So, with that being said, I heard about Regional One and their connection with the University of Tennessee, the Health Science Center to basically create a medical university. And so there are no physical medicine training programs here in Memphis. And I signed on for the purpose of training and educating future physical medicine and rehab doctors here in Memphis.

Host: So taking what you learned 15 years ago in Dallas and now re-implementing that or implementing in a new way, therefore, Regional One Health. That's great. So outside of training the physicians, you still see patients, I'm assuming.

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: That's correct.

Host: What? Do you have a specialty? Do you certain how we gotta go to Dr. Hassel for this?

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: So at this time, I practice what we call general physical medicine and rehab. So that means I could see potentially a patient who, as I mentioned before, could be stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury. Obviously working at Regional One, there are lots of trauma patients who come through. And so I am on the inpatient unit, for the majority of my time, and that's where I see patients come over from the trauma area, to try to help them with the recovery and quality of life. So I can see anything from a spinal cord injury, a stroke, a traumatic brain injury.It could be an orthopedic patient, someone who's, you know, has plenty of broken bones. It varies.

Host: And I'm assuming with varying that much, I mean, there's probably a huge range of conditions that you treat and certainly, outcomes and, how long is recovery and all those questions, you know, don't make sense talking about it at a general level, but I will talk about it on a maybe more of a why do it? Right? You've just had something that requires, because not a lot of people don't like going to physical therapy because it does hurt.

 But maybe talk about the different outcomes, going through the actual rehabilitation and people who decide to not do that.

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: I will add that we do at Regional One, have an outpatient center as well for physical medicine. It's located at our east campus. And so there we're able to see those patients who have been discharged from the hospital and are continuing their rehab journey. So the reason to come see us in outpatient would primarily be the complications of your injury.

So for a stroke patient, for example, it could be that, they're having more falls, they're having balance issues, coordination problems. For a spinal cord patient it could be, difficulty managing their bowel and bladder. And there are techniques and programs and medications and all those things too assist. If it were a traumatic brain injury patient, let's say someone who had a head injury in a motor vehicle collision, they've discharged from the hospital. They may be doing well, but still having maybe some behavioral challenges, getting agitated, can't sleep well, memory issues.

All of those things are reasons to see a doc like me and we're also called physiatrists. So, again, not many people familiar with the term, but seeing a physiatrist, we're able to implement medication treatment if necessary.

We do some procedures and injections. And then as the team leader of our multidisciplinary providers, we would make a recommendation, for example, for the physical therapy or refer them to occupational therapy, and then follow along with them to address any problems that may inhibit their progress in that therapy session.

So we're overseeing what they're actually doing with the hands on in the gym.

Host: Yeah. Not just somebody making your hurt for no reason. There's a doctor who is there.

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: Right. That's Right. Right. And if they, yes, and if they have pain, as you mentioned earlier, that's obviously an area where we would jump in and try to address it or investigate it. Sometimes there's an injury that didn't get caught previously. So we're also able to help identify those issues.

Host: Now, obviously you love being a doctor. You've been it for at least 15 years, if not longer than that currently. So you're in there. What would you say are some of the most rewarding elements of being a doctor when you provide care to patients? What would some of those be?

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: Mostly being in an inpatient setting, seeing those families learn about their condition, helping them adjust to a different way of life. Helping them find quality of life. And then just seeing how it's like letting a butterfly develop. You see them from day one.

They're afraid, they're anxious, they're not understanding what's happening to themselves. And then while they're with us, we're able to go with them through that process of accepting perhaps what has happened to their bodies and then, you know, on the day when it's time to go home, just watching the smiles and all the thank yous because they've learned so much and they feel so much better about their condition and how they're going to adjust when they get home.

Host: You've set them up with the skills they need to continue on their road to improvement or just where they are today in life with their new situation. You brought up families a moment ago, and I would imagine families, obviously, any time someone has a medical concern, families are curious, and sometimes a little too much curiosity perhaps. So I wonder about your approach to the patients and their families. This is going to take some time obviously for them. So what is your approach?

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: So usually I try to spend more time in the beginning, making sure they understand what has happened to their bodies, making sure they understand a little bit about what to expect, not only with the rehab program, but the changes in their bodies, their conditions. And then when we get that taken care of, I'm always, always, making sure if they have questions that they ask the questions, that they report anything that's new.

 And so the communication remains open and opportunities to evolve while they're there. So, it can be overwhelming for patients, and so, being able to help guide through that and, allow them to relax a little bit once they realize that okay, this is what's happening. This is what I'm supposed to do. And one day at a time.

Host: Yeah. That's the way many things work in life, I believe. So how about when you're not busy with patients? I know most doctors tend to be busy with patients quite a lot, but what do you do outside of work? What are some of the fun things that you enjoy doing in your free time?

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: I would say number one is probably cooking. I enjoy trying new recipes. I'm on Pinterest way too much. So I'm always finding something to put together on the weekends. So, I enjoy that as well as baking. So, that's fun for me.

Host: Well, Dr. Hassel, it's been great getting to know you. Thank you for all the information you provided us today.

Danielle Hassel, MD, FAAPMR: Oh, you're very welcome. I'm so glad to be here.

Host: Once again, that was Dr. Danielle Hassel, a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician at Regional One Health. To learn more about our center for rehabilitative medicine at the East campus, located at 6555 Quince Road, visit regionalonehealth.org/center-for-rehabilitative-medicine.

For appointments, call 901-515-5900. And thanks to you for making One-On-One With Regional One Health, part of your journey to better health. Join us next time as we introduce you to another member of the Regional One Health Family.