Florida Hospital System (see more articles like this)

Harkins and Brinkman have each completed more than 130 hours of training, and both therapists have also accumulated more than seven years of experience treating lymphedema patients. Harkins and Brinkman are part of a very small group of clinicians that completed the on-going education necessary to treat lymphedema in Central Florida.

Lymphedema is a chronic and progressive condition which results from an abnormal accumulation of lymph fluid, usually in the extremities. Until recently, there has been a lack of significant research done in the United States about the nature of this condition as compared to European countries, but that is beginning to change thanks to dedicated clinicians like Harkins and Brinkman. With the aid of a skilled clinician, lymphedema can be brought under control through on-going management and attention to certain basic precautions.

“It is amazing to help people regain their quality of life when they haven’t been able to wear shoes or normal clothes for years. It is a blessing to really see people healing because of the treatments, but there is still a lot to be discovered about lymphedema. We are working on retrospective and progressive research studies that will help us learn more about the condition and how to prevent it,” Harkins said.

Harkins and Brinkman both believe in a team approach, which includes on-going education for therapists, nurses, and patients. 

“By working collaboratively with the skilled nursing staff, such as our wound care specialist, we are able to see greater improvement in patients who have multiple challenges at a much greater rate,” Brinkman said.

Florida Hospital Home Care Services specializes in providing a continuum of care for patients to recover in their own homes. With a physician-guided plan of care, FHHCS is able to offer skilled nursing services, a wound care specialist, rehabilitative services, diabetes management, and many other service lines, such as lymphedema treatment, that assist patients’ recovery in the convenience of their own home. FHHCS serves Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties.

With seven hospitals and 16 Centra Care locations, Florida Hospital is one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in the country, caring for more than one million patients each year.  The more than 1,900-bed hospital system has several major centers of excellence including Cardiology, Cancer, Neuroscience, Orthopaedics, and Diabetes.