Joan Y. Hou, MD

Specialties: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Traumatic Brain Injury

Gender: Female

Biography: Dr. Joan Hou, MD, MSc, is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and also in brain injury medicine.

Dr. Hou earned her medical degree from Peking Union Medical College and Shanxi Medical University, China. She also has a Master of Science in medical microbiology and infectious diseases from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. She also completed a prestigious two-year Research Fellowship in the Department of Anesthesiology with the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York and then worked as a research assistant professor in the department. She is the co-author of numerous peer-reviewed book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles.

She did her internship in the Department of Surgery at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York and completed her Residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She also did a polytrauma/TBI fellowship at Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center/Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

Before joining Lakeland Regional Medical Center, she was a staff physician in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and then became medical director and staff physician at St. Vincent-Evansville Rehabilitation Institute in Evansville, Indiana.

Dr. Hou is an experienced physiatrist, currently the director of TBI service, having worked as a staff attending physician in multiple institutions before her joining UMMC. She utilizes a multidisciplinary care approach and emphasizes compassionate individualized care to patients, specializing in the rehabilitation of a variety of disabling conditions including traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries (stokes, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumors, etc), spinal cord injuries, amputations and musculoskeletal injuries. She has a special interest in the rehabilitation of patients with brain injuries and treating their associated complications, including headaches and spasticity. She strives to improve patients' level of function to maximize their independence.