Q: What should you look for when considering a SCI Rehabilitation Program?

A: There are a wide variety of rehabilitation programs, so finding the right one for your situation requires a comparison of your specific needs and what the center can offer you. Here are some useful questions to ask during your search:

Are the beds for people with SCI in the same area of the facility? Are there people in the SCI program of the same age and sex as the person considering admission?

Do the people in the SCI program have similar levels and kinds of spinal cord injury e.g., quadriplegia, paraplegia, incomplete and complete?

What is the average number of people admitted annually to the SCI program? (program staff should treat people with SCI on a regular basis to acquire and maintain expertise.)

Is the SCI program accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) or theJoint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)? Has it been designated as a Model Spinal Cord Injury Center by the National

Institute of Disability Research and Rehabilitation (NIDRR)? Click here for a current list of Model spinal cord injury centers)
Is the SCI program part of a SCI rehabilitation system operated by the state?

Are there treatment specialists in the SCI program who speak the primary language of the individual seeking treatment?

Will the treatment team develop a rehabilitation plan with both short and long term goals?

Will an experienced case manager be assigned to help family members obtain medical payments and other benefits from public and private insurance? Will a team member be assigned to coordinate treatment and act as a contact for staff and family members?

Staffing/Rehabilitation Program Elements

Is the physician in charge a Physiatrist? If not, what credentials does he/she have? How long has the physician in charge been directing programs specializing in SCI? Is there physician coverage seven days a week? Twenty-four hours a day?

Do the regular nursing staff and other specialists responsible for providing treatment in the SCI program have specific training in treating SCI? Is the nursing staff employed by the hospital or employed through an outside agency?

Does the program ensure the availability of rehabilitation nursing and respiratory care on a twenty-four hour basis?

Are there consultants available at the facility or nearby medical centers? These should include neurosurgery, neurology, urology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, neuropsychology, internal medicine, gynecology, speech pathology, pulmonary medicine, general surgery and psychiatry.

How often and for how long each day will participants get treatment by specialists such as occupational and physical therapists? Treatment should be no less then three hours per day.

Are other specialties such as driver education, rehabilitation engineering, chaplaincy, and therapeutic recreation available if needed?

Are activities planned for SCI program participants on weekends and evenings?

How much time is spent teaching SCI program participants and their families about sexuality, bowel and bladder care, skin care and other essential self-care activities?

Does the SCI program offer training in the management and hiring of personal care assistants? If so, how much time is spent by staff on this topic?

Questions have been taken from Spinal Cord Injury Resource Center, a site created and maintained by a SCI patient who has drawn the previous questions from his own experience.

A new book detailing the life and legacy of Christopher Reeve, Somewhere In Heaven by Christopher Anderson, provides inspiration for not just spinal cord injury patients, but everyone.

Christopher Reeve, best known for his portrayal of Superman, suffered a riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. His high profile roles immediately brought the attention of the media to his situation, his recovery landmarks and eventually his conflict with George Bush over the use of embryo stem cells.

Before his death in 2004, he worked hard with researchers such as Dr. Wise Young and Henry Steifel to bring attention to the American Paralysis Association (APA), lending his famous face to the cause . With Reeve’s help, the US Senate passed a bill allowing stem cell research to go forward, potentially helping thousands of SCI patients.

Christopher Reeve left behind millions that he raised for spinal injury research and a legacy that shows just how appropriate his “Superman” role was.

For more information, visit the Paralysis Resource Center.

With all the discussion lately about the variety of ways to sustain both head and spinal cord injuries (extreme sports, bike riding, trampolines and so on), it’s refreshing to be able to bring your attention to something that reduces your risk!

University of UBC researchers in Vancouver, Canada have created a helmet that will reduce spinal cord injuries due to a head-first collision by an astounding 56 percent. While still in the design stages, researchers say that it will reduce the load on the neck, preventing fractures and spine injuries by deflecting the head.

Initially this helmet will be marketed towards hockey players and then will begin to target other sports activities.

Environmental Control

Among the many complications of paralysis, one of the most frustrating is having reduced control over your environment. Everyday activities such as dialing a telephone or turning on a light suddenly become extremely difficult or even impossible.

An environmental control unit, otherwise known as an ECU, can help people with spinal cord injury regain control over their environment. ECUs maximize function and increase independence in the home, at work, at school, and in everyday life in general.

Simply put, an ECU is a remote control that operates a variety of appliances and switches. An ECU may allow you to open doors, adjust the lights, answer or dial the telephone, or turn on the television.

There is an ECU designed for just about any level of paralysis. ECUs can be operated by hand, by voice, by computer, by sip, by puffs of air, or even by eye blink.

Stem cell research has been a popular topic of controversy on the news, in politics, religion and in everyday households. These tiny cells are able to help repair the body as they have the ability to divide and become the cells needed to repair damage done to a body part such as the spinal cord.

The controversy comes into play when people disagree over the source for these cells. Abundant in deceased embryos, these cells are much less available in adults, which leads to division among those who would use this potentially healing tissue for research and those who believe it is an act against nature.

When it comes to making a choice for your own treatment, there are various approaches that can be taken, including the potential for them to be harvested from your own body. The possible benefits are huge, and because of this, worth looking deeper into.

For the whole article, please visit Medical News Today.

www.ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov, a service by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials, both in the United States and throughout the world.

Extremely user-friendly, ClinicalTrials.gov makes it easy to search for traumatic brain and spinal cord injury clinical research trials using the specific medical condition or other criteria. Study topics are listed by condition, by drug intervention, by sponsor, and also by location.

The listings include information about the reason for the trial, who may participate, the location of the trials, and other pertinent details.

In addition, ClinicalTrials.gov includes additional resources on its site, such as educational materials for those seeking education on clinical trials, a section devoted to what’s new in clinical trials, as well a glossary of terms used in clinical trial research.

Close to 36,000 Canadians live with spinal cord injuries, and it’s estimated that there are 100 more every year according to The Star. Anita Kaiser is one of these individuals, but with an additional challenge. She gave birth to a daughter while paralyzed from the chest down.

Kaiser has been working to bring attention to the barriers and stereotypes that are associated with being disabled and also choosing to be a parent. Her study looks at the various aspects of raising a child with a spinal injury - everything from the physical challenges to helpful products designed for the disability.

For more information, click here.

We have a noticed a trend in spinal cord and traumatic brain injury news lately - a significant amount of it has been coming out of Canada. What do the Canadians share? It would seem that the country is dedicated to providing support and awareness for brain and spinal cord injuries, and the activities they highlight are gaining world-wide recognition.

The most recent example of this is the 6th annual Rick Hansen Wheels In Motion event that raised more than $2 million for people living with spinal cord injuries.

Kuddos, Canada.

“Spinal cord injuries don’t hold people back. They push people forward,” says Joe Levy, the coordinator for the June 22 “They Will Surf Again” event held in Long Branch, N.J.

This event, sponsored by the Life Rolls On Foundation, draws participants from the severely disabled who can no longer surf, to those who recovered from their injuries and are back out riding the waves. Levy says that the event was created not just to raise money or awareness, but to assist people with “believing in the possible.”

Articles like this one are inspiring and in our opinion, a great counterbalance to the plethora of dismal tales and depressing statistics. People like Levy, who keep a great attitude and share that perspective with others who have suffered spinal cord injuries, help create sparks of inspiration and fan determination.

They Will Surf Again is the first of its kind in the Northeast and the founders hope it won’t be the last. For more information on this event, visit this link.

To read the whole article, click here.

Image credit here.