Stroke (CVA) Program
At The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center
Many of the patients at Patricia Neal are people who have survived a stroke or Cerebral Vascular Accident.
They are treated by the team approach which includes the patient and family members. A team of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, rehab psychologists (behavioral medicine), nursing staff, case managers, recreation therapists, and physiatrists (rehab physician) make up the treatment team. These therapists have 130 years of combined experience many with specialized neuro developmental training (NDT) and specialized visual training.
The primary goal of rehab is to help patients overcome disabilities and rediscover a satisfactory, productive lifestyle within the limits imposed by the stroke. Treatment is an active process with both patient and family involved in goal setting, therapy and education. Aspects of the programs include interdisciplinary therapy training in range of motion, strengthening and conditioning exercise, training in self-care and daily living skills, in ambulating and mobility, in homemaking, retraining in speech, language, and swallowing, monitoring medications, cognitive perceptual training, bowel and bladder retraining, leisure/recreation evaluations, psychological evaluations, and coordinated discharge planning. Other aspects include identification and management of risk factors to help prevent future strokes.
Many stroke patients will require follow-up therapies after their discharge from inpatient care. These follow-up therapies could include visits from a Home Health care provider, Outpatient clinic appointments, and community wide support group gatherings.
COVENANT HEALTH STROKE NETWORK
The newly established Covenant Health stroke network is in the forefront of treating acute stroke in the first few hours of onset. New drugs such as tPA and others are preventing some of the long term disability related to stroke or "brain attack". Fort Sanders has taken on the leadership role in educating the public about stroke prevention, recognizing the warning signs and realizing the immediate nature of stroke symptoms. The results of this innovative program are to reduce the incidents of stroke or "brain attack", to lessen the disability caused by stroke, to shorten the recovery and rehabilitation period, and to increase the functional gains and quality of life for the patient. This continuum of stroke care has made the transition from acute onset, to rehab, to home, and back to work a smooth and seamless user-friendly effort. It affords the patient and their family the finest in medical care, a caring, supportive environment, and the best opportunity for successful rehabilitation.
Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center provides a holistic team approach partnering comprehensive physical, occupational, speech and recreation therapy, rehab psychology, physiatry,
and case management concentrating on:
- Preserving abilities, strengthening, stamina, and improving balance in support of safe ambulation, transfers, self-care needs, & home care activities
- Patient and family post-stroke education on preventing stroke re-occurrence, and management of premorbid health issues
- Assessment and training for safe and proper use of adaptive equipment
- Supportive counseling for stress, pain management, and adjustment
- Thorough discharge planning with home exercise program, resource information, and home evaluation as needed
Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center provides early, intensive, and specialized therapy for stroke patients.
A 2002 study by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation concludes that early and intense inpatient rehabilitation services for stroke survivors provide significantly more favorable functional and cognitive outcomes with fewer complications than did non-intense rehabilitation efforts in home settings.
Comprehensive rehab therapy received in rehabilitation centers is:
- More intense with
- Sessions of longer duration and
- Greater frequency, resulting in
- Greater functional recovery
- In a shorter time period
- With a shorter length of stay and
- Improved quality of life for the patient
20 specialized stroke therapists with a combined 130 years of experience treat stroke patients at Patricia Neal. Other therapists specialize in spinal cord, brain injury, or orthopedic rehab. Many therapists have advanced education in Neuro Developmental Training (NDT) and Visual Training for Adults with Neurological Deficits. They utilize sophisticated equipment such as LiteGate supported ambulation, BellSouth Computer and Life Skills Lab, augmentative communication training, and treatments such as serial casting and phenol blocks, to augment therapy that stretches the patient to the limits of their capabilities.
In all stroke outcomes categories, PNRC patients achieved a higher level of function sooner than the national norms for rehab facilities around the country. (1st quarter 2002 UDS) PNRC treated 329 stroke patients in 2001 and approximately 6000 patients in our first 25 years of service.
| Average length of stay |
% PNRC patients discharged to community
|
% Patients discharged to community nationally
(1st quarter 2002 UDS)
|
| 18 days |
84% |
71% |
Patient satisfaction surveys indicate scores in all categories are in the positive agree to strongly agree category. On a scale of 1-4 with 4 indicating strongest agreement, 3.59 respondents said they would recommend PNRC to a family member who was in need of rehab care.
