|
|
|
Patients who need 24-hour physician and nursing care are admitted to our inpatient program at CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital. Patients receive comprehensive care by a physiatrist (physician who specializes in rehabilitation medicine) and a minimum of three hours of therapy each day from therapists and nurses highly trained and certified in neuro-rehabilitation. Our clinicians are committed to  individualizing therapy programs to promote recovery of function and maximize each patient’s rehabilitation potential and independence.
Patients who do not require an inpatient stay or who require extended therapy after an inpatient stay may choose to continue their rehabilitation program through CarePartners' convenient outpatient clinics or home health agency.
Families are encouraged to participate in the rehabilitation process as they feel comfortable. Families are provided with training and resource materials for the patient's care after discharge.
The therapies and recovery support services offered throughout the CarePartners continuum of care and Neurosciences Program include:
- Physical/Occupational/Speech Therapies
- Dysphagia Program and Voice Therapy
- Cognitive & Behavioral Rehabilitation
- Incontinence Program
- Bowel and Bladder Retraining
- Aquatics Therapy
- Massage Therapy
- Driver’s Evaluations
- Balance and Vestibular Rehabilitation
- Wheelchair and Seating Clinic
- Orthotics and Prosthetics
- Vocational Rehabilitation
- Support Groups
--> Back to top
Neuroscience Program Benefits
- A customized rehabilitation program designed by experts to meet the patient's specific needs and maximize functional independence.
- Care tailored to individual patients based on expertise in treatment of specific conditions.
- Communication between physician, hospital and CarePartners to ensure the patient's needs are met.
- Nurse Case Management and an interdisciplinary team approach which ensures an excellent "care experience.”
- A continuum of care that provides a full array of post-acute care including outpatient, home health, personal care at home, hospice, and adult day services.
- Coordination of services among CarePartners programs and outside caregivers.
- Family education and support group assistance.
- Quality assurance through service management by the Program Line Director.
--> Back to top
Constraint Induced Movement Therapy: New Therapy Program For Stroke Survivors
 Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) is a therapeutic behavioral technique designed to increase use of stroke-related weakness in upper extremities. In the past, movement that was recovered a year post-stroke was the best that could be expected for the rest of a person’s life. Now, research conducted at the University of Alabama and carried out through a national clinical trial, has proven that this intensive behavioral therapeutic approach has helped people who experienced a stroke 20 years ago or more regain varying amounts of upper extremity function.
First, individuals must meet program criteria and an initial evaluation by a physical therapist professionally trained at the University of Alabama in Constraint Induced Therapy. Then they participate in three and a half hours of intensive rehabilitation therapy every day for two weeks at CarePartners Outpatient Center, followed by exercises that must be completed at home each day. The therapy includes wearing a padded mitt on the stronger extremity, forcing the patient to use their weaker extremity while completing repetitive therapy tasks and timed upper extremity exercises. The mitt is worn both in the clinic and at home while completing assigned homework tasks with their affected arm.
Constraint Induced Movement Therapy has shown impressive results and while the amount of improvement will vary for each patient, a great majority of patients will show a substantial increase in the functional uses of their affected limb.
Criteria for entrance into the CIMT Program include the following, in addition to a telephone questionnaire:
- Must have had their stroke at least six months prior to starting this program (otherwise unlimited time frame and no age limit).
- Cannot have had bilateral strokes.
- Some shoulder/elbow/wrist/finger movement of affected arm.
- Ability to stand, transfer, walk, propel wheelchair without assistance from someone else.
- Ability to follow instructions.
- No major cognitive or memory deficits.
- No major problems with pain.
- No major hearing or visual deficits.
Think CIMT might benefit you? To make an appointment to complete a phone questionnaire, call CarePartners Outpatient Center at (828) 274-6179. Or, for more information on Constraint Induced Movement Therapy Research go to: www.excite.wustl.edu or www.TaubTherapy.com
--> Back to top
CarePartners Dysphagia Treatment Program
Swallowing dysfunction or “Dysphagia” is a secondary complication of many conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), radiation therapy as a result of head and neck cancer, post polio syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and several other degenerative and muscular conditions.
CarePartners Dysphagia Treatment Program incorporates treatment therapies of surface EMG-biofeedback, Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation (DPNS), therapeutic swallowing exercises, along with the newest technology utilizing neuromuscular stimulation, often called VitalStimTherapy™. This therapy regime is an active rehabilitation program combining the physiological benefits of specific neuromuscular electrical stimulation and traditional speech therapy exercises that can result in increased swallowing ability, decrease risk of aspiration and pneumonia, improve nutrition, social and emotional well being, as well as overall quality of life. For more information on VitalStim™ Therapy go to www.vitalstim.com.
Following a referral by a physician, a modified barium swallow study is scheduled, which can be performed at CarePartners Outpatient Center, followed by a customized plan of care by a Speech and Language Pathologist certified in VitalStim™ therapy. This plan of care will be shared with the patient and the referring physician. Once the therapy is started, some patients may see improvement in as little as six treatments, while others require twenty or more.
Results
Some of the results patients at CarePartners have experienced by participating in the Dysphagia Treatment Program have been increased swallowing function, increased vocal intensity, increased tone and movement of facial muscles, decreased choking episodes, and in some cases, discontinuation of a feeding tube.
CarePartners Dysphagia Treatment Program and VitalStim™ Therapy is offered through two of our Outpatient Treatment Centers, and our Home Health service area.
--> Back to top
Lee Silverman Voice Treatment®
One and a half million people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and an estimated 75 percent of those individuals experience speech and voice disorders that hinder communication in social, family, and work situations. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® (LSVT), the first effective treatment established for improving the voice and speech problems of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, is now offered at two CarePartners Outpatient Centers.
What Is Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) Therapy?
The LSVT® approach is an intensive training program in which the individual with Parkinson’s learns to improve loudness, voice quality, and articulation to improve speech and sound production. Lee Silverman was a woman with Parkinson’s Disease who experienced voice and speech difficulties. In her memory, her family provided funding for the treatment approach now bearing her name. For more information on the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Therapy, visit the LSVT website at www.lsvt.org.
LSVT uses loudness training as its basis and consists of intensive daily training sessions that emphasize high vocal and breathing exercises. A variety of exercises is used to promote vocal loudness, and the individual is encouraged to THINK LOUD. A CarePartners Speech Pathologist works with the individual to recalibrate their sense of phonatory effort, loudness, and speech production.
LSVT at CarePartners Outpatient Centers
The LSVT program is offered at two CarePartners Outpatient Centers and is covered by Medicare. A referral from an otolaryngologist or primary care physician is required.
The initial LSVT assessment is conducted by a trained and certified Speech and Language Pathologist, and includes realistic goal setting by the patient and audio taping of voice samples. Patient’s goals often include being able to read to their grandchildren, talk on the phone, or just be heard and understood by family and friends at home and in social environments.
An LSVT treatment program usually consists of 16 sessions (four days per week) for four weeks. During the treatment program, family members are encouraged to participate by assisting with short practice sessions at home.
--> Back to top
Patient Comments
“Without CarePartners’ consistent concern and care, I would not be as mobile as I am after my debilitating stroke three years ago.”
~ Neuroscience Program Patient
“When I left Thoms, I felt like I was leaving family. The care my son received after his brain injury was wonderful, and so was the entire staff.”
~ Parent of a Neuroscience Program Patient
--> Back to top
CarePartners Health Services
68 Sweeten Creek Road • Asheville, NC 28803 • (828) 277-4800
info@carepartners.org
|
|
|
