Tag Archives: rehabilitation

It’s all about choices

It’s all about choices wheelchair vans newenglandwheelchairvan.com

The theme of the website revolves around choice and making a knowledgeable decision. The site has reviews on manual rigid frame models, folding wheelchairs and power chairs. They even have a section on all-terrain wheelchairs and sports wheelchairs. Just about every type of mobility device is represented. One of the more popular wheelchairs in the rigid frame section is the Ti Lite ZRA with 42 user postings. Overall, they have a 3.76 end user rating. Among the highest rated rigid frames with a 5.0 rating, but with only 10 user reviews is the Lasher Sport, Llc BT-Mg.

To see what people are saying about your wheelchair or one that you may be looking at getting in the future, go to wheelchair reviews.

Scooter Reviews for Three and Four Wheeled Models

The website also has reviews and ratings for scooters. These include 3-wheel scooters, 4-wheel scooters, and lightweight scooters. Among the top reviewed in the lightweights is the Pride Mobility Go Go. To see the scooters listed and which one sounds like the right fit for your needs, go to scooter reviews.

About United Spinal

United Spinal was founded in 1946 by a group of paralyzed WWII veterans in New York City who advocated for greater civil rights and independence for themselves and their fellow veterans. Today, United Spinal is the largest non-profit organization dedicated to helping people living with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). Its 35,000 members are of all ages and backgrounds and membership is free.

Other Resources

Other online websites for learning about different wheelchair makes and models include Spin Life and Disabled World. Getting as many opinions as you can from friends and support groups is highly suggested to find the right chair to meet your needs and personal preferences. Making a knowledgeable decision by doing a little research online may save you time and money.

NAVSEA’s Wounded Warrior Program

NAVSEA’s  Wounded Warrior

Due to advances in modern military medicine, unprecedented numbers of wounded service members are returning to the fight or transitioning their service to civilian employment. Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Army  

The skills and experiences of our warriors or veterans represents a rich resource of talent that can support NAVSEA’s mission of developing, delivering and maintaining ships and systems on time, on cost for the U.S. Navy.

Due to advances in modern military medicine, unprecedented numbers of wounded service members are returning to the fight or transitioning their service to civilian employment.  Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Army     

Naval Sea Systems Command’s Wounded Warrior Program seeks to match service-disabled veterans with employment opportunities in NAVSEA’s industrial, scientific, contracting and administrative fields. NAVSEA has approximately 60,000 positions at 38 different field activities across the country and overseas. The command also collaborates with the Army Material Command to help wounded warriors find meaningful opportunities at Army locations within the United States.    

   

Due to advances in modern military medicine, unprecedented numbers of wounded service members are returning to the fight or transitioning their service to civilian employment.  Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Army

  Internships

Internships offer the training and education for wounded warriors to excel in entry-level placements and advance in their chosen field. Consult the Wounded Warrior Program office for the latest opportunities.

Education Counseling

Wounded Warrior Program coordinators offer post 9-11 GI bill benefits guidance to help navigate educational opportunities offered through NAVSEA, the Veteran’s Administration, and the Department of Labor.

Mentor, Assist, Train to Excel and Support

 NAVSEA’s commitment to wounded warriors continues beyond employment placement. Hand-selected mentors work with wounded warriors, providing continued support as they transition to the civilian workforce. The command’s commitment to veterans and its leadership from the front approach sets the precedent for the Navy’s other systems commands.

Videos

NAVSEA’s Vice Adm. McCoy Highlights Wounded Warrior Transition Programs (video)

Sylvester Ceasar, Aquisition Logistics Specialist

Mark Gwathmey, Disaster Management Specialist

Lili Jones, NAVSEA Logistics Management Specialist    

Contact Them

To learn more about the NAVSEA Wounded Warrior Program, please call (202) 781-1431 or email nssc_wwarriorhiring@navy.mil.

Discover the National Veterans Wheelchair Games

 

discover- the national veterans wheelchair games wheelchair vans newenglandwheelchairvan.com

The National Veterans Wheelchair Games, copresented annually by Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Department of Veterans Affairs(VA), allows veterans with disabilities to rediscover their strength and potential through athletic competition with peers. The Games are the largest annual wheelchair-sporting event in the world, with hundreds of participants and thousands of volunteers attending, making planning and preparation a year-long process.

The 33rd Wheelchair Games will be held July 13–18, 2013, in Tampa, FL. The Tampa Convention Center met all of the criteria for hosting the Games, which included availability of a very large, open space suitable for the Sports, Recreation and Fitness Expo and availability of appropriate venues around the city for the various competitions, including softball, basketball, track and field and trapshooting. Events will take place at the riverwalk, in parks, the host hotel, the zoo, a local high school and at the Convention Center, where competitions, ceremonies and the Expo will be held.

At the Expo corporate and nonprofit organizations showcase their brand and engage with hundreds of wheelchair athletes, coaches, family members, health-care providers and rehabilitation professionals.  Veterans can learn about a variety of health-care products and services and organizations that offer assistance or opportunities.

Local Host Coordinator (LOC) and VA Recreation Therapist Jeanene LeSure said the LOC just “recently secured all of our venues for the various sporting events and ceremonies. Our entire LOC is complete; we have a lot of dedicated VA employees as well as chapter members from the Paralyzed Veterans Florida Gulf Coast serving on several committees.”

LeSure is responsible for managing the LOC and its nonstop work to have everything ready for the Games in 2013. “We’re almost at the halfway point; we’ve been working for about a year now,” she said.

Without the generous and selfless support of sponsors, many of which have been supporting the Games for upward of 20, 25 and 30 years, the Games could not be the annual success that it is.  Sponsor and exhibitor recruitment is also a year-round process, conducted by Paralyzed Veterans corporate marketing team as well as the LOC.

“Simply put, our sponsors are the lifeblood to ensuring each year that we have the appropriate means to make the NVWG a great success,” said Pablo Sosa, associate director, Corporate & Cause Marketing. “Through our sponsors’ generous support, Paralyzed Veterans is helping improve the lives and well-being of these most deserving men and women.”

Back in Tampa, logistics take priority. Recently the LOC completed its warehouse inventory. “We went through about 17 53-foot UPS trucks full of equipment [for the sporting events]. We counted everything and took note of what we needed in order to ensure we have everything we need for the Games,” LeSure added.

Even with several accomplishments under its belt, the LOC still has a lot of work to do in order to make the Games a success. Currently, the LOC is working out the “finer details” of the Games, including finalizing the event schedule, ensuring that it has the necessary equipment for the various sporting events and ensuring that the venues are capable of holding the planned sports.

“In that area, the Tampa area has an advantage because many of the events that we are hosting at the Games are already hosted locally here in Tampa. So many of our venues are already familiar with the rules and regulations of these sports, making the whole process a lot easier for everyone,” LeSure said.

Tom Brown, Paralyzed Veterans’ consultant and program manager for the Games, noted, “The LOC in Tampa has been extremely cooperative and energetic. They are eager to ensure that the 33rd NVWG is the best ever.  We all share the same goal, that of making sure the veterans have an excellent, life-changing experience.”

In the months ahead, LeSure and the LOC will be busy trying to register the 2,500-3,000 volunteers necessary to work the Wheelchair Games. For those interested, there will be an online signup that will open in January 2013. This registration period will last until June.

Thirty-two years ago, the Wheelchair Games started out as a rehabilitation event, an extension of therapy in the community to help our nation’s wounded heroes know that disabled does not mean unable.

“The Games have never lost that focus and have been introducing veterans to opportunities in sports and recreation that they never dreamed possible. For many of our veterans, the Games are truly life changing,” Brown said. “We make it our priority to ensure that each veteran has a truly memorable and rewarding experience.”

Learn more about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games

 

spinal cord injury rehabilitation program new england

spinal cord injury rehabilitation program new england http://newenglandwheelchairvan.com/

Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program

Early rehabilitation treatment is critical to help patients achieve their fullest potential following a spinal cord injury. At New England Rehabilitation Hospital patients learn how to adapt and return to a normal life. Patients learn how to avoid complications and increase independence. New England Rehabilitation Hospital is pleased to offer a primary care practice for individuals with spinal cord injuries. This program provides individuals with spinal cord injury a community based physician that has the expertise and commitment to care for their special needs on an ongoing and proactive basis.

The Spinal Cord Injury Team of experienced clinicians at New England Rehabilitation Hospital may include some or all of the following professionals dependent on the patient’s individual needs:

The Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Team Consists of:

New England Rehabilitation Hospital’s Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program is designed to help individuals maximize their functional abilities so they can successfully return to the community. This goal is accomplished through development of an individualized treatment plan for each patient by the interdisciplinary staff. New England Rehabilitation Hospital advocates for involvement of the family in all aspects of care, and ensures patient/family education, support and participation in life care planning. New England Rehabilitation Hospital is fortunate to have the Greater Boston Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association at the hospital. The chapter is an invaluable asset in the rehabilitation and support of individuals with spinal cord injury.

  • Physiatrist (a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation) Board Certified in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine
  • Psychiatrist
  • Nurses specializing in 24-Hour Rehabilitation Nursing
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Physical Therapist
  • Speech Language Pathologist
  • Case Manager
  • Benefits specialist
  • Dietician
  • Other medical specialties to include;
    • Neurologist
    • Neuropsychologist
    • ENT
    • Oncologist
    • Pulmonologist
    • Infectious Disease Specialist
    • Wound Specialist

Program Components

The Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program components include:

  • 24-Hour Rehabilitation nursing to address wound management, pain management, reinforce acquired functional skills, to assist with education of the patient and family.
  • Intensive and Individualized, goal-oriented treatment plans
  • Functional Approach to Activities of Daily Living and Community Re-entry
  • Availability of State-of-the-Art rehabilitation technology to include:
    • AutoAmbulator (partial weight support treadmill training)
    • Bioness H200 (Functional Electrical Stimulation)
    • Bioness L300 (Functional Electrical Stimulation)
    • Adaptive equipment for phone, computer and other aspects of communication.
  • Specialized insurance benefits coordination and management
  • Family conferences, education and support
  • Comprehensive case management discharge planning
  • Nutritional management
  • Daily Living Skills Training
  • Community Re-Entry Program
  • Splinting and Orthotics
  • Sexual Counseling
  • Educational Series
  • Driving Evaluation Program, as well as referrals to vendors for access and training to adaptive driving equipment.
  • Therapeutic Pool (Woburn only, 96 degrees)
  • Comprehensive Outpatient Services/Clinics including access to a physiatrist who specialize in the care of individuals with spinal cord injury.

Benefits Management and Coordination

An illness or injury may affect a person’s capacity for returning to work. If one of our patients is likely to be unable to return to work for a short or extended period, New England Rehabilitation Hospital offers the services of a Benefits Specialist to help the patient and family with practical matters of income replacement and health insurance concerns. The Benefits Specialist addresses such matters as: filing for Family and Medical Leave, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Social Security Disability, MassHealth and COBRA assistance. The Benefits Specialist is also able to address social concerns of emergency aid for those persons who may not have worked prior to the injury or illness.

New England Rehabilitation Hospital recognizes the importance of assisting patients back to their homes, communities and places of work. The benefits service is dedicated to achieving those goals by helping patients and families navigate through disability benefits systems and by providing support to patients and families as they go through this often difficult and confusing process. Many patients have commented that they would not have known “where to begin” and that this service completes their overall rehabilitation.

New England Rehab Offers Elder Assist Clinic

New England Rehabilitation Hospital in conjunction with the Senior Resource Center (SRC) now offers complimentary, weekly Elder Assist Clinics in Woburn. These pre-registered private appointments with SRC’s Eldercare Nurse Attorneys help patients and their families with important issues, to include:

  • How to pay for current and long term health care needs
  • How to protect your home and your hard assets
  • Advice on estate planning

These clinics serve as a bridge in helping New England Rehabilitation Hospital patients and their families deal with transition needs for a safe and timely discharge home, to a skilled nursing facility, or an assisted living facility.

Senior Resource Center, Inc. is a full-service eldercare planning advisory group, supporting seniors and their families throughout Massachusetts, and southern New Hampshire.

VMi Honors Veterans

VMI-Group-photo

The Memorial Day weekend has passed again for another year. As much as this holiday traditionally marks the beginning of summer and a day off of work for many, its true significance is far greater. We remember the fallen soldiers from wars both past and present and also recognize those who continue to serve.

The Virginia G. Piper Sports and Fitness Center for Persons with Disabilities (SpoFit) will host the Saluting Service Open House and Resource Fair, an event tailored to Armed Service veterans, on Saturday, June 1. Among the main sponsors is our flagship VMI Mobility Center (VMI), located in Phoenix.

By all outward appearances, VMI is not the typical car dealership. As a company that installs driving accommodations for people with disabilities, they enjoy a strong connection with that community – one which often extends beyond the process of setting up hand controls or transfer seats. VMI’s General Manager Cindy Ketcherside and the company’s Vehicle Mobility Specialist Sherry Joseph describe the bond created between the staff and their customers as closer to that of a family: deep, lasting and caring.

The priority to foster a welcoming environment for those they serve is evident when you first enter the VMI building. Features like automatic doors at the entrance and ample space for wheelchair users to navigate the showroom floor are important to creating a welcoming environment. When we entered one of the conference rooms, only office chairs occupied three of the four spaces at the table and one was intentionally left open for a wheelchair user.

The showroom walls are also a key to understanding the company’s passion for helping their clients achieve greater independence by getting them behind the wheel. Each wall is decorated with large images of wheelchair users and others with disabilities, along with words like “realize,” “determination,” and “future” in bold lettering.

One wall is meant to honor United States veterans, and the planning and execution to develop a suitable tribute took some extra effort. Ketcherside explained that the company brought in specialists to advise them on what to include on the veterans’ wall.

“How we do our dedication to our veterans can imply that there is possibly a disability and they could be a wheelchair user. But very specifically, that wall is the only wall that doesn’t have a wheelchair user on it,” Ketcherside said. “We want to honor them for who they are and what they brought to our country [and] we want to make sure that we’re honoring it in the right way.”

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Adam-Kuehn_VMI

Another way in which VMI works to support veterans is by hiring them to work with the company.

Adam Kuehn, Sr., who is now a technician at VMI, served three tours of duty in the United States Army. He spent four years at Fort Bragg, NC, and was sent to Khost, Afghanistan and Fallujah, Iraq during that time. Kuehn then joined the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Fort Wainwright, AK for another three years, and was sent to Mosul, Iraq for another eight months. In total, he was deployed for two full years.

Kuehn’s seven-plus years in the military taught him valuable life lessons, including those that can translate to his work at VMI. One of the critical skills he continues to carry with him today is teamwork.

“The motto for the company right now is ‘One Team, One Journey,’” he said. “We’re all in it together for the same purpose of taking care of our physically challenged customers and their caregivers, just making everyone’s life that much easier.”

Both Ketcherside and Joseph agree that having Kuehn as a part of the company is invaluable, because he can both get the job done well, and also make veterans feel comfortable when visiting the dealership.

“He has such a great personality and he’s kind of a jokester at the same time,” Ketcherside said of Kuehn. “If you didn’t feel like family before… connect [the veterans] to Adam, and they’re instantly family for life.”

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According to Ketcherside, there are programs and benefits available to veterans and others with disabilities that many do not even know exist. Part of VMI’s goal – both through the Saluting Service event and overall – is to increase awareness about transportation options that these groups have available to them.

“A lot of the clientele that goes to SpoFit are clientele that we would like them to see our van as an opportunity or as an option for their transportation needs,” Ketcherside said.

On Saturday, VMI will have a vehicle on-site, along with a specialist to answer any questions. More information about the services VMI provides will be available at the event as well.

VMI and SpoFit have worked together in the past, including prior to and during the most recent Paralympic Games in London.

In addition to VMI, fellow sponsors include USAA, Hanger Clinics, Gorilla Capital, among others.