Brain and Spinal Injury News Alerts

Employed Caregiver Program Broadcast

A broadcast on “Innovative Employer Caregiving Programs” for employed caregivers is airing on the web and by satellite on September 17, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon (Pacific Time).    The Department of Health and Human Services New Freedom Initiative Subcommittee (NFI) is producing the broadcast.

The broadcast is for employers, caregivers and organizations that provide caregiver services.  It will include presentations from employers and organizations that have successfully instituted programs to help their employed caregivers.  Presenters will discuss their programs, experiences, and how their successes can be replicated by others.

Assisting caregivers is an important topic for employers as their full or part-time employees are increasingly being called upon to care for an aging, sick or injured loved one. Helping caregivers through developing intelligent programs keep employees productive and able to balance all the demands on them. There will be a 30 minutes Q&A session by conference call following the broadcast. Employers looking to create services or programs should tune in.   

The broadcast will be available on the web through the National Institutes of Health.  There is also an audio line to listen in via telephone.

To get all the information about accessing the broadcast, and to register click here.  You need to register to get broadcast access details.

Congressional Brain Injury Task Force Newsletter

With 1.4 million Americans experiencing traumatic brain injury and 5.3 million living with long-term and severe brain-related disabilities, the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force is now publishing a quarterly newsletter.  The mission of the Task Force is to educate and promote awareness of brain injury and to support funding for research.

The newsletter recaps legislative activity, studies and reports, media coverage and upcoming events related to brain injury.  While much of the activity in the Task Force is driven by the increased incidence of brain injury in soldiers in Iraq, much of the information and funding impacts anyone with brain injury.

The link to the full newsletter is here.

New Brain and Spinal Injury Web Site and Blog

MIT’s Technology Review brings us a report about a new Brain and Spinal Cord Injury web site and blog.  It is a rich resource, aimed at helping with learning to cope after a life-altering accident.  Spend just a few minutes there and you will see that they are building an extensive knowledge base of information about rehabilitation, recovery, research, coping and treatment. 

You’ll find a growing video library and a daily blog on the latest news and developments.  The blog has a unique “Technology Thursday” posting each week which highlights new technological developments for treatment or assistance. Topic categories on the blog make for easy searching of more specific topics related to brain or spinal injury.  Soon they will have a comprehensive list of treatment centers. 

The website and blog are definitely worth checking out.  You’ll find them here.

America’s Heroes At Work

The U.S. Department of Labor has just unveiled a new web site, America’s Heroes at Work, supporting the employment and success of returning Vets who have TBI and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  It is designed for employers and workforce development organizations or departments and includes fact sheets, presentation & training tools, success stories, on-the-job challenge resources and best practices.

The initiative is jointly managed by the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Veteran’s Employment and Training Service in collaboration with several federal agencies including the Department of Defense, the Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration among others.

Reading Your Mind: Brain Books

Since the dog days of summer are upon us we thought it a good time to participate in that time-honored ritual of sharing great books for reading during these hopefully more leisurely days.   

A topic near and dear to our hearts here at CareMeridian is our brains.  Wait!  Keep reading!   Believe it or not there are some really great, fascinating, summer-reading books about that mysterious organ that is responsible for how we experience the world.  These aren’t academic tomes that might belong in neurobiologist’s library – these are fun and fascinating reads that tell us new and exciting things about ourselves, and why we do what we do.  I wonder, don’t you?

Check these out for something different!

Brain Rules
This just hit the bookshelves a couple of months ago and is creating book circle buzz.  Everybody who owns a brain ought to read this book!  Author Dr. John Medina leads us through what a business or learning environment just might look like if we designed them for the way our brains actually work.

He give us 12 simple things (rules) about our brains that will help us work better, help your kids learn better, or even help you give better presentations.

The book is a breezy read, but it also comes with a DVD.  There is a terrific Brain Rules web site (video included) and a fun blog.  Even if you don’t buy the book, the web site gives you a peek at the 12 brain rules and is full of resources.  You can even listen to excerpts from the audio book for free.

On the blog you can view lots of great videos, such as this talk the author gave at Google headquarters on stress and exercise.

There is a lot of good stuff in here to power your brain.

Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Every Day Life

This book will explain why you are a morning person (or not) or why you can’t tickle yourself.

It is a bit of a romp through brain science, biology, and sociology while giving you lots of trivia with which to pepper your next dinner party conversation.  It is as entertaining as it is up-to-date science.

And don’t miss the blog by the same name – it is regularly updated with fun information and really practical examples the authors pull right out of today’s headlines.  It also links to all kinds of interviews and articles about the book and while you are there, browse the sidebar for upcoming events with the authors that might be in your area.

The Body Has a Mind of Its Own

The brain and the body are intertwined and interdependent.  In fact our brains build body maps totally based on what we do with out bodies. For instance, pianists have larger areas in the brain because of all that finger work; violinists have a larger area just for their left hands. What we do with our bodies, has everything to do with what our individual body maps are.

Our body maps can even “extend” feeling beyond our own bodies -  like to tools we use, the horse we might ride, or even lovers may “share” a body map. 

Sometimes our body maps can be dysfunctional too, such as in the anorexic who feels fat, or giving us that creepy “out of body” experience.   

The mother and son authors, Sandra and Matthew Blakeslee, do an excellent job of helping us understand the plasticity of our brains, showing us through examples, how our brains change with and respond to the environments we operate in, constantly adapting to and with our bodies.

The book is slated or release in paperback in September.  Check out the book web site for more information about The Body Has a Mind of Its Own.

Back of the Napkin

Even if you have two left brains, you can express complex information with drawings.  In fact, because our brains love visual information, you might even do it better than ever.

It all starts with a drawing on the back of a napkin.  Dan Roam tells us about his ah-ha moment about the power simple stick-figure drawings can hold.  He was asked to be a last-second fill-in as a presenter to top government officials.  Without the weapons of PowerPoint and computer, he was left with describing what he would talk about on the back of a napkin.  The simplicity and power of the drawing immediately captivated the organizer – and then the audience. 

This book tells us how we can do the same.

Although the message of the book is simplicity, the author sometimes over complicates things with an extended case study, but you won’t miss it if you skip over it.  A great book to help you “re-think” the way we solve problems in business and in life by visualizing them in way more simple ways. 

Our brains like pictures and they don’t have to be fancy!  Check out the web site here.

Read and enjoy your brain!

Spinal Cord Injury: Community Integration

One of the foundations of our patient care for spinal cord injury - and of our philosophy at CareMeridian - is patient community integration.  It differentiates our care from most other rehabilitation facilities and programs.  We emphasize sustaining rehabilitation into the community setting – beyond the hallways of the rehab facility.

Unlike catastrophic illness such as brain injury, functionality and mobility are key to spinal cord injury recovery.  Helping a patient to accomplish everyday tasks in their normal environment means they can achieve greater independence and enjoy daily living.

Traditional recovery often focuses almost completely on physical rehabilitation, which is of course a critical element of healing.  However, community integration also addresses the equally important, if traditionally under emphasized, aspects of independence, friendships, family relationships and participation in activities. 

Technically, community integration is defined as the resumption of appropriate social roles following a disability.  So work, a social network, recreation, along with physical rehabilitation is what truly supports holistic healing and allows the individual to feel part of the larger community.

Knowing the importance of community integration, a part of our spinal cord rehabilitation includes teaching patients to navigate daily activities, such as shopping, going the gym or enjoying an outdoor activity.  But because family becomes a critical source of social and recreational activity for an SCI patient, we also help families to assist patients and encourage them in interacting with their environment in ways appropriate to the individual and his or her injury.

Home is the central touch point of community.  It is why CareMeridian’s facilities look, feel and function like a family home, yet are highly skilled environments for aggressive rehabilitation. Healing the whole person is always at the forefront of our programs, and we believe our commitment to community integration is a factor in the high degree of positive outcomes for our patients and eases the transition from rehab to home.

Our Little CJ

We just must share a joyful update on “our little CJ.”   She’s now at home with her family.  We at CareMeridian had the great privilege of helping her get back there, where she belongs.

You see CJ was just 10 years old when she suffered a stroke.  Such a very rare catastrophic injury in one so young. 

CJ was in a coma, only very minimally responsive to any stimuli. Treating doctors at the hospital gave the family virtually no hope for CJ’s recovery.

CJ’s insurance case manager requested that Children’s’ Hospital Central California contact CareMeridian to evaluate CJ and make recommendations. CareMeridian staff evaluated her while she was in the hospital, and she was soon transferred to our San Martin facility for rehabilitation and home-like care.

During the 2 months CJ was with us we all worked hard; CJ, Mom, family and the entire San Martin team.   With expert care, specialized therapies, dedicated staff and loving support, CJ went from almost no response and no ability to eat, walk or talk, to awareness, managing self care tasks and becoming mobile.

It was a happy day at Care Meridian when we saw CJ headed back to Children’s’ Hospital Central California Acute Rehabilitation Center.  She still had work to do, but she was ready to continue her recovery outside the enveloping shelter of CareMeridian. 

Today, her Mom told us she is growing and continuing to improve.  She is now going to a specialized school and able to feed and dress herself and walk with the help of a brace.

CJ’s mom shared words we love to hear: that she knows the care she received here at CareMeridian was the best anywhere and she credits us with CJ’s recovery. 

We couldn’t be prouder of “our little CJ.”  And, no matter where she goes, she will always be a member of the CareMeridian family.

A Look Back: Grant Munsey’s Words Speak Volumes

We are fortunate at CareMeridian to have many success stories – residents who defy the odds and fill our facilities with pride. But one resident said more with two simple words than we could ever say ourselves.

Grant Munsey had already made amazing progress after just a few short months at our San Martin facility. After a medical procedure helped improve his movement – he now could move his fingers, shrug his shoulders and make facial expressions – Grant was well on his way to recovery. But Grant had one more surprise for the CareMeridian staff and his wife, Sandy.

One day, while working with a speech therapist to exercise his vocal cords, the therapist noticed that Grant was trying to give voice to the words she was speaking. The therapist said “sounds good” – and Grant, unable to speak for three years, said “sounds good” right back.

“Many of us had tears in our eyes and some of us couldn’t believe our ears, so we kept asking Grant to say anything,” one CareMeridian associate recalled.

Grant had one more surprise up his sleeve. The next day, when Grant’s wife Sandy arrived, he looked at her and said, “I love you, Sandy.” Those words made Sandy, Grant, and everyone in the CareMeridian family very happy indeed.

Welcome to ‘Insights’ – CareMeridian’s Home for Inspiration and Conversation

CareMeridian is unlike any other facility of its kind. As you may have read elsewhere on our site, our unique program merges the aesthetics of a residential environment within a framework of state-of-the-art technology and service. We provide cost-effective, sophisticated post-acute care alternative for catastrophically ill or injured individuals of all ages. Our accredited CareMeridian residences provides short term, long term, and life care programs with 24-hour skilled nursing and rehabilitation coverage.

This blog, like our company, will also be unlike any other. Our goal is to take you through our doors, go behind-the-scenes and into the experiences of our staff, residents and their families. We hope these stories will give you a unique perspective on why we do what do, and a deeper “insight” into what makes CareMeridian a leader in post-acute brain injury, spinal cord injury and medically complex care.

Most of all, we want this blog to be a conversation – so in other words, we want to hear from you. You can post comments directly to articles you read here, adding your own insights or asking us questions. We also welcome ideas for stories you would like to hear, or issues you want to learn more about. Comments will be moderated, meaning they will not be published instantly – we are obviously dealing with sensitive issues and privacy is a major concern, so we need to review all comments before they are posted online to ensure they are appropriate for this forum.

We typically will post one article per month, though we may post more from time to time. We also will try to post links to relevant news, studies or reports that we feel would be helpful to our guests. We may even get really creative and add photos, audio or video in the months ahead, so stay tuned! If you like, you can subscribe to this blog’s content via our RSS syndication feed, available in the left-hand sidebar, so you will never miss a post.

At CareMeridian, we view every individual as a life – a life with meaning, a life that is ready to improve. We hope CareMeridian Insights will help you see our residents in a new light, one that radiates the love and care we provide every day.

Welcome to the conversation.