Results of outpatient therapy experiences reveal the needs of the SCI community

NorCal SCI would like to thank those who took the time to participate in the recent survey of outpatient therapy experiences as we had almost 60 participants. Thank you also to those who included some detailed comments as that will really help us better understand the needs of the SCI community so we can best focus our advocacy efforts and resources. NorCal SCI will be contacting a sample of the participants to better understand their responses and some of the questions.

Chelsee from Santa Maria and Mark from Oakland are the lucky winners of our drawing and each will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card for participating in the survey. Congratulations!

NorCal SCI is acutely aware of the reduction in overall therapy hours paid through health insurance plans. To put this in proper perspective, we have used the following information from our friends at Sandy, Utah-based Neuroworx to accurately articulate the change in overall therapy hours since we entered the new millennium.

The last 20 years have seen a marked decrease in the hospital stay for neurological injuries. An individual with a spinal cord injury (or other neurological injury) who used to spend 4 - 6 months receiving in-hospital therapy is now discharged in as little as 4 - 6 weeks. The burden of rehabilitation has shifted to the outpatient setting. Unfortunately, outpatient insurance benefits remain restricted and do not discriminate by severity of injury.

During this same period of diminishing therapy sessions, researchers and clinicians have discovered the damaged nervous system has a much greater potential to recover function than previously believed, but receiving the right type of therapy and the right amount of time is critical.

As for the results of our survey, here are some major takeaways worthy of sharing with you in the charts below:

Most individuals (61%) started their outpatient therapy within two weeks of discharge.

42% of individuals did their outpatient in a rehab hospital, 30% in a clinic with the remainder at home.

Only 26% of individuals had 3 or more PT sessions a week, 37% had one session and 37% had two sessions a week

40% of individuals received PT for 3 months or less, only 37% had PT for more than 6 months.

Note that 10% of the respondents did not receive any outpatient therapy and thus were not included in some of the charts.