You’ve just gone through the most devastating experience of your entire life. After living through a horrendous accident, you’ve just had to listen to your doctor tell you that you may never walk again. Your entire life has just taken a complete 180 degree turn and you have no idea what to do next. What you do know, however, is that you’re going to have to have a lot of treatment and help because you’re going to fight to recover as much mobility as you can.
There are currently dozens of centers throughout D.C. that specialize in spinal cord injury (SCI) treatment. Some institutes, such as Kennedy Krieger, offer intense activity-based therapy sessions to promote mobility, while others, like MedStar’s SCI day treatment sessions, offer low-impact occupational and physical therapies like aquatic therapy to help ease into recovery. But how do you decide which type of treatment center is right for you?
Questions to Ask Before Deciding on a Treatment Center
Before choosing a treatment center, speak with your doctor about any concerns you may have about therapy and how rigorous a program he feels would be most beneficial. Once you have his medical input, you then need to decide what types of therapies you would feel comfortable using, as well as your personal requirements for recovery. You can then find the right center for both your medical and personal needs by simply asking different institutions a few key questions and then deciding on which one is best for you depending on their answers.
- Is your center certified for SCI treatment?
- Do you only treat SCI patients, or do you treat other injuries as well?
- Do you offer both short- and long-term rehabilitation goals?
- How often and for how long each day will I receive specialist treatment? (Treatment should be no less then three hours a day, five days a week.)
- Do you provide living arrangements if I need to stay at your center?
- Are family members encouraged to participate in rehabilitation and if so, do you provide living arrangements for them as well?
- Will I have my own private nursing care and therapists, or will they change on a daily basis?
- When I’m discharged will you provide me with home-care options, materials and contact information for the center in case of emergency?
No matter which institute you choose, the important thing is that you’re comfortable with the staff and therapy so that you can feel good about your treatment, recovery and progress without feeling overwhelmed, stressed or pushed too hard. It’s your recovery, make sure you feel good about it.
Not sure if you can afford the treatment you need? Contact us for a free consultation about your accident or injury. We’ll fight to get you the treatment you deserve.
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