Stroke
Nearly 60 percent of On With Life’s inpatient admissions and 35 percent of outpatient admissions are stroke survivors. Speech-language pathologist Megan Ihrke shares how On With Life is setting itself apart as a Stroke Innovation Center, offering unique and personalized rehabilitation that is leading to improved outcomes.
What makes On With Life unique as a stroke rehabilitation provider?
In one word: engagement. On With Life has a unique person-centered approach to stroke rehabilitation. Our
ability and desire to truly engage with the person and family we are serving fosters engagement and maximizes outcomes. Our rehabilitation program uses high-intensity and high-frequency rehabilitation and a transdisciplinary approach to address medical, psychosocial, cognitive, and physical complications as a result of a stroke. We see individuals as people first, rather than focusing on their diagnosis, which leads to inclusion of their
personal interests and preferences into their rehabilitation journey. This results in a one-of-a-kind stroke rehabilitation program.
How is On With Life setting itself apart as an innovation center?
To better serve stroke survivors and their families, On With Life provides a unique stroke rehabilitation
program that features a continuum of care from inpatient and outpatient programming to community, with a
stroke support group and a series of webinars on stroke education. In each of these programs, we consistently use evidence- and informed-based practices as well as data from our quality measures to ensure we are providing the highest level of care. We know the importance of education for preventing strokes and secondary strokes and we are committed to sharing our expertise with current persons served and families, students, other brain injury survivors and community members.
The program is called the ENGAGE Stroke Rehabilitation Program. What does ENGAGE stand for and how does it affect outcomes?
On With Life’s ENGAGE Stroke Rehabilitation program is designed to maximize the individual’s outcomes. We know outcomes are highly influenced by the level of engagement of the person served. The acronym ENGAGE serves as a guide for our program with each letter explaining an aspect of rehabilitation that is important in maximizing outcomes.
E – Energy to meet program demands
N – Neurologically stable
G – Goals specific to rehabilitation
A – Access to family and community support
G – Good control of medical conditions to prevent secondary stroke
E - Enthusiasm for the rehab process