Stroke Peer Visitation Program Begins
New RHCI Program Brings Hope into the Home after Stroke
April 12, 2006
The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands (RHCI) is launching a Stroke Peer Visitation Program, the first in the area to bring support, information and resources to stroke survivors and their caregivers in their homes.
“ In a matter of hours, or even minutes, a stroke can completely change a person’s life. It can impact the way someone walks, talks, feels, thinks, works and behaves,” says Janet Mooney, LICSW, senior social worker at RHCI. “It can mean the end of one’s vocation, as well as reading, conversing, athletic and recreational pursuits and hobbies. This program can help stroke survivors begin to deal with these life-changing situations,” she says.
RHCI’s Stroke Peer Visitation Program matches specially trained stroke survivors and caregivers with people who have recently had strokes and their families. The peer visitors actually go to the homes, assisted living facilities or nursing homes of the recent stroke survivors to help meet some of their emotional and social needs. They also share information about the recovery process, which can take months or even years.
Two of the Stroke Peer Visitation Program volunteers are Ken and Diane Martell of Bourne. In 1996, at the age of 52, Ken Martell suffered an incapacitating stroke in his brain stem that left him paralyzed and unable to talk, eat or see.
“ It was emotionally draining, not knowing what to expect," said Diane Martell, who gave up her teaching job to care for her husband. “We had numerous fears and frustrations when Ken was released from the hospital. It would have been so helpful to have someone who had gone through the same situation share how to handle things at home and to know what resources were available. It was devastating and we were not prepared for it."
As his wife coped with the practical details of their new life, Ken Martell, who had been a research systems analyst, runner and skier, struggled to face a future that was completely unknown. “Someone who had experienced a stroke could have told me what I was going through was normal – and that progress would happen. It may happen in small steps, but it does happen,” says Ken Martell. “The most important thing is for patients to have a positive attitude and outlook ¬ that helps with healing in all areas.”
The volunteers in RHCI’s program are all stroke survivors – or caregivers – who have been trained by stroke rehabilitation professionals at RHCI. The program is part of the hospital’s Center for NeuroRecovery, which seeks to enhance the care of persons recovering from stroke, brain injury and other neurological disorders.
“ Our peer visitors are at least two years on the road to recovery so that new survivors can see what that road looks like,” says Mooney, who helped to develop the program which is based on the National Stroke Association’s model. A seven-week training program, led by the RHCI clinical rehabilitation staff, covers such subjects as establishing healing relationships, medical aspects of a stroke, communicating after a stroke, emotional and behavioral effects of stroke, effects on family and rediscovering their world. Volunteers will also offer practical suggestions and insight based on their personal experiences.
Though stroke survivors and families receive plenty of information and support during rehabilitation, there is a limit to what the health care team can do and how much patients can absorb during that difficult time, notes Susan Ehrenthal, M.D., a physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine at RHCI. “We can teach why they had the stroke and help them regain function, but their peers can help them to adapt in the real world.”
Meeting others who have overcome similar problems can help with another common effect of stroke, adds Dr. Ehrenthal. “Many stroke survivors experience depression. Just speaking with someone who’s been through it and who’s able to see the goodness in life gives them hope.”
Peer Visitor Jim Graham is both a stroke survivor and founder of the RHCI Stroke Support Group, which meets monthly at RHCI and provides a forum for education and ongoing emotional support. “As I visited with new stroke patients at RHCI, I found many were not ready for a group setting,” says Jim. “Some were not prepared to go public with the physical effects of their stroke. Others were afraid of displaying the inappropriate emotion that is often the result of a stroke. The Stroke Peer Visitation Program fills these individualized needs.”
RHCI recently completed training its first group of volunteers -- eight stroke survivors and two family members. They have already started making visits.
“ If we can help even one stroke survivor, it will be so worthwhile,” says Ken Martell.
The Stroke Peer Visitation Program is currently available to residents throughout Cape Cod as well as Plymouth and Wareham. Janet Mooney notes that the program may expand into the South Shore or Southeastern Massachusetts as needed.
“ We expect this program will grow quickly,” she says. “Now that the first group of peer visitors is in the field, we will begin looking for new volunteers to train.”
To learn about becoming a peer visitor, or for information about receiving a visit from a stroke survivor or caregiver, call Jim Graham at RHCI’s volunteer line, 508-833-4043. Those seeking support in a group setting can attend RHCI’s Stroke Survivor Support Group that meets the second Wednesday of each month from September – May at RHCI in Sandwich. Information about all these programs is available at the hospital’s website, www.rhci.org.
