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My patient has finished their ReWalk training program – now what?
This week’s highlighted clip of Topics in NeuroRehabilitation Episode 06 takes us back to episode 06, where I discuss some of the key elements of good discharge planning for individuals with SCI who are training with a personal exoskeleton, including companion selection, device storage and usage locations, and frequency and dosage recommendations for successful home use. This clip comes from the larger episode on advanced training techniques and clinical problem solving for clinicians who are training ReWalkers to develop skills for home and community use.
You can find the full Episode in our Topics in NeuroRehabilitation Blog category here.
We have also added a downloadable discharge planning template and other training resources to our website, available here: https://rewalk.com/resource-center/rewalk-exoskeleton-training-resources/
Reach us here for further information on the ReWalk Exoskeleton and to discuss the process to pursue a device for a patient.
TRANSCRIPT:
KOD: You also talked about the importance of creating a discharge plan, and doing so early and revisiting it often. What are some of the key elements that you would recommend therapists include in this discharge planning?
JB: So definitely identifying their companion, or companions, early on, and I would start with a broad pool there So, as many people as they can think about, even friends, or people they just tend to hang out with the most often, sort of start thinking about that early on. And then really within the first few visits, you want to start getting those people in. So companion involvement early, and just identifying who that’s going to be. Any potential barriers that each individual might have, and sort of working through those and really thinking through who actually -once real life kicks in – is going to be able to be there not only just with training, but going forward for using the device.
JB: And then the other thing I would say is the logistics of sort of storage, charging, like where exactly in their house they’re going to have it rest, have it charge, and where exactly they plan to walk in it. So you don’t want that to be vague. You want that to be really specific of my driveway, to the mall – this particular mall, or whatever it might be.
JB: What equipment they’re going to use and making sure that you help them obtain that equipment for transport. So, which dolly, which bench, those two things, specifically. What shoes they’ll put on it. And then the last thing I would say is, just like any other home exercise program is the specifics of your recommendations for sort of frequency, duration, dosage of using the device.
JB: So once you sort of see what they can do by the end of the training period, you should have a grasp on what’s realistic and what would be good for them. And so really not leaving that vague, but really just laying out it should be whatever you’ve been doing in therapy essentially – a couple of times per week for a half hour or 60 minutes or so.
KOD: This has been a highlighted clip from ReWalk’s Topics in NeuroRehabilitation web series. To watch the full episode, please go to ReWalk Robotics YouTube page, or visit the link in the comments below. See you next time!
