Ballard Rehab, Good Vibrations

Looking to help amputees progress on their road to recovery, Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital now offers its patients a Peer-to-Peer Skype program, in which new amputees connect through video chat with trained peer visitors who have similar amputee characteristics. “This idea is to introduce the patient to someone who has a similar situation and share ideas on how to have a better quality of life,” explains Mary Hunt, CEO. “We as clinicians, can have empathy and compassion, but we really haven’t experienced this. Someone who is an amputee and knows the ins and outs is more credible because they’ve lived it. That inspires and encourages patients to get as much function as possible.” The San Bernardino hospital began developing the program after Bill Nessel, a certified peer visitor and member of the Amputee Coalition of America, suggested the idea. “We, as peer visitors, try to match up to amputees in terms of age, gender, amputee level and cause. This is pretty hard to do some times, and other times, it is impossible,” he says. “Now if somebody calls into the coalition looking for a peer visit, we can offer Skype as an option if there is no local support group or peer visitor to make a personal visit.” Nessel worked with James Agustines, respiratory therapist at Ballard, and Samuel Moor of the Rolling Start, a community advocacy and education center for individuals with disabilities to ensure Ballard had the necessary technology and hardware in place before they could offer the program to patients. “We decided on using an iPad with a mobile cart so we could wheel the cart into any room and adjust it to the patient’s level providing a good view of the screen,” says Agustines. “We worked on all the details, including policies, regulations, privacy and security, until we got our ducks in a row.” Thanks to the full support of Vibra’s IT department. They quickly had the program approved and the equipment purchased. “We did our first two test cases, and they proved to be everything we expected and more,” Hunt says, “We want to grow this program and let others know about it.” The experience can be life changing for patients, according to Moore. “Suddenly they go from a life altering event to instantly having a doorway to hope again,” he says. “It really changes the perspective the person has lying in the hospital bed or going through the motions of recovery and rehabilitation. It gives them that positive attitude and very much needed mental directness that they require when recovering.” Hunt hopes as Ballard builds on its positive experience that they can expand the program beyond amputees to include patients with spinal cord and brain injuries. “We are sitting with the amputee coalition because it makes sense to start there, but I see it expanding to individuals with other diagnoses. It is so motivating for a Ballard patient to talk with someone who is living with a similar diagnosis and doing well,” she says. “Part of our job at Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital is to empower patients and enlighten them to realize that they may have a changed life, but they can still have a quality and fulfilled life.”