University Health Network Announces National Network for Spinal Cord Injury Rehab

March 02, 2021, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

The University Health Network announced last week that the Ontario Network of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) rehabilitation sites is expanding across Canada. This expansion will ensure that patients receive equitable and optimal care regardless of where they live in this large country. The new network is called the Spinal Cord Injury Implementation & Evaluation Quality Care Consortium and is funded in part by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation. The expansion is funded by Praxis Spinal Cord Institute.

Challenges and inequities in the access to specialized healthcare remain a challenge in the country with larger urban centres being well served, but isolated rural areas and northern communities receiving less attention. By expanding the rehabilitation sites and patient partners it is hoped that the standard of SCI rehab care will be raised.

Quality of care is “largely dependent on where their accident takes place and the proximity of the tertiary rehabilitation centre to their home.” Dr. Cathy Craven, Evaluation Leader of the SCI said in the press release. This first-ever network will implement best practices and collect indicators of care to help lead to better outcomes for patients.

The network intends to follow patients with a spinal cord injury for 18 months from the time they begin rehab using 6 measures to evaluate the services and care. These measures are prioritized by importance and urgency and will allow the healthcare practitioners to influence a person’s health, well-being and long-term recovery. This information will also be used to inform the SCI rehab best practices even further and to allow the benchmarking of the rehab sites across Canada.

Spinal cord injury patients are among the most complex medical cases requiring rehabilitation services according to Dr. Craven. Improving their functional independence and health and wellness remain top priorities.

The SCI Network is focussing on the following six measures as stated in their press release:

• Walking Ensuring those who have the potential to walk are getting the intensity of therapy needed to maximize the recovery of walking
• Wheeled Mobility Maximize community wheelchair skills through standard mobility assessments.
• Emotional Well-Being Improve screening and management of depression and anxiety to maximize rehabilitation outcomes
• Sexual Health Create a permissive environment for clinicians and patients to have open discussions around sexual health inquiry
• Tissue Integrity Reduce incidence and severity of pressure injuries (from wheelchairs and beds) across a person’s lifespan
• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions for UTI

Serious Spinal Cord Injury can result in paralysis, quadriplegia or tetraplegia, and will impact your ability to live your life the way you did before the injury. It will require lifelong medical and rehabilitation and medical assistance. If you have been injured in an accident call us for your free initial consultation. Our experienced team of personal injury lawyers can help you. Don’t face your situation alone.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.