Team 21 - Supporting spinal cord injury care
NepalAbility continued its mission in November 2018, as Team 21 made their way to Tansen & Pokhara to support our Nepali partners and their clinical work. This team included NepalAbility executive member and rehabilitation engineer Carol Scovil, occupational therapist Lara Feasby who works in spinal cord injury, as well as North Carolina-based physiotherapists Lucy Mahon, Kaci Handlery, and Katie McCollum who came with a wealth of experiences in their respective practices. Rounding out this team was photographer Bob Norris, who joined to document their journey.
United Mission Hospital Tansen (UMH)
It was great to be back in Tansen! Team 21 provided hands-on support and practical mentorship, as per the staff’s requests. They offered two follow-up teaching sessions on the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) Scale for measuring impairment levelas done previously by Team 19, as well as demonstrations on how to use Kinesiotape for Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM). Several lectures were also delivered on a variety of neurorehab topics, including hypoxic brain injury myoclonus, pressure injury prevention, and proper handling techniques of infants and toddlers.
While in Tansen, Team 21 also provided support to new wheelchair users, helping with transfer skills, mobility, support, and providing techniques to optimize fit and positioning, in follow-up to Team 20 , such as with wheelchair tilting. NepalAbility also supported a visit from a peer counsellor, who lives with quadriplegia. He spoke to patients on how to cope with daily challenges, as well as strategies and approaches to living with that a spinal cord injury in the community.
United Mission Hospital Tansen (UMH)
It was great to be back in Tansen! Team 21 provided hands-on support and practical mentorship, as per the staff’s requests. They offered two follow-up teaching sessions on the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) Scale for measuring impairment levelas done previously by Team 19, as well as demonstrations on how to use Kinesiotape for Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM). Several lectures were also delivered on a variety of neurorehab topics, including hypoxic brain injury myoclonus, pressure injury prevention, and proper handling techniques of infants and toddlers.
While in Tansen, Team 21 also provided support to new wheelchair users, helping with transfer skills, mobility, support, and providing techniques to optimize fit and positioning, in follow-up to Team 20 , such as with wheelchair tilting. NepalAbility also supported a visit from a peer counsellor, who lives with quadriplegia. He spoke to patients on how to cope with daily challenges, as well as strategies and approaches to living with that a spinal cord injury in the community.
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Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre (GPH)
The time at GPH supported ongoing patient care, had meaningful discussions with leadership, and met with various staff for informal teaching sessions. Along with providing some donated equipment, the team met with medical director Dr. Bruce Hayes and OT Megan Barker about the future of rehab at GPH.
With the recent hiring of two physiotherapists, an OT and several nurses, the GPH team was excited to support the new staff with their onboarding. An additional ongoing project at GPH is to grow the hospital into a major centre for traumatic injury – where patients can receive both emergency and acute care, as well as surgical and rehabilitation treatment – all in one place. This will allow more efficient and effective care for patients, with greater overlap and collaboration across departments. Ongoing funding is needed to bring this project to full fruition.
Carol and Lara wrapped up their trip with a visit to the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Pokhara, who had specifically requested they visit given their expertise in this practice area. Meetings included the practicalities of setting up a wheelchair seating clinic, which requires a dedicated OT and technician working together once per week, as well as how to provide optimal wheelchair prescriptions. This included personalizing the wheelchair features for the needs of each patient and obtaining a pressure mapping technology to teach patients about different surfaces and seating positions. Obtaining wheelchairs continues to be a challenge in Nepal due to the difficulty acquiring appropriate materials to build the chairs. The team also reviewed previously donated equipment to suggest what could be incorporated into daily practice.
Scroll down for more photo highlights from Team 21’s visit, courtesy of Bob Norris
The time at GPH supported ongoing patient care, had meaningful discussions with leadership, and met with various staff for informal teaching sessions. Along with providing some donated equipment, the team met with medical director Dr. Bruce Hayes and OT Megan Barker about the future of rehab at GPH.
With the recent hiring of two physiotherapists, an OT and several nurses, the GPH team was excited to support the new staff with their onboarding. An additional ongoing project at GPH is to grow the hospital into a major centre for traumatic injury – where patients can receive both emergency and acute care, as well as surgical and rehabilitation treatment – all in one place. This will allow more efficient and effective care for patients, with greater overlap and collaboration across departments. Ongoing funding is needed to bring this project to full fruition.
Carol and Lara wrapped up their trip with a visit to the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Pokhara, who had specifically requested they visit given their expertise in this practice area. Meetings included the practicalities of setting up a wheelchair seating clinic, which requires a dedicated OT and technician working together once per week, as well as how to provide optimal wheelchair prescriptions. This included personalizing the wheelchair features for the needs of each patient and obtaining a pressure mapping technology to teach patients about different surfaces and seating positions. Obtaining wheelchairs continues to be a challenge in Nepal due to the difficulty acquiring appropriate materials to build the chairs. The team also reviewed previously donated equipment to suggest what could be incorporated into daily practice.
Scroll down for more photo highlights from Team 21’s visit, courtesy of Bob Norris