Genesis Brain Injury Rehabilitation Programs Achieve Accreditation

Davenport, IA - Genesis Medical Center has achieved another health care first by becoming the only hospital in the Quad Cities and the state of Iowa to have an accredited Adult Brain Injury Outpatient Rehabilitation Program. The program accreditation is one of five received from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). The accreditations cap a year of intense self-assessment of Genesis rehabilitation programs and a thorough visit by a CARF survey team April 19-20.

Genesis also received three-year accreditations for its Brain Injury Inpatient Rehabilitation Programs for adults and children. Genesis now is the only Quad City hospital with CARF-accredited brain injury rehabilitation programs and one of only two hospitals in Iowa with accredited Brain Injury Inpatient Programs. In Illinois, the closest accredited Brain Injury Inpatient and Outpatient Programs are in Rockford and suburban Chicago.

"We're now able to fill a geographic void in the availability of quality brain injury rehabilitation programs," said Jan King, MBA, RN, CRRN, Director, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services, Genesis Medical Center. "For patients and their families in eastern Iowa and western Illinois, our programs bring care much closer to home."

The Outpatient Brain Injury Program is called LIFT – Learning Independence For Tomorrow. This day treatment program is designed for adolescents and adults who have sustained a brain injury, are medically stable, yet would benefit from intensive rehabilitation services beyond what is provided in traditional outpatient programs. Types of services offered, in addition to speech therapy, occupational therapy and therapeutic recreation, include: cognitive rehabilitation, return to work evaluation and training, development of compensatory strategies, individual and group activities, psychosocial adjustment services, patient education and community re-entry.

The Genesis Brain Injury Inpatient Program was established to better serve patients who have experienced an acquired brain injury and as a result, have neurobehavioral impairments affecting their ability to safely function independently. Types of patients served include persons who have sustained a traumatic brain injury, either closed head injury or open head injury. Non-traumatic brain injury patients also may be served. This includes persons who have experienced a cerebral aneurysm, brain tumor, stroke, infectious disease such as encephalitis; hypoxic injuries such as asphyxiation, near drowning, or cardiac arrest; metabolic disorders such as insulin shock, and injury from inhalation or ingestion of toxic products.

In addition to accreditations for its brain injury programs, Genesis again received accreditations for its pediatric and adult Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Programs, which have been accredited for 21 straight years dating back to 1983.

"This is very good for the Quad Cities community," said Conway Chin, D.O., Medical Director, Genesis Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services. "It's somewhat of a standard to have comprehensive adult inpatient programs. But to have specialized accreditations in brain injury rehabilitation for both inpatient adults and children and outpatient adults is a very unique accomplishment."

The CARF accreditations mean patients and families can be assured that Genesis programs meet rigorous guidelines for service and quality and conform to nationally and internationally recognized standards.

The CARF survey team found the Genesis Regional Rehabilitation Program to have strengths in many areas, noting, "Genesis continues to provide an excellent service to the Quad Cities area through continued development and expansion of programs and services." The survey team also found that Genesis patients benefit from the services provided by knowledgeable and dedicated personnel, and leadership that has a strong community presence and serves as an advocate for patients.

The CARF accreditations are valid until June of 2007.

Genesis Health System and its affiliates offer a full continuum of care, including preventive, primary, acute and tertiary hospital care; home health; hospice; rehabilitation; and long-term care. Its affiliates include Genesis Medical Center, Illini Hospital, DeWitt Community Hospital, Genesis Medical Education Foundation, Visiting Nurse Association and GenVentures Inc. Serving a 10-county area of eastern Iowa and western Illinois, the Health System also operates Genesis Health Group and Genesis Behavioral Resources. For more information, visit our Web site at www.genesishealth.com.