Knowledge will be provided through one-on-one therapy sessions at Empower SCI to provide participants with the knowledge in life-skills that they were unable to take advantage of during their short inpatient rehabilitation stay. Occupational Therapy will provide knowledge to assist patient in improving independence with activities of daily living, and in addition physical therapy will provide the knowledge to improve independence in mobility. A custom focus on therapeutic recreation will give the participants the exposure and feeling of accomplishment that is associated with participating in recreational opportunities that they did not realize they could perform. Empower SCI will provide ample opportunities to participate in a variety of recreational activities to include kayaking, aquatic therapy, hand cycling and many more. Not only formal therapy, but informal knowledge-sharing will occur during their stay at Empower SCI through peer interaction. Peer interaction and peer mentoring will play a crucial role in improving mental health, as well as an opportunity for participants to share their own techniques and strategies on how they have learned to survive life with a spinal cord injury. Often, it is a matter of appropriate tools to allow for more independence with activities that able-bodied individuals often take for granted, such as the ability to empty one’s bladder. An individual with a spinal cord injury does not have the capacity to urinate at will, and often requires a catheter to be inserted to empty one’s bladder. This is often one of the activities that an individual with cervical spinal cord injury will require assistance to perform, due to limited fine motor control of their hands. The specialized occupational therapists at Empower SCI can assist in this area by providing needed adaptive devices and techniques that allow independence with this vital activity of daily living. Strength. The program at Empower SCI will not only focus on knowledge and tools, but will also improve existing strength through one-on-one strength and conditioning sessions, aquatic therapy and meditation/visualization techniques. The level of physical inactivity and reconditioning imposed by a spinal cord injury profoundly contrasts the pre-injury state in which most individuals are relatively young and physically active. Involvement in sports, recreation, and therapeutic exercise is commonly restricted after SCI by loss of voluntary motor control, as well as autonomic dysfunction, altered fuel homeostasis, inefficient temperature regulation, and early- onset muscle fatigue. Empower SCI will provide participants with the location, knowledgeable instruction, and one-on-one motivation to surpass these barriers both during the program, and also provide an exercise program to carry out after the 4 week program concludes. Support. Empower SCI will also provide participants with a mental and emotional support system to help with their adjustment to life with a spinal cord injury. This system will include the use of a rehabilitation counselor as well as peer mentors that have similar levels of injury as the participant. Peer mentors provide a unique combination of supportive elements not replicated by other relationships.
