Caregiver Involvement in Post... Video Transcript

Participants

, David Alexander MD, David R. Marks MD, Richard D. Zorowitz MD

Summary

When someone close to you suffers from a stroke, the emotional impact can be tremendous. But as anyone caring for a loved one after a stroke knows, the psychological challenges are only half of the story. The responsibility of helping someone through recovery and rehabilitation can be extremely demanding, and there's a lot to learn: Who do you call in emergency situations? How do you find the right kind of care for your loved one? How do you pay for it all? Join our panel of experts as they address these questions and discuss other caregiver issues.

Webcast Transcript

DAVID R. MARKS, MD:  Hi, and welcome to our webcast.  I'm Dr. David Marks.  When someone close to you suffers a stroke, the emotional impact can be tremendous, but as anyone caring for a loved one after a stroke knows, the psychological challenges are only half of the story.  The responsibility of helping someone through recovery and rehabilitation can be extremely demanding, and there's a lot to learn.  Who do you call in emergency situations?  How do you find the right kind of care for your loved one?  How do you pay for it all?  Those are just some of the questions.

Joining us today to talk about these and other questions are two experts.  First is Dr. Richard Zorowitz.  He's the director of stroke rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania.  Welcome.

RICHARD ZOROWITZ, MD:  Thanks.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD:  We also have Dr. David Alexander.  He's the medical director of the Daniel Freeman Rehabilitation Center, which is in Los Angeles, California.  Thanks for being here.

DAVID ALEXANDER, MD:  Thanks for inviting me.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD:  Family involvement is crucial, but when does it start?

DAVID ALEXANDER, MD:  Generally it starts right at the time of the stroke, and it's often a family member who discovers or helps the patient who's having a stroke get to the emergency room and get to the hospital.  It continues, really, essentially through the whole process, through the acute side of the hospitalization, as well as into the rehabilitation phase and, of course, for the rest of the patient's life.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD:  There comes a point when a person with a stroke goes home.  How do you know that the person there who is supposed to give care actually can be an effective caregiver?

RICHARD ZOROWITZ, MD:  First, in the acute care hospital, we have to determine functionally how that patient is managing, and then we have to go and interview the family and see whether or not they can care for that patient at that particular level.  If they can, the patient probably can go home safely.  If they can't, then we probably will consider them for a stay in rehabilitation.  Once they're in rehabilitation as an inpatient, after we have a chance to evaluate them, we'll get the family to come in to participate in therapies, learn what the patient can do, learn what the patient can't do, learn what they should do and learn what they should not do in order to help that patient.  Then, with further training, the patient then can be cared for by the family, and we feel that everybody is safe and the family feels that they're comfortable enough to take the patient home, the patient then can go home.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD:  When you say "we," who's actually making that determination?

RICHARD ZOROWITZ, MD:  "We" really refers to the team.  It's the rehabilitation physician.  It refers to the nurses, it refers to the physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, neuropsychologists, recreational therapists, and anybody else that we bring in.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD:  You mentioned training, Dr. Alexander.